Mount Kenya Routes, peaks and climbing packages

Mount Kenya hiking, everything you need to know about Mount Kenya, Mt Kenya National park was established in 1949, in 1978 it was made a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The National park and forest reserve later become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The mountain peaks sits across Meru, Nyeri, Embu, Tharaka Nithi and Kirinyaga counties. It is the highest mountain in the land and the second highest in Africa after Kilimanjaro , the highest point is Batian, standing tall at 5,199m, followed by Nelion at 5,188m both of which are technical climbs. Most hikers summit point Lenana, which is 4,985m high, Those are the three major peaks.

Mt Kenya is a volcano mountain created about 3 million years ago, it is said before glaciation it was about 7,000m high, there are approximately 20 tarns and lakes, 11 small glaciers but are slowly disappearing. Some of the lakes are Lake Ellies, Lake Alice and Lake Michaelson.

Why create a National Park in the Mountain?

Well the Government of Kenya had four key reasons for creating a national park in Mt Kenya one was for preserving the natural scenic beauty of the mountain and its environs, conserving the biodiversity, it was also to preserve it as a water catchment for the community and lastly as a tourist attraction. To prevent human wildlife conflict, an electric fence was put up surrounding the park to prevent animals from straying into the communities land.

How to get to Mount Kenya National Park

Mt Kenya is accessible both by road and by air, the most used route is the Sirimon route, the base town is Nanyuki town, by road its about 215Km which takes approximately 3-4 hrs. By air, its approximately 1hr 30min, more or less from Wilson airport. Mount Kenya Hiking from Chogoria side is approximately 265Km, which is 5-6hrs drive, Naromoru is 189Km away from the city, approximately 3- 3hrs 30min from Nairobi.

How many routes does Mt Kenya have to summit?

Mt Kenya has 7 official routes but there’s still room for exploration, the known routes are;

• Naromoru – This is the shortest way to the summit
• Sirimon – The most gentle way up, beginner and child-friendly
• Chogoria – Most beautiful, the blue lakes and amazing gorges are found on this route
• Burguret – This is for the adventurous souls
• Kamweti – A thrilling camping experience in the wild
• Timau – This route requires one to walk for very long distances
• Kihari – Not frequently used

How long does it take to summit Mount Kenya

Well this question has no specific answer, but for most people Mount Kenya can be summitted between 3 days to 5 days for Lenana peak, 5 being the most recommended for acclimatization and traversing the mountain and 7-10 days for the technical climb, more or less depending on weather.

However for the more daring and very fit fellows, they can do it in 2 days or a day dash, some very fit marathoners can do up to 2-3 summits under 24 hrs.

So, apart from hiking does Mount Kenya have anything to offer?

YES!! Mt Kenya has so much to offer apart from hiking, its a great getaway, nature friendly, hikers dream and bird watchers haven.
Some of the things you can do in Mt Kenya include:

• Trekking/ Hiking
• Camping
• Wildlife viewing
• Fishing – you have to have a license for this
• Rock climbing
• Bird watching, Mt Kenya has over 130 known bird species, mind blowing right

Listed above as an activity to do is wildlife viewing, which begs the question, are there wild animals in Mt Kenya? and if yes, which animals are there? Well, there are animals in Mt Kenya, some of them include ;
Waterbucks, Rock hyrax, Bushbucks, Elephants, Tree hyrax, Buffaloes, Baboons, Monkeys, Elands and some hikers have reported to have encountered lions and of course the birds.

When to visit Mount Kenya

Mt Kenya is accessible throughout the year. Different hikers have different preferences, some prefer hiking during the sunny/ dry season late December – March, June – October attributing it to the great views and clear sky, some prefer rainy months April, May and November.

Where to sleep in Mount Kenya when hiking Mount Kenya

The different routes have different accommodation options, for the Sirimon route, from the gate you walk 10Km to Old Moses on day 1, from there you walk 14 Km on day 2 to Shiptons camp, from here you summit and can either go down via the sirimon route, Chogoria or Naromoru routes.

From Naromoru gate, you walk 9Km to Met Station on day 1, day 2 you walk 11km to the Mackinders lodge and summit from here, you can either go down the same way or choose a different route.

Chogoria route is a camping route, but at the gate there are bandas, on day 1 you have several options, you can camp at the gate or sleep in the bandas, or walk 3.5Km to the Special Campsite, or depending on Itinerary and number of days proceed to Lake Ellies/ Road head, 7.5Km from the gate.

Day 2 depends on your day one choice, if you slept at the bandas/ special campsite, then you proceed to Road head, have your lunch and after seeing the waterfall proceed to Lake Ellies for dinner and overnight.
However if you slept on Lake Ellies you walk 11-13km to Mintos/ Lake Michealson, from here you can summit, hike to Austrian hut or camp at Simba Tarn.