5 days scenic Mount Kenya Trek

Day 1: Nairobi – Sirimon Gate, Hike to Old Moses (225 km, 4 – 5 hours)

Start the day early with a pick-up from your hotel, residence, or from the airport in Nairobi at 7.30am. From the city, we’ll head north towards Mount Kenya, through the countryside where you can get a feel for local life as it passes you by. We’ll stop in Nanyuki town, where you can try some traditional Kenyan tea whilst your guide will finalise your food supplies for the hike that lies ahead. From here, we’ll drive to the Sirimon Gate of Mount Kenya National Park. Here, you will be given a hot lunch whilst your guide settles your park fees and permits. Now, it’s time for your hike to begin. You’ll walk for around two or three hours and head to an elevation of 3,300 metres, trekking through grasslands and ascending with rocky outcrops flanking you. The destination for the day is Old Moses Camp, a collection of wooden huts with beautiful views down the valleys of the mountain. 

Day 2: Old Moses Camp – Shipton Camp

Starting early—at 6.30 am—will guarantee that you’re rested and prepared for the day’s breathtaking vistas and strenuous stroll. In order to provide you with enough fuel for your walk, breakfast will be served at the camp along with hot coffee or tea. You will go up the Sirimon route in the first part of your hike to reach Liki North Valley, which is surrounded by the peaks of Sendeyo and Teleki. As you ascend to 3,990 metres, these parasitic eruptions of the now-extinct volcano provide an excellent photo opportunity.  From this valley you ascend up to MacKinders Valley, offering broad vistas across the mountain range. Here, you will stop for a picnic lunch and the chance to take in the many hills and smaller peaks that dot Mount Kenya. Your cliff-edge lunch will also overlook your target of the hikers’ peak of Mount Kenya. The next three hours will see you hike up Shipton Camp, where you’ll be greeted with a hot cup of coffee prepared by one of crew members who will walk ahead of your party. You can choose to take a short stroll to acclimatise to the altitude before dinner is served at the camp. You’ll spend the night in the camp’s wooden huts at 4,200 metres, where temperatures can dip below ten degrees Celsius!

Day 3: Shipton Camp – Austrian Hut

Enjoy a more relaxed start to the day with a nice breakfast provided at 7.30 am, time to repack your luggage, and hiking with us starting at 9 am. This tour day is all about enjoying the breathtaking scenery, seeing some of the incredible creatures that can be found up here, such as regal raptors, and getting adjusted in preparation for your fourth and final climb. Halfway around the summit, your journey will take you in a clockwise direction. Your walk is steadily uphill, with a climb up Simba Col then a walk next to Simba Tarn before heading to Austrian Hut. You’ve now reached the day’s final destination, and lunch will be served. The rest of the day can be taken at your leisure as you mentally and physically prepare for the ascent to the peak the next day. The next day will be a pre-dawn start, so you’ll be served dinner, and then it’s time to try to calm your excitement and get some rest.

Day 4: Austrian Hut – Lenana Point to Bandas Camp

Awaken before sunset, chow down on tea or coffee and biscuits—we suggest you eat light to keep your digestion nimble at high altitudes. You will embark on your descent up to Alpine section of Mount Kenya, where the vegetation and climate might begin to feel familiar to European guests or those from the northern end of North America. Reaching Point Lenana, at 4,985 metres, should take around one hour, and your arrival will give you plenty of time to be in situ for sunrise. You will be challenged on the ascent; a strong mind as well as body will be needed to get you to the top. As the sun breaks through the darkness, you may be lucky to have a day clear enough to spot Mounts Kilimanjaro and Elgon, as well as the Indian Ocean if you look to your east. After you’ve filled your heart with wonder and your camera with photos, it’s time to descend at a leisurely pace to Mintos Hut, which will take two hours and you’ll be richly rewarded with a cooked breakfast. From here, it’s time to descend further, for the going down is always much easier than the going up. Your day will end when you reach Bandas Camp to rest your well-walked legs as you eat dinner and curl up in the wooden huts.

Day 5: Bandas Camp – Chogoria Gate, to Nairobi (245 km, 4 – 5 hours)

Rounding off your safari hike, you will be served breakfast at 7 am. With little to rush for as you finish the descent of Mount Kenya, you can move at a leisurely pace to get going this morning. The final walk is 10 km and downhill or flat, trekking through forests with chances to spot myriad mammals and birds as you move through the wooded landscape. Our driver will be awaiting your arrival at the mountain base. You’ll be driven the rest of the journey through the park and arrive at the town of Chogoria. Once out of the park, you will be given a chance to bid farewell to the crew who have supported your hike up Mount Kenya and set out back south to Nairobi. During the drive, you will stop at a local town to eat a hot lunch of traditional Kenyan fayre. Arrival in Nairobi should be in the late afternoon, at which point you can request to be dropped off at the airport, your hotel, or your residence, depending on your onward plans.