Mount Kenya safaris

Mount Kenya safaris : The second-highest peak in Africa, after Kilimanjaro, is Mount Kenya, located in the eastern Great Rift Valley. Just like Mount  Kilimanjaro, it is a stratovolcano with glaciers on its highest peaks, but as the smaller of the three peaks, only Point Lenana, at 4985 meters (16355 feet), is accessible by hiker, unlike  Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania where hikers can reach its Uhuru peak. Batian which is at 5199 meters (17057 feet), and Nelion at 5188 meters (17021 feet), are the highest summits. These are tough vertical climbs that require Class 5 technical climbing skills. A Class 5 guests with known expertise make particular requests, Kenya tour Safaris offers guided paths to Lenana Peak, which are frequently used as acclimatisation tours before trying the Kilimanjaro climb. However, we advise partnering with specialised rock climbing guides to ascend higher.

Mount Kenya National Park is 175 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, east of the Great Rift Valley by the equator. It can be accessed by air or car via Nanyuki Airstrip. The stunning and magnificent surrounding area was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, covering 715 square kilometres (276 square miles). Mount Kenya is not as well-known as Kilimanjaro as an African mountain destination, but fortunately, it gets fewer visitors, which helps to preserve its untamed atmosphere. Kenya’s two longest rivers, the Tana River and the Ewaso Nyiro, originate from the many glaciers that cascade down the summit’s eroded valleys.

Water flows from the Afro-alpine tundra and moorland, across bands of hardwood, softwood, and bamboo forests, and into the lower slopes’ farmland, home to the Kikuyu people. They believed the mountain to be their god’s residence, a forbidden location to which only infrequently sacrificed pilgrimages were performed. With its dark woods and snowy cap, they said the mountain resembled the unmistakable male ostrich with its black and white feathers. less snow falls each year making the glaciers to melting and are predicted to vanish due to climate change.

Wildlife around  Mount Kenya

Trekking on Mount Kenya offers the chance to see 81 different kinds of flora and animals, such as the rock hyrax, a small relative of the massive elephant, and huge senecios, which are found nowhere else in the world. Here you will find the common duiker,  the groove-toothed rat burrows into the enormous senecios, while the Mount Kenya mole-rat creates mole-hill mounds. The Afro-alpine zone is also home to incredibly elusive leopards. Numerous bird species pollinate the blooms, such as sunbirds, alpine or moorland chats, and starlings, while giant lammergeier and augur buzzards circle overhead. Hiking Mount Kenya, Verreaux’s eagle hunts the hyraxes making it a great birding safari destination in  Kenya.The buffalo, civets, hyena, and shy leopards that live in dense forests can all be found on the lower slopes. Elephants, waterbucks, bushbucks, colobus, and Sykes monkeys can also be found lower down. There are more Kenya Wildlife safari experiences offered at the foothills of Mount Kenya. Several attempts to hike the mountain in the past were unsuccessful due to its challenging rock and ice climbing conditions, ranking among the best in Africa. A ill-prepared group of escaped WWII prisoners failed in their 1943 effort due to malnutrition. Not more than 100 climbers are able to reach the summits of Mount Kenya’s two higher peaks, despite the fact that over 15,000 attempts are done each year. Fewer than half reach the third, lesser peak.

Weather

Seasonal weather patterns are being affected by climate change, but it is still thought to be safest to go on your Mount Kenya trekking trip with Kenya safari tours(view itinerary) during the hot, dry months of January and February; or during the cool months of July to October, when daytime temperatures are warm, ranging from 5 C (41 F) to 77 F (25 C) on the lower slopes and below freezing at higher altitudes. Rain usually occurs towards the end of March, April, May, and into most of June, then again around the end of October, into November, and December. This increases the risk of rock falls and makes ice-climbing dangerous.

The best time for hiking Mount Kenya

While there is a greater likelihood of clear skies for outstanding photography on moonlit evenings when climbing Mount Kenya, the end of December brings with it sweltering heat and heavy humidity on lower slopes. Since central Kenya receives significantly more rain than other parts of the country, expect some showers even during the dry season. Trekking up Mount Kenya is an exciting experience, as you emerge from the dense forest of the lower slopes into the vast alpine moorland with the breathtakingly beautiful spires of giant lobelia, with their scaled or furry flower heads reaching skyward from sheaves of sword-like lower leaves, or the architectural cabbage candelabra forms of monstrous alien Senecio . As you may reach dangerously high altitudes during your mountain tour of Kenya, this is the time to be on the lookout for signs of altitude sickness.

Avoid trying to summit while experiencing altitude sickness symptoms, which can harm even the fittest hikers if they gain altitude too quickly. it is advisable to take your time and spend an extra day acclimatising at about 4000 meters on the upper slopes. The view from Lenana Peak itself breaks through billowing clouds of dense, cotton-wool mist that frequently obscure the higher summits making it truly breathtaking. Witnessing the sunrise from the summit is a very remarkable African safari tour experience.

A safari tour  trip to the highlands of Mount Kenya you will be  offered  skilled and knowledgeable trekking crew that includes a cook, a porter specifically for each trekker, a guide, and an equipment porter. A competent and experienced guide is vital on Mount Kenya as they will shield you from your own excitement, cheer you on, and explain the meaning of everything you see. All guides and porters must be certified, licensed, and knowledgeable about the area environment, wildlife, geological formations, and high altitude sickness prevention and treatment. This requirement is enforced by the Kenyan Wildlife Service.

Facts about Mount Kenya

• Mount Kenya is at an astounding 5199 meters, it is not only the highest mountain in Kenya but also the second-highest in Africa.
• The Mount Kenya’s most recent eruption remain unknown despite its enormous magnitude. No magma displays have ever been observed at its base, leading experts to believe that it has been dormant for some time.
• The UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mount Kenya National Park is hosts to mount kenya, which has drawn Kenya safari tour tourists and photographers from all over the world. This Kenya Wildlife Service-managed park boasts breathtaking vistas of its snow-capped peaks in addition to hosting numerous animals, including the African elephant, tree hyrax, elands, bushbucks, mongoose, duikers, mole rats, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, and colobus monkeys. Africa boasts some of the most breathtaking forest areas including Mount Kenya National Park.
• British explorers summit of Mount Kenya in 1929  marking the first successful ascent of the mountain. This magnificent peak has since been hiked by several climbers, making it one of most visited tour safari in kenya attractions.