Near the junction of the clear waters of the Arror and the muddy brown River Kerio there is a place where the Kerio has had to cut its way through an outcrop of basalt. Here it has formed a gorge; this is Teren. Nearby is a steel bridge across the river. It is a fine vantage point to stare down into the gorge — particularly in the rainy season when the Kerio is a foaming torrent pouring through the narrow passage and carrying with it a heavy load of stones, boulders and tree-trunks.
In less violent times, the banks of the gorge can be a peaceful place to stop and take a picnic. You will meet boys fishing for mud-fish and catfish and see kingfishers diving from sunlit rocks into shadowed pools to spear their smaller prey.
The “swin -holes” etched into the bawalt bed of the river ,y stones trapped, held down and spun in the raging floods, make a strange sculpture and an interestin- subject for photography.
This is one of the narrowest parts of the Kerio Valley and the place where the river approaches closest to the Elgeyo Escarpment. It is rich in bird species and is the habitat of the rare, aromatic sandalwood tree which is said to preserve its scent for over a thousand years. Migrating elephants are here very likely to stray into shambas and irrigdtion schemes aed are very vulnerable to poachtng.
