Chalbi Desert
A small desert in northern Kenya, east of Lake Turkana, with a vast dry salt flat at its heart. Heat and wind are fierce here, and the town of North Horr lies on its edge.
- Where
- Marsabit, Kenya
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- 3.0317, 37.3475
Get the Chalbi Desert stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Chalbi Desert. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Marsabit volume with your photos and a note.
Near Chalbi Desert
Lake Turkana National Parks 94 km
Three national parks on and around Lake Turkana: Sibiloi, Central Island and South Island. Inscribed by UNESCO in 1997, they protect fossil beds, breeding grounds for Nile crocodiles and a harsh volcanic shoreline.
Mount Marsabit 105 km
A broad basaltic shield volcano rising from the desert of northern Kenya. Forests on its slopes and crater lakes lie within Marsabit National Park, home to elephants and many birds. It rises about 170 kilometres east of the Rift, and mist keeps its upper forests damp even when the surrounding plain is dry.
Central Island 153 km
A volcanic island in the middle of Lake Turkana, also called Crocodile Island. Its crater lakes are home to flamingos and Nile crocodiles, and it is part of a UNESCO listed national park.
Koobi Fora 164 km
A fossil rich area on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana, in Sibiloi National Park. Many early human fossils have been found here since the 1960s, and a small museum shows some of the finds.
Namoratunga 177 km
An archaeological site west of Lake Turkana, where rows of basalt pillars stand on a low rise. It dates to about 300 BC and may have been used to track the movements of the stars.
Lake Turkana 186 km
The world's largest permanent desert lake, a long jade coloured sheet of alkaline water in the northern Kenyan Rift Valley. Its shores hold major fossil sites, and its far northern end reaches into Ethiopia.
Lomekwi 193 km
An archaeological site on the west shore of Lake Turkana where stone tools about 3.3 million years old were found in 2011. They are older than any previously known tools and predate the genus Homo.
Samburu National Reserve 269 km
A game reserve of 165 square kilometres on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river, about 350 kilometres from Nairobi. It lies between 800 and 1,230 metres in elevation, and its dry country draws elephants and other animals to the river.
More hidden gems in Marsabit
Questions
Where is Chalbi Desert?
Chalbi Desert is in Marsabit, Kenya. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Lake Turkana National Parks (94 km), Mount Marsabit (105 km), Central Island (153 km).
How do I get the Chalbi Desert stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Chalbi Desert and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Marsabit volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Chalbi Desert before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Marsabit volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 40 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.