Mount Kenya National Park: “the land of snow, volcano, savannah & wildlife”
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mt. Kenya is an extinct volcano 140 km North-North-East of Nairobi with its Northern flanks across the Equator. It has three main peaks – Batian (5200m), Nelion (5188m) and Lenana (4985m). The mountains slopes are cloaked in forest, bamboo, scrub and moorland while the peaks have rocks, ice and snow.
Mt. Kenya, Africa’s second highest peak is regarded as the realm of Ngai, god of the local Kikuyu people. Traditionally, all Kikuyu home were built to face this sacred peak. They call it Kirinyaga, or place of light.
The mountain is an awe-inspiring sight. Its ragged series of peaks are crowned with snow, and its slopes are thick with forest. The mountain is best seen at dawn, when the days early light silhouettes its impressive summit high over the surrounding plains.
While the 5199 meter summit is a difficult technical climb, the lesser peak of Point Lenana (4985m) can be easily reached by any fit trekker. This trek takes between 3 and 5 days, through a fascinating world of forests, wildlife, and unique montane vegetation including pod carpus and groundsel, and finally one of the world’s rarest sights, equatorial snow. Contact us for quotes.
The National Park is very different from all the others. Although many animals live here, (e.g. elephants, buffaloes) you do not see them on game drive (since we don’t have game drives here) but you see them at the water hole by the “Serena Mountain Lodge” where we take our guests. Most animals are seen at night when they come to the waterhole to drink water.
Major Attractions: Pristine wilderness, lakes, tarns, glaciers and peaks of great beauty, geological variety, forest, mineral springs, rare and endangered species of animals, High altitude adapted plains game, Unique montane and alpine vegetation with 11 species of endemic plants.
