Nakuru County is a religious hub where world renown clerics have made their way into the County every so often.

The County has carried this tag from the early 2000s when Bishop Pius Muiru held his famous crusades at Afraha Stadium. Other nationally acclaimed bishops like Bishop Mark Kariuki and Bishop Mike Brawan started their ministry in Nakuru.

Quite recently, Prophet Dr. David Owuor made Nakuru a critical meeting point for his followers through the highly publicized annual healing crusades. In fact, last year Dr Owuor held a 3-day conference at the Holiness and Repentance Altar at Menengai grounds.

Away from the religious events, Nakuru is also home to one of the largest churches in the country, the Kingdom Seekers Church. Led by Apostle John William Kimani, the church holds up to 6,000 people.

It is this wave of religious activities that has prompted those in the tourism sector to tap into religious tourism by packaging certain sites for religious people.

Some of these sites includes caves at Menengai Crater. The Crater is believed to be a very spiritual place and people come from far and wide to spend time praying and contemplating - and those who have spent time there say they have felt the presence of God.

The Heaven's Gate, that overlooks Lake Elementaita, in Gilgil constituency is also an exciting place that is managed by Kingdom Seekers church.

At this tranquil spot, Christians can spend a few days fasting and praying undisturbed.

Njoro caves which is one of the religious tourist attraction sites in Nakuru

Photo credit: POOL

The Holy Caves of Njoro have also become a revered pilgrimage site for a lot of Christians, who see it as the ideal place for prayer and meditation. For many pilgrims, River Njoro is also the Kenyan equivalent to River Jordan in the Middle East.

However, the most popular among the religious tourism sites in Nakuru, is the Subukia Shrine.

Located in the Great Rift Valley Escarpment in Subukia, it is one of Kenya’s major religious sites.

Although it is meant to be a shrine for Catholic pilgrims, the Village of Mary Mother of God is also a major tourist attraction.

EMatara@ke.nationmedia.com.

Nakuru County: The Country's Religious Hub

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Eric Matara