Seat of the Gods Mt Kenya Trip

Snow on the Equator!

Mt Kenya is a key member on Ol Gaboli Camp expedition team. If we’re not trekking across its remarkable landscape, we’re hiking, paddling, cycling or climbing on the vast plains that sprawl beneath its distinctive outline.

Thrusting 5,199 metres above the equator, its gleaming snow-licked summits, rise past glacier sculptured valleys and alpine moorland riddled with clear tarns and trout-filled streams. Elephant, giraffe and eland roam its lower slopes, while the stunning vegetation - giant lobelias appear like spiky pokers – have made it a UNESCO Bioshpere Reserve. Small wonder it was deified by the local Kikuyu people, whose doors always faced what they believed was the seat of the god Ghai.

Forced onto the earth by volcanic eruptions around 3 million years ago, it original 7,000-metres has been eroded by glaciers. But it’s still a massive, spectacular challenge for any of our trips with thickly forested foothills growing out of the Central Highlands and rocketing up to Batian and Nelion peaks.

There are popular trails, but as with all Rift Valley Adventures’ programmes, we don’t do mainstream. Years of local knowledge and experience have allowed us to map our own routes, well away from run down mountain huts, trail litter and other climbers. And it’s in this solitude that Mount Kenya really begins to shine, climaxing in a sunrise summit with some of the most memorable views on the continent.

Kenya V Kilimanjaro

It’s a heavyweight duel between the two tallest mountains in Africa. Kilimanjaro just across the border in Tanzania, narrowly wins the height contest at 5,896. But for hiking, we think it’s Kenya that’s the undisputed champion!
Why? Well Kili is younger, has suffered less erosion, leaving it with walking routes restricted to long scree paths up the mountain. By contrast, Kenya's a maize of severely eroded valleys, streams and changing eco zones, dotted with unique flora and fauna. If they were the same height, we don’t think many hikers would choose Kili.
And there’s one final factor: Kili is very closely controlled by the Tanzanian Parks Authority, limiting trekkers to three or four main tourist routes – and that includes the busy ‘Coca Cola Trails’ where you’ll see scores of other walkers. But climbing Mt Kenya’s less obvious routes, with our guides’ encyclopaedic local knowledge, is a very different experience.

Hike to the Heavens

Our five-day expedition up Mt Kenya’s Rift Valley Adventures (RVA) Route mixes life-enhancing exercise with some of the purest air and best views on earth.  Don't forget to add on the two days to get here and back!  This is becomes a seven day trip.

The rarely used RVA route, on the north side of the mountain, has been mapped by the Rift Valley team for clients who want to escape the huts and other climbers. It meanders through pristine forest and alpine health land, past wonderful plant life, with a final section through open country without a path in sight. Maps, compass and most importantly, a knowledgeable guide, are crucial. We sleep in tents, pitched by the side of silvery streams - trout supper will never be fresher!

If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the guides. This is one adventure you really should try and squeeze into your itinerary.  The 2,335 metre ascent over 45 km to Point Lenana – near the Gregory and Lewis glaciers – passes lush forest, mountain grasslands and hidden caves before a final, unforgettable early morning start to catch a sunrise over the African equator. Traffic jams and the madness of modern life will never seem further away.

Day 1: Nairobi Pickup and prepare for Mt. Kenya Ascent

Morning pickup in Nairobi and transfer to Nanyuki to recover form your flight. The day is at your leisure and to acclimatise to the altitude.  In the evening route planning and checking gear.

Day 2: Wangu to West Marania Roadhead

Length: 7km
Time:4 hours
Ascent: 500m

This route firstly takes us up through beautiful section of Pencil Cedar and Podocarpus tree forest, before pushing out onto heath land where we may well spot one of the areas elephants – African climbing and trekking really is different from any other continent!
We’re starting off deliberately slowly to acclimatise to the altitude and avoid sickness. Looking south from the final stop you’ll see the highest peaks of Batian and Nelion, just to the right of Terere and Sendeo – it’s easy to confuse them on cloudy days.

Day 3: West Marania Roadhead to Majors Camp

Length: 14km
Time: 9 hours
Ascent: 800m

A long day takes us to the base of the volcanic plug that makes up the rocky peaks of Batian, Nelion and Point Lenana. As we trek higher, the vegetation changes to alpine moorland grass with small flowering plants and the remarkable giant lobelias and senecios. We’ll pass Shiptons Caves, a former hangout of the Mau Mau in their rebellion against white settlers in the 1950s. If we’re lucky today’s wildlife ‘spot’ may be a leopard – they’ve been observed up to 4,500m!

Day 4: Majors Camp to Shiptons Camp

Length: 11km
Time: 8 hours
Ascent: 325m
Descent: 225m

Camera at the ready! Today has superb views of the peaks and hyrax posing on the rocks - grizzled mountaineering veterans claim the Summit Circuit Path is some of the finest trekking in East Africa. Try to get a good, strength-reviving sleep, tomorrow’s our assault on Point Lenana.

Day 5: Shiptons Camp to Pt Lenana to Old Moses Camp

Length: 18km
Time: 11 hours
Ascent: 785m
Descent: 1935m

A dark 3am start puts us back onto the Summit Circuit Path, enveloped by tarns, glaciers, ice carved rock and seriously steep valleys. Our target is Pt Lenana for a spectacular sunrise celebration with astounding views. West across the Lewis glacier the main face of Nelion glows orange in the dawn sun with the Abedare Ranges in the distance, while the sheer cliffs of The Temple lie to the north and, possibly, on a very clear day! Mt Kilimanjaro, 300km to the south. After a triumphant cup of tea next to the large metal cross with its Latin inscription – a gift from the pope in the 1930s – we descend to Old Moses Camp – nearly back.

Day 6: Old Moses Camp to Sirimon Park Gate

Length: 10km
Time: 3 hours
Descent: 500m

Going down! Descent is via the western side of Mt Kenya on the popular Sirimon route. We drop through stunning river valleys to the Sirimon Park Gate enveloped in forest. Now it’s back to Nanyuki Hotel for a well earned rest.

Day 7: Transfer to Nairobi

After a nights rest the group is transferred back to Nairobi by our vehicles.

*Option to extend to Ol Gaboli Community Lodge for safari.