Mt. Kenya Climb
An extinct volcano with jagged peaks rising to 5199m, and located at the Equator, Mt. Kenya is Africa's second highest mountain, and its peaks Batian, Nelion, and Lenana are permanently iced with snow and glaciers. The mountain has several distinct ecological zones namely Savannah grasslands, Tropical forest,Bamboo Zone, the heather zone, the bog, the alpine, the snow and glacier zone, and finally the rocky pinnacle. Sirimoni and Chogoria routes avail a blend of breathtaking scenic beauty and a mixture of a fairly hard climb. The natural beauty of these routes is intact as the routes are less traveled. With tips from our experienced guides, anyone who is fit can make it to Point Lenana. We require for Batian and Nelion, which are almost vertical, to work with technical climbing mountaineers.
Day 1: Nairobi - Nanyuki Depart from Nairobi at 9:00am to arrive in Nanyuki via the Equator at 12:00 pm. Lunch will be at the Mountain Rock Hotel. The afternoon is spent sorting out mountain equipment and acclimatizing. Horse riding into Mt. Kenya forest is an optional activity for the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the Mountain Rock Hotel.
Day 2: Old Moses Camp Check out of the lodge at 9:00am and by 4WD truck head for Sirimoni Park gate. You will be guided to Old Moses Camp(2-3 hours hike), good for further acclimatization. Up to the 3300m mark you will go through the tropical rainforest, bamboo jungle, rosewood, and heather zones. On the way you will see some wildlife. Dinner and overnight will be at the Old Moses Camp.
Day 3: Shipton Camp The hike starts at 6:30am. You traverse the mountain vegetation zones and cut across the Mackinder Valley, one of the most scenic valleys. Stop at Shipton's Camp(4200m), where you have your dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Point Lenana You start your journey at 3 am to ensure that you reach Point Lenana(4985m) in time for sunrise so that you can have a clear morning view of Batian and Nelion peaks. On a clear morning you can see Mt. Kilimanjaro in the south. After the Point Lenana descent via Lewis Glaciers you pass through tooth Col and Gorges Valley. This takes about 8 hours. Overnight will be at Meru Lodge
Day 5: Chogoria Descend Leisurely using the scenic and gentle sloping Chogoria trail with lunch enroute. You meet the vehicle at the park gate at about 2pm and return to Nairobi via fertile Kikuyu farmlands with tea, coffee and pineapple plantations. You reach your hotel by 6pm.
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