Mount Kenya National Park – Kenya
Mount Kenya National Park is an imposing extinct volcano that rises from the thick forests to the spectacular pointed peak and stands at 5199m; the tropical ice forms a series of glaciers and screed around the summit. Mt. Kenya lies about 140 km North, North-East of Nairobi with its Northern flanks across the Equator.
The mountain has two main snow-covered peaks rising up as, Batian (5199m) and Nelion (5188m). The mountains slopes are cloaked in bamboo forest and moorland which gives way on high central peaks to rock, ice – snow.
Mt. Kenya is a water catchment’s area, supplying Lake Tana and Northern Ewaso Ngiro Eco-systems. The park, which was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1997 and is also a Biosphere Reserve, covers 715 kms and includes the Peaks consisting of all the ground above 3200m with two small salient extending lower down to 2450m along the Sirimon and Naro Moru tracks. Surrounding the park is Mount Kenya National Reserve with an area of approximately 2.095 kms.
Species: The Park has a variety of habitats ranging from higher forest bamboo, alpine moorlands, glaciers, tarns and glacial moraines. Mammals that can be found here include elephant, buffalo, black rhino and waterbuck.
Mount Kenya is home to fascinating high-altitude of alpine vegetation including giant groundsels and lobelias. Other interesting not to miss is on the lower-altitude forest zone, one will encounter with large habitats of elephants and buffalo. Lions, leopard, rock hyrax, and various antelope species are often seen the park.
Activities: Mountain climbing/ trekking and game viewing are common here. There are at least seven routes up to the mountain that one can choose to, the easiest being the Naro Moru (one requires four days to complete a round trip), then the Sirimon, Chogoria, and the Summit Circuit path.
Point Lenana (4.895m), the third peak, can easily be access by all trekkers who choose to take this route. The longest trek can last one week to about ten days. The best period to hike Mount Kenya is from mid January to February and from late August to September, when the season is dry.
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