SUSWA CAVES,MOUNT SUSWA

Mt Suswa is an extinct volcano in the Greaf Rift Valley,within sight of the more popular Mt longonot.Located inside the community-managed Mt Suswa conservancy,the mountain has caves that are home to a species of endangered bats.Suswa"s caves consist of several floors of caverns and passages formed by volcanic activity that is still going on.The uppermost caves are easy to get to and only require a guide(hired from the conservancy), a goo flashlight,and a stomachfor dark enclosed spaces.Mount Suswa has caves which are one of its main attractions and one of the most visited sites in the Suswa conservancy .This lava cave are easily accessible and it has systems that comprises more than 70 collapsed holes and is considered to be the world’s most complex braided system of lava tubes. The caves are also believed to have provided refuge for the Kenyan Mau Mau fighters during the colonial era and the fight for Kenya’s independence.

These volcanic formed lava caves are home to large populations of bats that are believed to travel up to 30km in search of food at night before retreating to the caves in the morning. When exploring these caves during the day, these bat colonies can be seen hanging from the roofs of the caves.

In the evening baboons troops retreat to the caves, seeking refuge to hide from their predators especially leopards, this creates a two-way traffic with the departing bats. If you happen to visit these caves in the evenings, the troop’s leader can be found perched on rocks high up, seemingly addressing the rest of the baboons. The local Maasai have termed this spectacle ‘The Baboon Parliament’, and it was featured in a BBC documentary The Great Rift: Africa’s Wild Heart’.