500 years ago.........

Thimlich Ohinga serves as an example of the dry stone enclosures widespread in the South Nyanza area of Western Kenya. Similar in construction to the well known ruins of Great Zimbabwe in southern Africa, the Thimlich Ohinga structures represent some of the finest examples in Kenya.
About 46 kilometers northwest of Migori town in Nyanza Province lies these striking stone wall enclosures nestled among the trees and shrubs of a gently sloping hill. From a distance the hill seems more like a forest, with Euphorbia candelabrum towering above all the other trees and shrubs. From here, one can see how the hill got its name: in the DhoLuo language spoken in Nyanza Province of Kenya, 'Thimlich' means literally 'frightening dense forest'. As one moves closer to the hill, it seems less like a forest. Winding along a narrow car track, one comes to a small, traditional Luo homestead. Behind this compound, and on the rest of the hill, lie the enclosures whose architecture is not only captivating but is also unique. The homestead and its adjacent enclosures form the Thimlich Ohinga Prehistoric Site.
The site's name combines the description of the hill as seen from a distance of the hill from a distance ('Thimlich'), and the presence of stone enclosures (Ohinga-sing.) on the hill. It is most likely that when Kenyan researchers from the National Museums of Kenya began working at this site in 1980, the hill was much more forested than it is today.
In addition to its scenic location, the site is famous mainly for its stone wall enclosures which were built around 500 years ago. They are the results of the Late Iron Age settlers in the Lake Victoria region in Kenya. The first communities to settle here, mainly of Bantu origin, introduced this stone building tradition to meet their security requirements and also to exploit the environmental resources effectively: abundant rocks on the hilly areas were a ready resource to construct complex villages or cities. As a result, both early (Bantu) and later (Nilotic) settlers in the region constructed about 521 enclosures in 139 localities in the entire Lake Victoria region.
Thimlich is well placed in the south-western tourist circuit, and forms a perfect stop-over for those on their way to or from the nearby Ruma National Game Park, Gogo Falls, the Macalder gold mines, and even the distant but well-linked Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Etton Travel and Tours organizes safaris to all these places any time of the year.

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