Africa's second highest mountain, rising to 5,199 metres through forest, bamboo and giant lobelia moorland. Mount Kenya National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site about three hours north of Nairobi.
Established1949
Area715 km²
Drive from Nairobi3.5 hours
Flight45 minutes
Best monthsJanuary to February, August to September
Mount Kenya National Park protects the upper slopes of Africa's second highest mountain. The twin summits, Batian at 5,199 metres and Nelion just below it, are technical climbs. Point Lenana, at 4,985 metres, is the summit most trekkers reach.
The mountain gave the country its name, and on a clear morning you can see it from the plains of Laikipia and from Ol Pejeta, a snow-streaked outline above the rhino country.
What Mount Kenya National Park is for
Giant lobelia, one of the plants that grows only on the high East African mountains
Three kinds of visit, really.
A trek to Point Lenana. Usually four or five days on the Sirimon, Naro Moru or Chogoria routes, with porters and a mountain guide.
A forest day. Walks in the lower forest for colobus, Sykes' monkeys and birds, with the chance of elephant and buffalo on the tracks.
The view. A stay in the Laikipia conservancies, with the mountain as the backdrop to a rhino safari.
When to go
The driest months are January and February, then August and September. These are the best months to trek. The long rains from March to May make the upper routes wet and the forest tracks hard going, and November brings the short rains.
Mount Kenya from the plains of Ol Pejeta, a few hours from the park gates
Nights above 4,000 metres are below freezing in every month.
Getting there
Nanyuki, Naro Moru and Chogoria are the usual starting points. By road they are about three to four hours from Nairobi, much of it on good tarmac. Light aircraft fly to Nanyuki in about 45 minutes.
Combining it with a safari
A black-and-white colobus in the forest on the lower slopes
We do not yet run a fixed Mount Kenya trek. Tell us what you have in mind and we will plan it with a mountain guide.
Background
Why Mount Kenya exists
Gazetted in 1949. What it was created to protect, and what threatens it now.
Mount Kenya National Park was gazetted in 1949, and the mountain and its surrounding forest became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The listing was extended in 2013 to include the Lewa and Ngare Ndare corridor to the north, which lets elephants move between the mountain and the lowlands.
Like the Aberdares, Mount Kenya is one of the country's main water towers. The rivers that rise on its slopes feed the Tana and the Ewaso Ng'iro, and with them a large share of Kenya's farms and hydropower. The park is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service.
Wildlife
What you come to Mount Kenya for
The species this place is genuinely known for, not a big five checklist that would fit any park in Kenya.
01
Black-and-white colobus
Colobus guereza
Common in the lower forest. Listen for the deep croaking call at dawn.
02
African elephant
Loxodonta africana
Forest elephants move up and down the mountain, and use the corridor to Lewa.
03
Cape buffalo
Syncerus caffer
Found in forest glades and on the lower moorland. Treat them with respect on foot.
04
Giant forest hog
Hylochoerus meinertzhageni
The largest wild pig, seen at forest edges early and late in the day.
Kenya's parks are small. Almost everything that decides whether the wildlife survives happens on the land around them, and that land belongs to somebody.
The communities
For the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru peoples who live around it, the mountain is Kirinyaga, and it has long been held sacred. Homesteads were traditionally built with their doors facing the peaks.
The farming towns on its lower slopes, Nyeri, Nanyuki, Meru and Embu among them, grow much of Kenya's tea and coffee.
Curio shops and what to buy
The towns around the mountain are good places to buy coffee and tea straight from the estates, and woven sisal baskets from the local markets. Nanyuki has craft shops run by community groups from the surrounding ranches.
In pictures
Mount Kenya in six frames
Every caption describes the photograph above it.
Batian and Nelion above the moorland on the approach to Point LenanaGiant lobelia, one of the plants that grows only on the high East African mountainsMount Kenya from the plains of Ol Pejeta, a few hours from the park gatesA black-and-white colobus in the forest on the lower slopes
Every safari on this site comes as a printable itinerary with day-by-day detail, what is included, and the price. Send it to whoever you are travelling with. We will add you to a short monthly note on when to travel and what it costs, and nothing else.
01
