Mount Kenya Trek to Point Lenana 5 Day Adventure

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Mount Kenya: Nairobi to Naro Moru Park Gate Met Station (1,800m - 2,400m - 3,050m)
1 stop
1
Mount Kenya National Park
Collected in Nairobi for a private transfer to Naro Moru Park Gate (2,400m / 3.5 hour drive) where we'll meet our Guide, Chef and Porters and register in to Mount Kenya National Park. After a picnic lunch we trek up along the track through the forests of bamboo and hardwood trees which leads to our first camp at Met Station (3,050m), located close to the edge of the forest where buffalo often come out overnight to graze. Expect to see the likes of bushbuck and zebra around the Park Gate and various monkey on the trek to Met Station and at the camp, including the black and white colobus and the blue monkey (3-4 hour trek / 10kms).
4 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 2
Mount Kenya: Met Station to Mackinders Camp (3,050m - 4,200m)
1 stop
2
Mount Kenya National Park
From Met Station (3,050m) we follow the track through the last of the Hagenia forest and out on to the more open heathland where there are beautiful views back over the treetops and down to the open plains behind us. The heath and moorland continues as we trek past Giant Cabbage Groundsel and Giant Lobelia Deckenii making our way up through the over-dramatically named ‘Vertical Bog’ to the outcrop known as picnic rocks where we’ll stop for lunch here. From picnic rocks we'll trek to the edge of the Teleki Valley and trek between Giant Tree Groundsel and Ostrich Plume Lobelia until we reach the valley floor where we cross a river and follow it on a gentle approach to our next camp at MacKinders Camp (4,200m), on an outcrop of moraine (7-8 hour trek / 10km)
8 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 3
Mount Kenya: Acclimatisation hike from Mackinders (4,200m - 4,500m - 4,200m)
1 stop
3
Mount Kenya National Park
Morning day hike from Mackinders Camp (4,200m) to help with our acclimatisation. There are a few possibilities today but a popular option is a trek up to a pair of small lakes called Hut Tarn and Nanyuki Tarn (4,500m), collectively known as two-tarn! From here we get a great view straight across to the south west face of the main summits and the glaciers that hang from it. It is also possible to walk up to the foot of two of these glaciers, the Darwin and the Tyndall, but it is a slightly more difficult route. We'll be back at MacKinders for lunch and for an afternoon of R&R and final preparations for our early morning start to summit Point Lenana for sunrise (2-3 hour trek / 3-5kms depending on acclimatisation trek).
3 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 4
Mount Kenya: Mackinders to Point Lenana summit to Old Moses Camp (4,200m - 4,985m - 3,300m)
1 stop
4
Mount Kenya National Park
Wake at 01.00am for hot drinks & snacks before starting our ascent to Point Lenana (4,985m) via the Austrian Hut (4,790m) on the Naro Moru route. After a short flat section we are onto the frozen screes by torchlight (on clear nights we can use moonlight), climbing up and up to reach the Austrian Hut, our final stop before the summit trek. From the Austrian Hut we follow the ridge, which is initially quite broad but gets narrower the closer we get to the summit. A few short sections require some scrambling but there are steel cables dotted on the summit route and although not really necessary, they can be reassuring. The sun will rise around 06.00am to reveal spectacular panoramic views. On a really clear day you can see Mount Kilimanjaro, like a sky island floating in the mist over 200 miles away. From summit we descend the Sirimon route to Shiptons Camp (4,200m) for brunch and continue down to Old Moses (3,300m) where we'll set up our final camp (13-14 hour trek / 23 kms).
14 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 5
Mount Kenya: Old Moses to Sirimon Park Gate to Nairobi (3,300m - 2,675m - 1,800m)
1 stop
5
Mount Kenya National Park
With the peaks behind us we start the final trek from Old Moses (3,300m) to the Sirimon Park Gate (2,675m) through the hardwood forest. Roughly 15 minutes from the Park Gate we cross the equator, with a big signpost to let you know you are there! (3 hour trek / 9kms) Collected from the Sirimon Park Gate for a private transfer back to Nairobi (4 hour drive) but not before stopping for lunch at the Blueline Hotel in Naro Moru.
1 day • Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
• Travelers should have a high level of physical fitness

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