mt kenya national park

Go on a 1 day Mt Kenya climbing trip from Nairobi and climb this mountain in a day. Learn how you can go on a 1 day hike to Mt Kenya from Nairobi and enjoy the best views of peak Nelion, Lenana and Batian. This one day hiking tour needs average fitness and the actual ascent is 4hrs and a descent of 1 ½ hours to the gate.

Top 5 Things to See on a Mt Kenya 1 Day Climb from Nairobi

1 Day Mount Kenya climbing trip from Nairobi starts from Nairobi at 5:00am to allow enough time to hike to the observation point at 3800m asl. The main reason to do this tour is to go as close as possible to the peaks and see them up close. The actual hike up and down the mountain takes about 6hrs and you therefore need to get there early.

• View Scenic Road Trip In Rural Kenya
• Hike Through Scenic Mt Kenya Rain Forest
• View Animals In The Mt Kenya Rain Forest Trail
• Bird Watching In The Mt Kenya Forest
• Close Up View Of 3 Peaks Of Mt Kenya

Mt Kenya 1 day trip is a great excursion from Nairobi especially for lovers of active sports. It is one of the most popular adventures from Nairobi which can be done in a full day trip. You however need an average level of fitness to climb the mountain in good time.

1. View Scenic Road Trip of Rural Kenya

The drive to Mt Kenya is full of scenic rural central Kenya life with young kids running to school and people going about their business as early as 6:00am. You will be picked at 5:00am from your Nairobi hotel and start driving north towards central Kenya highlands. There is expansive coffee and tea plantations to view as you drive towards Mt Kenya. It makes for a very scenic view on your drive to Mt Kenya.

2. Hike through Scenic Rain Forest on Mount Kenya

On arrival at the Naro Moru gate, you will go through the park entry procedures, make payment and drive up the mountain up to the road head at meteorological station at 3300m. This is the point where the tarmac road comes up to. From here, you will start he trek through deep rain forest with some of the most scenic and quiet environments. The track winds through the indigenous forest of over 100 year old Podo, mahogany, and oak trees. It then meanders through bamboos before giving way to clear moorland grassland with groundsel, tussocks and other alpine vegetation like giant lobelia. The climb up Mount Kenya is a very scenic hike where you go through different habitats and various types of wildlife.

3. View Animals on the Mt Kenya Hiking Trail

If you are lucky, you will be able to see a few animals along the way as you climb to the open alpine moorland. In the rain forest, you are likely to encounter elephants, giant forest hogs, buffalo, leopards, waterbucks, white tailed mongoose, black fronted duiker, mole rat, bush bucks, elands, Sykes Monkey, suni, Colobus monkey, spotted hyena, Olive baboon, genet cat, bush pig, tree hyrax,bongo, along the hike. These animals mostly keep away from the hiking train and you will only get a glimpse of them from a distant. Your mountain guide is also highly trained on how to detect and evade wildlife that may be along your way as you hike Mt Kenya. It’s an amazing feeling to watch hundreds of elephant herds only 200 feet away from your trail or see the fresh spoor of a leopard.

4. Watch Birds in the Forest and Moorland

Discover Mt Kenya national park rich bird life as you climb the mountain. Mt Kenya is home to more than 54 of the highland biome species of birds including Abbott’s Starling, Lesser Kestrel (a passage migrant on the moorland), Jackson’s widowbird (at up to 3,000 m), Sharpe’s Long claw, Olive Ibis, Lammergeyer, Ayres’s hawk-eagle, African Crowned Eagle, African Grass Owl, Cape Eagle-Owl, Purple-throated Cuckoo-shrike, Long-tailed Widowbird, Abyssinian Owl (very rare and poorly researched), Scarlet-tufted Sunbird, and Kenrick’s Starling which is confined to this area in Kenya. You will see the birds and your mountain guide will be able to point out some of the more common ones. For expert birders, we can arrange for you to be accompanied by a professional bird guide so that you can identify as many birds on Mt Kenya as possible. You may want to carry along some binoculars if you are interested in bird watching on Mt Kenya.

5. Close Up View of Mt Kenya 2 Peaks

Explore Mt Kenya national park peaks in a day trip. The ultimate prize for climbing Mt Kenya in a day hike is to get close enough to view the majestic snow covered peaks Nelion and Batian. You will be able to see these 2 peaks clearly on Naro Moru route at the observation point. You will hike from 3300m at the trail head through the marsh and bog towards the observation point. This is the furthest you can go in a 1-day Mt Kenya hike since you have to take into account the time needed for your descent to the gate. You will have your packed lunch at the observation point and take a few pictures with the peaks in your back ground before heading back down. Your hike up 800m from met station takes you 4 hours and a further one and half hours for your descent back down to the gate. Your will be back at the gate by 3:00pm and drive back to Nairobi with a 6:30pm drop off. Earlier drop off can be arranged in case you have an early evening flight from NBO International airport.

Book your Mt Kenya 1 day hiking trip by contacting Robert for more information, whatsapp us on +254722661827