Our preferential route is Chogoria because of its scenic landscape all the way to the peaks. It is a dry route up the mountain and the walk along the Gorges Valley makes it spectacular.
Going down the Sirimon route takes one through some beautiful pockets of Senecios. In the lower elevations, the bamboo forest and a belt of rain forest completes the South East to North West traverse of the mountain.
Itinerary
Leave Nairobi after breakfast and drive through the rich agricultural countryside to Chogoria trading center for lunch. Meet the supporting crew and we drive up to the edge of the bamboo forest. From here we start our trek through the dense bamboo forest for a distance of 10 km to the Meru Mt Kenya lodge also referred to as Bandas.
An early dinner prepared by our chef is served. A short briefing by our senior guide follows before retiring to bed in the lodge. (2950m)
After breakfast we set off up the mountain at an easy pace for the hike to Lake Ellis. The scenic views of Mugi hill, The Giant Billiards Table and Ithanguni, makes it a memorable day.
With interest, a hike to Mugi hill is recommended for acclimatization. All meals are served in the camp.
After breakfast, we go well off the beaten track to follow a ridge up the mountain for about 4 hours. We then eventually join the tourist track on the normal Chogoria route at an altitude of about 4,100m. There are breathtaking views over the Gorges Valley and back over towards Ithanguni.
Lunch is served en route. We continuing for a further one hour to the Mintos Hut at 4200m.
This is a scenic area, and a 10-minute walk to the "Temple" is well worth the effort.
After breakfast, our trek ascends up along the foot of huge rock walls. Excellent view of Mt. Kenya peaks gives us more energy to keep going. From Tooth Col, we traverse the scree to reach the Austrian Hut (4700m), for a late lunch. Afternoon spent exploring the remaining glaciers. Early dinner is served before retiring to the bed for the night
A predawn assault of Pt Lenana, climbing for 1 hour across bare rock and scree slopes. This is the characteristic of the alpine region up to the summit. After the African sunrise, we descend back to Austrian hut for full breakfast. After breakfast, we take the clockwise path, first to America camp. Then we climb a steep section up to Two Tarns and Nanyuki Tarns. We then pass the Western Terminal and Arthur's seat. We then descend to Oblong and Hausberg Tarns. After a short rest, we ascend to the top of hausberg col. The views behind will give a reason to smile. We descend to Shipton's camp on the Northern side of the peak, at 4200m for dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, we start a 5-hour descent via Mackinder`s valley to Old Moses camp (3,300m). The descent is relatively easy and it offers enough time to enjoy fascinating scenery of the landscape and the Senecios. Picnic lunch is served at the banks of Likii River.
We terminate our beautiful day at Old Moses camp where we break for the night.
Breakfast will be served at 8am. We then descend for 2 hours down to Sirimon Park gate. We then meet our driver for the return journey to Nairobi arriving by 1600 Hrs