Below the rugged hilly landscape overlooking the fertile Subukia valley stands a towering white cross that beckons you to the sacred grounds of the Catholic Church National Village of Mary Shrine.

Even if your mission is not to commune with your Creator, you will nevertheless experience this place’s strange capacity to fascinate.

The shrine stands on the Equator, the meeting point of the Northern and Southern hemispheres, while the beacon that marks the upper boundary of the holy grounds is the actual meeting point of the expansive Rift Valley Province and the tiny Central Province.

The wooded rocky hill, where the statue of the Virgin Mary is housed in a little hut, has a rich biodiversity, with more than 250 species of insects and over 200 grass species.

The hardy cedar, the African Olea and the leafy Dombea, among other indigenous trees, offer pilgrims protection from the scythe of the hissing evening wind. If your visit is during the wet season, the sweet scent of flowering plants will be like a healing balm.

A visitor need not carry any water to this place because a clear stream wells up from the ground right under the statue of the Virgin Mary, purified of all dross by Mother Nature. Many pilgrims in fact carry empty bottles and fill them up at the shrine.

Do not be alarmed if you hear a movement in the tree branches. Families of monkeys have made this sanctuary their home after the trees in their former habitat were felled by charcoal burners.

The monkeys and other small creatures remain silent all day long as the pilgrims commune with God at the shrine. One is only likely to be disturbed by the drone of a bee, working to fill your next jar of honey.

But the place comes instantly alive after sunset with the chirping of insects and the movement of nocturnal animals looking forward to another busy stellar night. Down the valley, a cow is mooing for her calf. It’s time for the pilgrim to leave the shrine.

No crime has been reported here. But a few years ago a turbaned religious fanatic from the neighbouring Igwamiti settlement descended on the shrine and smashed the statue of the Virgin Mary into smithereens. He was jailed for the mischief.

More than 300,000 pilgrims, including foreigners, have visited the Marian Shrine during the last few years. Most bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the country have held liturgical celebrations there.

Visitors to the sacred place choose to walk along the hilly seven-kilometre murram road from the foot of the hill in the dusty Subukia Town, situated about 40 kilometres from Nakuru.

Tourists travelling from Nyahururu Town, which is only a couple of minutes’ drive away, prefer to stop at the viewpoint along the road that skirts the hill. From viewpoints situated about 2,500 metres above the sea level, a visitor using a powerful pair of binoculars can sample the luscious and beautiful escarpment below and beyond.

A tarmac road links Nyahururu and Nakuru towns and visitors can stop at the famous Thomson’s Falls to enjoy the picturesque view. It is simply enthralling.

If you are interested in seismology, it is worth noting that Subukia is prone to minor tremors. The strongest one, which occurred several decades ago, had an intensity of 7.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake, whose epicentre was in Laikipia, diverted River Subukia underground and interfered with boreholes.

There were some tremors in the area around the shrine last year. However, visitors need not worry about the earth movements during their trip to the sacred site. God is in charge.

Some of the pilgrims believe that the water welling up from under the statue of the Virgin Mary has healing powers and this could be the reason why they carry empty bottles on their way to the shrine.

The water flows for only a few metres from the statue before disappearing underground, probably to reappear several kilometres down the valley to irrigate lush plantations.

Pilgrims are, however, unwilling to dwell much on the healing powers of the water saying that what mattered were the prayers they say at the shrine.

The name of the shrine was proposed by the now retired Maurice Cardinal Otunga and endorsed by all the country’s Catholic bishops.

Father B. Mwaura of Subukia says that pilgrims can visit the shrine any time they wish but they should inform the chaplain in charge of the Village of Mary prior to the visit for any special arrangements.

Christians from Protestant churches also visit the shrine in big numbers for worship sessions that sometimes take several days. Many choose to fast during the pilgrimage, taking only water and dry biscuits.

The shrine occupies a five-acre portion of the 200-acre farm owned by the Catholic Church.

Visitors can, after the pilgrimage, tour scenic and historical sites within the Nakuru tourist circuit that includes the Menengai Crater, the Hyrax Hill and Lord Egerton’s Castle in Njoro.

The weather-beaten monument to Lord Egerton nests atop the rocky peak at the edge of Lake Elementaita’s shores. The British nobleman was buried on these wind-whipped shores 73 years ago.

The epitaph at the base of the 7-metre monolith reads: "Lord Galbraith Egerton Cole, the second son of the Fourth Earl of Enniskillen, Pioneer Settler, British East Africa Protectorate, born in 1881 and died on October 16, 1929, aged 48, buried here at his home, Kekopey, in which he laboured, loved and suffered much. The elements so mixed in him so that nature might stand up and say to all the world – This was a man."

The words, no doubt, add lustre to the name of the pioneer British settler who fell in love with one of Kenya’s most beautiful saline lakes and wished that his remains be interred within the rocky tor, away from his lordly mansion about a kilometre away.

The shallow Lake Elementaita lies 1,942 metres above sea level, 20 metres higher than the Lake Nakuru Flamingo Sanctuary, some 30 kilometres away. The beautiful mansion, situated a few kilometres from Gilgil, off the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, has been converted into a tourist class hotel – the Lake Elementaita Lodge.

Lord Egerton must have spent his leisure time at the rocky hill listening to birds singing in the acacia trees below while flamingoes, pelicans and other water fowls fed in the tranquil waters.

Those in search of a fulfilling leisurely stroll on the shores of a scenic lake and out to find out why a pioneer British settler of noble birth chose to live in this place, savour life’s pleasures and the challenges that a trail blazer encounters, will certainly find the trip very rewarding.

Just like in the days of Lord Egerton, the acacia tree branches still sway and dance to the whistling of the wind as various species of birds sing worksongs, building new nests.

Charcoal burners have been here in the recent past and left a scorched trail of black that would make Lord Egerton turn in his grave. But all is not lost because the management of Delamere Estates has protected the portion of the lake that borders their 53,000-acre Soysambu Ranch, which is home to some 10,000 wild animals, including buffalo, impala, warthog, leopard, jackal, zebra and many species of birds, some quite rare.

The peasants who live in the neighbourhood of the lake eke out a living by scooping the salty sedimentary deposits on the shores of the lake, which they sell to cattle owners.

If you are not interested in buying a bag of salt from the peasants, at least you can buy some beautifully woven flamingo feathers or porcupine quills from boys who sell them for a song.

Lake Elementaita has a population of 40,000 flamingoes, but their number increases to more than 200,000 when food is abundant. The flamingo is, however, a peregrine – flying off to Lake Natron in Tanzania during the breeding season. The lake also has a resident flock of about 3,000 pelicans that breed in an island close to the protected Soysambu Ranch.

Visitors to this area need not carry any packed lunch because there are many good hotels in Nakuru and Naivasha, not to mention the Lake Elmentaita Lodge and the popular nyama choma [roast meat] joints at Elmentaita.

Those who prefer game meat can buy it at Lord Delamere’s roadside outlet in Naivasha on their way to Gilgil. Entry to Lake Elementaita from the lodge is free, but members of the Lake Elementaita Eco-Tourism Self-Help Group Project charge a fee for visitors entering the unprotected lake from the roadside viewpoint.

The 40 kilometre road from Subukia to Nakuru is all tarmac and visitors need not fear getting stuck in the mud during the wet season or encountering blinding dust during the dry season.

From Nyahururu one can drive along the dusty road to Kaheho and make a brief entry into the Aberdare National Park.

Kaheho, (meaning a cold place) and visitors need to wear warm clothes and carry hot coffee or tea in a thermos while visiting this area. There are no boarding houses or camp sites at Kaheho and visitors should be prepared to travel back to Nyahururu where there are reasonably good hotels and lodges.

Vehicles get stuck in the mud along the Nyahururu - Kaheho road during the wet season.