YHA Kenya Travel Tours & Safaris

                   Highlights of Mount Kenya 

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                          Guide to climbing Mount Kenya

Summer is here it's time to plan a holiday! Maybe an escape to the beautiful places in Kenya like Mount Kenya, The Masai Mara, and the Great Rift Valley or even to the beautiful Kenya beaches? Whatever your desired destination, our expert team of tour advisors would love to book it for you!
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Fitness, Altitude and Safety on Mount Kenya

Climbing Mount Kenya is very accessible and therein lies the problem. With a decent level of fitness, it is easy to gain altitude quickly and find yourself the on the night before summiting with a throbbing headache and all the symptoms of acute mountain sickness. Trekking with a good experienced guide, taking a sensible easy pace and keeping hydrated makes all the difference. The best approach is always to allow extra time for your ascent, an extra day at Shipton’s Camp takes all the pressure of the itinerary and gives you time to enjoy the fabulous trekking around the peak. Generally speaking, it isn’t necessary to undergo a grueling fitness regime prior to attempting Mount Kenya, anyone who is trek fit, and is comfortable walking 6-8 hour days should be fine
Guides, Porters, and Cooks

The trekking crew will usually consist of a guide, cook, porter for the cooking gear plus a personal porter per trekker. It has been said before, but a good experienced guide is so important on Mount Kenya, for two reasons; (1) they will regulate your pace, be able to draw on their experience to diagnose altitude sickness symptoms and have the confidence to make critical decisions and (2) their knowledge of the wildlife and fauna on the mountain will bring the environment alive. All guides and porters must be registered with Kenya Wildlife Services and hold a mountain guide park from Mt Kenya National Park. It is fair to say that all the guides will have a good knowledge of the routes, but only the good guides will have wildlife knowledge and experience of dealing with altitude sickness problems

                            Weather and When to Go Hiking?
Mount Kenya is a snow-capped Mountain temperature do vary.
Well first things first, although Mount Kenya is on the equator, at an altitude of 4,000m it gets freezing at night! You need to be prepared for overnight temperatures well below freezing (a good three/four season sleeping bag is a must). Minus 10 or even minus 20 degrees C are not unheard of at Point Lenana. Otherwise expect plenty of hot overhead sun and rain if you are trekking during the short or long rains.
Kenya has two rainy seasons, the long rains from mid-March to mid-June and the short rains from September to October. Mount Kenya remains trekkable throughout the year, but during the long rains especially, you will need to be prepared for some heavy rainfalls and muddy tracks. The good news is that even in the depth of the long rains, there is usually reliable sunshine for a good portion of the day in the mid-morning and afternoon (10am – 3pm). Outside the rainy season, you can expect plenty of sunshine

                        How to get to Mount Kenya
From Nairobi to Mount Kenya is around a 3 and half hours drive. There are well-tarmacked roads all the way to the towns of Naromoru and Nanyuki or Chogoria to the east all at the foot of the mountain, but the last stretch of the road up to the park gates is a rough dirt road that can get almost impassable in the rainy season when a 4wd is essential.
How to organize a trekking trip to Mount Kenya
It is best to make your trekking expedition a great experience through YHA Kenya travel with a team of expert  experienced guides with extensive high altitude experience. Each year trekkers die on Mount Kenya attempting to get to Point Lenana, it is easy to get lost in the cloud cover! If you do want to attempt the trek independently you’ll need to get yourself to the park gates by Mutatu and taxis. The park authorities do not allow trekkers to enter the park alone, so there will need to be two or more. You’ll need to be prepared to bring all your own gear and provisions. Also climbing gear is available for hire.
The biggest challenge you will find is navigation on the mountain. Paths are not clearly marked and cloud cover is common. If you don’t want to hire camping equipment, then there are huts all the way on the Sirimon route. Organize your trek with a reputable safari organization. 
Book a trekking package; if you are short on time, this is the best option. YHA-Kenya Travel pre-arranges trekking trips for Mount Kenya and this includes transport to and from Nairobi. At the cheaper end, this will involve your guide meeting you in Nairobi and traveling with you on a public minibus (matatu) to the mountain. This saves a lot of money but be prepared for delays and extra costs once you get to the mountain if it is raining as you’ll be forced to sort out a 4wd to get to the park gates. If you pay a little more than your trek will include a transfer in a private vehicle from Nairobi. Your trek crew and equipment will be ready and waiting for you and you at the mountain and you can head straight up.