Mt. Kenya National Park is located 175 km from Nairobi,located to the east of the Great Rift Valley and was opened to visitors in December 1949. The ecosystem lies in Central and Eastern provinces of Kenya. At 5,199m the mountain is the second highest peak in Africa. Mt. Kenya is an important water tower in the country. It provides water for about 50% of the country’s population and produces 70% of Kenya’s hydroelectric power. second-highest peak in Africa. It is an ancient extinct volcano, during whose period of activity (3.1-2.6 million years ago) it is thought to have risen to 6,500 m. There are 12 remnant glaciers on the mountain, all receding rapidly, and four secondary peaks that sit at the head of the U-shaped glacial valleys.
UNESCO inscribed Mount Kenya as a World Heritage Site. It’s described as one of the most impressive landscapes in Eastern Africa with its rugged glacier-clad summits, Afro-alpine moorlands and diverse forests that illustrate outstanding ecological processes.
A major attraction of the park is the brilliant scenery. Starting with the snow-capped peaks, a rare sightbeautiful-glacier-APS in an equatorial region, this mountain itself is an amazing sight, with lakes, glaciers, mineral springs and the differential habitats. A variety of flora and fauna also attract many a tourist to this park. Amongst the former, podocarpus, giant groundsel, both species of lobelia, romuela keniensis, two terrestrial orchids, orange flowered gladiolus and the crocus like flower make up the unique and rare species. The high altitude heath is strewn with shrubs such as African sage, protea and helichrysum.
A famous activity is climbing the mountain itself. The mountain has three peaks; Point Lenana, (4985m) which can be reached by any reasonably fit person, Nelion (5189m) and Batian (5199m) peaks, which require skilled mountaineers to reach. There are four routes of ascent; the Burguret trail, Sirimon trail, Chogoria and Naro Moru trails, with Chogoria trail being the most scenic of the other trails. A minimum of 5 days is recommended for the climb, 3 days for the ascent and 2 for the descent. This activity is a memorable one and thus a must-do for the adventure seeker.