Climbing Mount Kenya
A Practical Guide to Climbing Mount Kenya.
How to organise a great trekking holiday to Mount Kenya.
Best Advice From Experts on Mount Kenya Climbing Routes,Saftey Measures,Weather & Climbing Gear-What to Take,Getting to Mount Kenya,Guides,Cooks & Porters Mountain Safri Tours Packages.
Trekking, Hiking,Climbing & Walking Adventures With YHA Travel Kenya Tours & Safaris on Mount Kenya Expeditions.
This adventure guide to Mount Kenya is intended as a useful resource for any adventure low budget trekker,hiker or climber planning to climb Mountain Kenya. For those looking to book an organised budget adventure trek with experienced guides along with porters, full support and private transport from Nairobi. YHA-Kenya Travel Tours & Safaris is offering you the expert advice on when to climb, where to start, what you need to pack for the adventure hike, the best scenic routes and recommended packages and best pricing then we can arrange treks along all the routes as you please.
Guide to Climbing Mount Kenya
Explore and climb Mount Kenya with the expert guide service YHA-Kenya Travel Tours and Safaris in Kenya on your Mountain adventure hiking expeditions budget safari holiday while in Kenya.Our budget adventure camping safari packages are well planned and thought to fit your budget, activities are very exciting and innovative and have a real impact on your life memories.
Summer is here it's time to plan an adventure holiday! Maybe an escape to the beautiful places in Kenya like Mount Kenya Climbing,The Masai Mara and the Great Lakes in Rift Valley or even to the beautiful Kenyan beaches? Whatever your desired adventure destination, our expert team of tour advisors would love to book it for you!
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These adventure Mountain trips are designed so well to suit all types of budgets and mode of travel be it Solo, families, independent travellers, groups, small group adventures and travellers of all ages and size. Please choose any of our budget adventure climbing itineraries provided on this site that best suits your interest in any of our adventure budget expedition hiking tour of Mount Kenya. We hope that you will enjoy travelling in and around the Kenya’s most scenic Mountain Kenya to enable you to enjoy, take awesome photos and save on great budget safari travel deals that we offer.
Mount Kenya Overview
Mount Kenya is Africa’s second highest mountain after Kilimanjaro. This extinct volcano is estimated to be 2.5 million years old. Time has taken its toll on the former, reducing the peak from 6500m to 5199 m today, while nature’s untiring eroding agents long ago eroded the crater.
Mount Kenya is located about 200km north of Nairobi within the Mount Kenya National park. The park protected an area of 3200m above sea level was established in 1949 and covers an area of 715 sq. km. The mountain comprises three main zones: - the rocky peak zone, the afro-alpine moorland with its scattering of giant vegetation and the extensive tower slope covered with mountain forest and a bamboo there are over 81plant species. Any fit and a prepared person can reach point Lenana, the so-called trekker’s peak; the summit has the twin peaks of 5199m Batian and Nelion and is considered more technically challenging than the higher Mt Kilimanjaro at 5894m.
Mount Kenya National Park.
Mount Kenya, at an altitude of 5199 [17058ft] is the country's highest mountain, has its higher slope permanently covered in snow and ice, even though it sits astride the equator.
The National park comprises the mountain above the 320m [10,500ft] contour plus two salient astride the Naro Moru and the Sirimon routes.
The mountain consists of three peaks the Batian [the highest] Nelion and Lenana. Of these peaks, the original hard centre core is all that remains; the bulk of the volcano has been eroded away with time.
Highlights of Mount Kenya.
Guide to climbing Mount Kenya Adventures.
Summer is here it's time to plan a holiday! Maybe an escape to the beautiful places in Kenya like Mount Kenya, The Masai Mara and the Great Rift Valley or even to the beautiful Kenya beaches? Whatever your desired destination, our expert team of tour advisors would love to book it for you!
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Fitness, Altitude and Safety on Mount Kenya.
Climbing Mount Kenya is very accessible and therein lies the problem. With a decent level of fitness, it is easy to gain altitude quickly and find yourself the on the night before summiting with a throbbing headache and all the symptoms of acute mountain sickness. Trekking with a good experienced guide, taking a sensible easy pace and keeping hydrated makes all the difference. The best approach is always to allow extra time for your ascent, an extra day at Shipton’s Camp takes all the pressure of the itinerary and gives you time to enjoy the fabulous trekking around the peak. Generally speaking, it isn’t necessary to undergo a gruelling fitness regime prior to attempting Mount Kenya, anyone who is trek fit and is comfortable walking 6-8 hour days should be fine.
Guides, Porters and Cooks.
The trekking crew will usually consist of a guide, cook, porter for the cooking gear plus a personal porter per trekker. It has been said before, but a good experienced guide is so important on Mount Kenya, for two reasons; (1) they will regulate your pace, be able to draw on their experience to diagnose altitude sickness symptoms and have the confidence to make critical decisions and (2) their knowledge of the wildlife and fauna on the mountain will bring the environment alive. All guides and porters must be registered with Kenya Wildlife Services and hold a mountain guide park from Mt Kenya National Park. It is fair to say that all the guides will have a good knowledge of the routes, but only the good guides will have wildlife knowledge and experience of dealing with altitude sickness problems.
Climbing Mount Kenya, Mt Kenya Trekking Routes & Mount Kenya Route Options.
There are 5 main routes to the peak.
The Sirimon:
Sirimon route is the most popular ascent as the altitude gain is nice and steady and it offers one of the most beautiful approaches to the peaks. Allow a minimum of 2 nights to peak when ascending, although we recommend spending an extra night at the last camp (Shipton’s) on the way up.
The Burguret:
If you want to avoid the crowds then Burguret is the best route. You’ll be hacking through the pristine rainforest on this little-used route, overnighting at wilderness campsites. Going up this route is challenging, it is little more than a game track in places, often muddy and rough under foot. Burguret is usually combined with a Chogoria or Sirimon descent. Allow a minimum of 3 nights before peak when ascending.
The Naro Moru:
Naro-Moru is the most popular descent route, fast and easy (at least on the way down!). Naro Moru passes through the notorious vertical bog section which gets much waterlogged in the rainy seasons. The vegetation is at its most striking on this route. It can be descended in one very long day, usually done in two days and one night.
The Chogoria:
If you have more time then choose dramatic Chogoria over Naro Moru for the descent. The Chogoria route passes by tarns, waterfalls and an incredible gorge. Allow two or three days for your descent.
The Timau:
Timau is little used nowadays there is the little forest on this side of the mountain and no facilities, just lots of wide open country.
Weather and When to Go Hiking?
Mount Kenya is a snow-capped Mountain temperature does vary with the season.
Well first things first, although Mount Kenya is on the equator, at an altitude of 4,000m above sea level, it gets freezing at night! You need to be prepared for overnight temperatures well below freezing (a good three or four season sleeping bag is a must). Minus 10 or even minus 20 degrees C are not unheard of at Point Lenana. Otherwise expect plenty of hot overhead sun and rain if you are trekking during the short or long rains.
Kenya has two rainy seasons, the long rains from mid-March to mid-June and the short rains from September to October. Mount Kenya remains trekkable throughout the year, but during the long rains especially, you will need to be prepared for some heavy rainfalls and muddy tracks. The good news is that even in the depth of the long rains, there is usually reliable sunshine for a good portion of the day in the mid-morning and afternoon (10am – 3pm). Outside the rainy season, you can expect plenty of sunshine
How to get to Mount Kenya.
From Nairobi to Mount Kenya is around a three and half hours’ drive. There are well-tarmacked roads all the way to the towns of Naromoru and Nanyuki or Chogoria to the east all at the foot of the mountain, but the last stretch of the road up to the park gates is a rough dirt road that can get almost impassable in the rainy season when a 4wd is essential.
How to organise a trekking trip to Mount Kenya.
It is best to make your trekking expedition a great experience through YHA Kenya travel with a team of expert experienced guides with extensive high altitude experience. Each year trekkers die on Mount Kenya attempting to get to Point Lenana; it is easy to get lost in the cloud cover! If you do want to attempt the trek independently you’ll need to get yourself to the park gates by Mutatu and taxis. The park authorities do not allow trekkers to enter the park alone, so there will need to be two or more. You’ll need to be prepared to bring all your own gear and provisions. Also climbing gear is available for hire.
The biggest challenge you will find is navigation on the mountain. Paths are not clearly marked and cloud cover is common. If you don’t want to hire camping equipment, then there are huts all the way on the Sirimon route. Organise your trek with a reputable safari organisation.
Book a trekking package; if you are short on time, this is the best option. YHA-Kenya Travel pre-arranges trekking trips for Mount Kenya and this includes transport to and from Nairobi. At the cheaper end, this will involve your guide meeting you in Nairobi and travelling with you on a public minibus (matatu) to the mountain. This saves a lot of money, but be prepared for delays and extra costs once you get to the mountain if it is raining as you’ll be forced to sort out a 4wd to get to the park gates. If you pay a little more than your trek will include the transfer in a private vehicle from Nairobi. Your trek crew and equipment will be ready and waiting for you and you at the mountain and you can head straight up.
Pair Mount Kenya climbing with a Wildlife Safari.
It would not go well to visit Kenya to climb Mount Kenya and not explore the country a little bit. Most people will want to combine the trek with a Kenya budget wildlife safari. The nearest parks to Mount Kenya are to the North, These parks are the Meru and Samburu. Both are fantastic parks with arid scenery reminiscent of the Lion.
There is budget safari camping options as well as the usual luxury safari lodges on offer. You can get to Samburu in a couple of hours from Mount Kenya, and if you are short of time three days is sufficient to get a good taste of Samburu and then get back to Nairobi for your next adventure travel activity. If you have more time then you can journey on by road from Mount Kenya to Masai Mara via the Rift Valley great Lakes. Allow around 6 or more days for this adventure extension.
Mount Kenya Trekking, Kilimanjaro Climbing, Hiking & Expeditions
YHA-Kenya Travel offers you the opportunity to sample some of the most exciting climbing mount Kenya adventure activities while in Kenya. Some of which are a very excellent range of short-term budget travellers tour package for travellers looking at trekking mount Kenya, climbing Kilimanjaro in Tanzania or walking in and around Mount Kenya.
Climbing Mount Kenya in Kenya, Mt Kenya Trekking, Hiking Mount Kenya,Adventure Safari Tours Best Budget Packages!
6 Days Mount Kenya Up Sirimon Out Chogoria Best Route to Climb Point Lenana Budget Adventure Safari.
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Climbing Mount Kenya in Kenya, Mount Kenya Trekking & Hiking Adventure Tours
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