Engaruka Ruins

At Engaruka the ground below the Rift escarpment is covered with the remains of a farming system built in stone: channels leading water from the escarpment streams, terraces, field boundaries and the foundations of houses spread over several square kilometres. It supported a substantial population from around the fifteenth century and was abandoned by the nineteenth, probably as the water supply failed. It is one of the largest abandoned agricultural systems known in sub-Saharan Africa.

What you actually see

• The stone channels - the irrigation network leading water from the escarpment.
• The terraces - stone-walled field systems covering several square kilometres.
• The house foundations - the outlines of the settlement among the fields.
• The escarpment - the Rift wall the whole system was built to draw water from.

When to go

June to October for the roads and for walking the site. The rains make the tracks difficult. Mornings are coolest for the walk.

Honest expectations

The remains are low stone lines and take imagination to read; there is little interpretation on site. Guides are compulsory and their knowledge varies. The road in is rough and the site is hot and exposed.

Nearby

Mto wa Mbu is south, and Ol Doinyo Lengai is north.