Mount Kenya National Park

“Come touch the sky.”

Majestically standing at 5,199m high, Mount Kenya straddles Meru and Nyeri counties, as well as part of Kirinyaga, making it the second-highest peak in Africa. The mountain is an ancient extinct volcano with 12 remnant glaciers that are rapidly receding, and four secondary peaks that sit at the head of the U-shaped glacial valleys.

With its rugged glacier-clad summits and forested middle slopes, this mountain is one of the most impressive landscapes in East Africa. The park hosts approximately 20 lakes and tarns, and three major peaks dot the mountainous scenes. These are Batian (5,199m) and Nelion (5,188m), which are mainly for visitors interested in technical climbing activities, and Point Lenana (4,984m). The scenery and ecological formations surrounding this World Heritage Site are breathtakingly beautiful. The park is also a Biosphere Reserve.

To the Kikuyu tribesmen, Mount Kenya is the home of the Supreme Being, Ngai, a name also used by the Maasai and Kamba communities. In traditional prayers and sacrifices, Ngai is addressed by the Kikuyu as Mwene Nyaga, Possessor of Brightness. The name comes from Kiri-Nyaga, the Kikuyu name for Mount Kenya, meaning Mountain of Brightness – Ngai’s official home, a place to be treated with respect by visitors who come here seeking divine and spiritual nourishment.

Pristine wilderness, lakes, tarns, glaciers, and peaks of great beauty, geological variety, the forest, mineral springs, rare and endangered wildlife species, high altitude adapted game, unique montane and alpine vegetation with 11 species of endemic plants, are a sight. Wildlife includes buffalo, elephants, black and white colobus and Sykes monkeys, rock and tree hyrax, white-tailed mongoose, suni, black-fronted duiker, mole rat, bushbucks, waterbuck, and Elands. Animals rarely seen include leopard, bongo, giant forest hog, Suni antelope, Mount Kenya mole rat, skinks(lizards)montane viper, and a variety of owls. Over 130 bird species have been recorded.

Part of the mountain’s fascination is the variation in flora, including Giant Groundsel and Lobelia, and fauna as the altitude changes. The lower slopes are covered with dry upland forest, the true montane forest begins at 2,000m and is mainly cedar and podo. At 2,500m begins a dense belt of bamboo forest, which merges into the upper forest of smaller trees, interposed with glades. In this area, the trees are covered with high-altitude lichen. The high altitude heath at the top (3,000-3,500m) is generally open and dotted with shrubs; African Sage protea and helichrysum. The peak (above 3,500m) is moorland, with little game other than high-altitude zebra and eland common in the northern moorland.

Visitors can enjoy game viewing, mountain climbing, camping, picnicking, bird watching, scenery, and nature photography.

Altitude: 11,000-17,000FT
Area: 2,800 sq. km
Location: Laikipia County
Gazettement: 1968
Distance from Nairobi: 90 KM.