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Hundreds of camel racing enthusiasts and competitors have descended on Kenya's hillside town of Maralal, the capital of the northern Samburu County, for the Maralal International Camel Derby.
"I expect it to be a tough one this year but am all ready for the challenge," Kenyan camel racer Kelly Lewarani, the winner of last year's race, told Anadolu Agency.
At least 26 participants from the U.S., Denmark, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Kenya will be contesting for the trophy.
The event kicked off on Saturday with the amateurs' race, which was won by Henrick Hubox, a 24-year-old Dane.
He completed the 10-kilometer race in 40 minutes.
The professional camel race, in which competitors cover nearly 42km, will take place later Sunday.
The annual derby has become a major tourist attraction for Kenya.
Despite recent travel bans imposed by some western countries on parts of Kenya, the number of foreign tourists coming for the race surpassed that of last year, according to organizers.
"The number is indeed encouraging as this is a resource-depended county," Peter Leshakwet, the tourism minister of Samburu county, told AA.
"We have received a good number of tourists and all our hotels have been fully booked as has been in the past years," he said.
Samburu is world renowned for Safari tours in its national game parks, which boast elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards and Buffalos.
Camel is part and parcel of the lives of the northern tribes of Kenya who include the Somali, Boran, Gabbra, Samburu, Rendille and Turkana.
"This is my first time in Kenya," Shelley Chen, an 18-year-old tourist from Taiwan, told AA at the Yare Safari camp, the venue of the camel derby.
"I have been in Kenya for five days and on the sixth day I came to Maralal to see the camel," said Chen. "It also my first experience to ride on a camel and do safari."
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