Mount Kenya National Park for a Kenya Safari.
Mount Kenya National Park is found in Kenya; it is the second-highest mountain in Africa after Mt Kilimanjaro. It’s nicknamed “Come touch the sky”. The 5,199-metre-high peak was established as a protected area in 1949.
The protected area covers 715 square metres, that cover the mountain of Kenya and the wildlife alongside the forest reserve in the area. The different vegetation zoning acts as a great habitat for the wildlife, especially the animals and birds.
The mountain acts as the source of water catchment for the park that comes from the melting glaciers and the mineral springs. The park is home to rare and endangered species. The high altitude is adapted by the plains game and the vegetation, like alpine vegetation. The guests enjoy hiking the mountain, camping and caving with the rugged glacier at the mountain.
The park was initially a forest reserve before it was declared a national park that covered Mt Kenya and the forest reserve. Later in 1978, the whole area was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, just a year after it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1977. The park was gazetted by the Government of Kenya mainly because they wanted to preserve the natural scenic views of the area, conserve the biodiversity of the park and, most importantly, protect the water source, which was very valuable to the locals in the surrounding area.
Accessing Mount Kenya National Park
Getting to Mount Kenya National Park is very easy using road transport, covering only 175 kilometres from the city of Nairobi. There are many public taxis or shuttles that head daily to the Mt Kenya area using the Nanyuki-Isiolo Road. One can pass the Sirimon Track or the Nyeri-Nanyuki Road, which passes through Naro Moru.
One can also reach the park via Chogoria on Embu-Meru, which is 150 kilometres north of the capital city, Nairobi. You can arrange pickup from your hotel in Nairobi by a private tour operator driver guide. If it’s arranged by the local operators, it will be easy for you, though it’s costly, but it has many more advantages for the guest, with safety and on-time arrival. One has to note that there are mostly three roads that are highly recommended to use if one wants to successfully reach the park well or be dropped close to the park gates if using public means.
If using the public means, it costs from 500 Kenyan shillings to 800 Kenyan shillings, which drops you off on the main road. One has to hire a special taxi to take you now to the park gates at a cost of 2000 to 8000 Kenyan shillings, depending on the distance you have been left by the first taxi. There are four gates in Mount Kenya National Park, which include Kamweti Gate, Marania Gate, Burguret Gate and Themwe Gate.
The park can also be accessed by domestic flights, which drop you at the closest airstrip to the park, called Nanyuki airstrip. Your driver guide will wait and meet you at the airstrip and transfer you to the park gate for clearing, and then start the hike of the day. It’s recommended to hike for 3 to 4 days, depending on your physical fitness.
Vegetation of Mount Kenya National Park
The vegetation of Mount Kenya National Park is diverse due to the differences in altitude, hence the changes in the vegetation zoning in the park. The flora of the park is divided into different vegetation zones that keep changing as the altitude changes. Each zone is dominated by different plants as per the adaptation capacity of the plant to the altitude. It’s unique at the mountain that most of the plant species bear the local Kikuyu and Embu names, with English names.
The weather in the park is wet, which comes from the Indian Ocean from the east to the southeast. The slopes which receive high amounts of rainfall are covered by thick bamboo vegetation, while the surroundings of the park, which are relatively flat, are covered by open savannahs and receive little rainfall. The open savannah land is now turned into agricultural land by the local Kikuyu. The vegetation zoning ranges from the open savannah grassland to the montane forest to the bamboo and the Afro-alpine zone.
Arrangement of the vegetation zoning in Mt Kenya
Cultivated Zone: This is covered by the open savannah grassland, though it has been turned into agricultural land by the Kikuyu.
Montane Forest
After the grassland, as one rises to 2000 metres, you meet the montane forest, which is dominated by Ocotea usambarensis.
Bamboo Zone
This is found in the middle of the mountain, covered by bamboo forests, and is a restricted area that receives high rainfall.
Timberline Forest
Found at around 3000 to 3500 metres above sea level, it’s dominated by African rosewood.
Heathland and Chaparral
This is found between 3200 and 3800 metres above sea level. It mostly occupies the wettest part of the mountain, while the chaparral is found in the drier areas of the mountain. The dominant plant in heathland is Erica, while in chaparral it’s African sage.
Afro-alpine Zone
This is the second-to-last vegetation zone on the mountain and starts from 3500 metres above sea level to 4500 metres. It’s dominated by two giant species; those are Dendrosenecio keniensis and Dendrosenecio keniodendron.
Finally, the Nival zone
Which is the last zone with a glacier; it’s above 4500 metres.
Attractions of Mount Kenya National Park
Wildlife
Mount Kenya National Park is home to more wildlife, including the big African forest elephants, Cape buffalo, monkeys, leopards, dik-diks, forest hogs and many others. The park has over 130 bird species, mostly forest bird species.
Mt Kenya
The second-highest mountain in Africa is the key attraction at the park. Covering almost half of the park is the mountain. The mountain can be climbed in 3 to 5 days, but is mostly completed by the technical team to the peak.
Activities in Mount Kenya National Park
The park is home to several interesting activities that make the guests’ trip to Africa more memorable. The true wilderness of Africa is experienced when one enjoys a Kenya safari to Mount Kenya National Park.
The name of the park overshadows many, making them think that it’s only hiking which is done at this park, which is wrong. Several activities can be done in the park, as I highlight in this article.
Hiking
This is the key activity done in Mount Kenya National Park; the mountain has 7 different routes. Of the 7 routes, Naro Moru is the easiest and the most popular of all. Other routes include Sirimon, Chogoria, Batian, Nelion, Timau and Burguret.
Game viewing
The park is famous for the mountain, but it is also home to wildlife, especially mammals like forest elephants, buffalo and others. The guests enjoy game viewing on the safari vans. On a lucky day, they can see the leopards and forest hogs.
Birding
The park is home to over 130 species of birds, with most of them being forest bird species and a few open savannah bird species. Birding can be done throughout the year, though it is best done during the rainy season when the birds are nesting and breeding.
Scenic views
Enjoy the sightseeing and the scenic views of the mountain, especially for the trekkers, not hikers, who cannot reach the summit of the mountain. The cave visit is also done at the park, which is a great experience. Mount Kenya National Park is dominated by the second-highest mountain in Africa and provides a scenic view just a few metres away from the Equator. Visiting Ngai, the old god of the Kikuyu. To date, the locals keep their doors open and face the mountain, as they believe they get blessings. The Kikuyu go to the slopes of the mountain for prayers and other cultural rituals.
Conclusion
Mount Kenya is a national park that draws many people in for its natural environment, adventure, and unique, diverse biosphere of Kenya. It has amazing views with terrain that varies from lush green forests to alpine meadows to glaciers to rocky peaks. There are lots of activities to do here, including hiking, wildlife viewing, and mountaineering. Whether you are trying to summit Mount Kenya, enjoy some of the best views you will ever see, or get lost in the flora and fauna of the park.
