Mount Kenya Summit Circuit Route

If you are flying in to Kenya then we can help with airport transfers to Naro Moru, evening arrivals will mean at least one night in Nairobi before transferring up to Naro Moru on the West of Mt Kenya to meet the guides and porters who all live around Naro Moru and can meet you whatever day you arrive. There is plenty to see and do in Nairobi and Naro Moru where we can also help to arrange extra nights accommodation, city tours in Nairobi or day trips and Moving Mountains project visits in Naro Moru, we’re more than happy to discuss all options to ensure your time in Kenya is everything and more than you expected.

Today all the guides and porters will meet us in Naro Moru and we will load up the vehicle(s) for the short 15km drive up to the Naro Moru gate of Mount Kenya National Park. There are often baboons and bushbuck wandering around the area as we sign in and then we head off along the vehicle track through the forests of bamboo and hardwood trees. We will stop for a picnic lunch at a convenient spot before continuing on up to our first camp at Met Station, located close to the edge of the forest where buffalo often come out overnight to graze.

From Met Station we follow the vehicle track a bit further before turning off on a footpath through the Hygenia forest and then out onto the more open heathland. From here you get a fantastic view back over the treetops and down to the plains beyond. The heath and moorland continues and also sports Giant Cabbage Groundsel and Giant Lobelia Deckenii as we make our way up past the over-dramatically named ‘Vertical Bog’ to the outcrop known as picnic rocks, for lunch. From lunch we continue on the moorland for a bit longer before joining the edge of the Teleki Valley and winding between Giant Tree Groundsel and Ostrich Plume Lobelia and then onto grasses in the valley floor as we cross a river and follow it on a gentle approach to our next camp at MacKinders Hut, on an outcrop of moraine.

Morning to relax and after lunch from MacKinders Camp we climb up to Hut Tarn, which sits right on the edge of the upper Teleki Valley and gives a great view across to the main summits and glaciers. Continue past Nanyuki Tarn and towards the Eastern Terminal and on to a slotted pass at Arthur’s Seat before dropping down to Oblong and Hausberg Tarns, past the Kami Tarn and down to Shiptons Camp (4,200m).

MacKinders to Darwin & Tyndall Glaciers is a rewarding walk up the left hand flank of the upper Teleki Valley to the American Camp and on to a deep bowl where the diamond couloir falls to the Darwin Glacier. The rock faces of the main summits tower over us and old ropes from climbing parties hang on some of the sheer faces. Continue up to the Hut Tarn and on to Shiptons Camp.

An interesting day walk from Shiptons Camp to find an elephant skeleton called Icy Mike, the elephant that tried to climb Mt Kenya! From Shiptons Camp we start to descend the MacKinder Valley before contouring around and up towards the peak of Sendeyo where we drop into a wide couloir above the Hinde Valley. From Icy Mike we can either return by the same route or complete a circuit by dropping lower into the Hinde Valley, contouring to the south and then south west for the long climb up to Simba Col and back to Shiptons Camp.

This morning we will be up just after midnight to prepare for our night-time ascent to Point Lenana, it is an exhilarating feeling stepping out into the cold under the starlight and crunching up the frozen scree. We skirt the rocky outcrop above the camp then cross a flat area before joining the scree. We then zig zag our way up and then follow a broad ridge and a steeper slope up over the skyline. Passing the bowl of Harris Tarn we skirt above it and then cross an area of bare rock and a small scramble. If we are ahead of schedule there is a small niche/cave where we can huddle up for a rest. It is then less than half an hour up to the bare summit for sunrise. The sun will rise around 6am and we will drink in its warmth as well as the spectacular view before dropping down by either re-tracing our ascent route or alternatively traversing right over and down the South side past Austrian Hut before turning to the east and down to Hall Tarns for breakfast. After enjoying the amazing views of the cliffs of the Temple and Lake Michaelson we will set off further down the mountain to camp at Lake Ellis.

This morning we set off again downhill. The path can be quite indistinct at first on this less-used trail but we generally follow the line of a watercourse until we hit the 4×4 track that takes us down to the forest boundary. Here we have the option of heading straight down to Meru bandas (cabins) or a diversion around to the beautiful Nithi Falls. Back at the bandas, or just a little after them we’ll meet up with our 4×4’s for the drive back down through the forest to Chogoria town.

Other options include tailor made safari’s, climbs on Kilimanjaro, visits to other Moving Mountains projects and Game Reserves around Mount Kenya or transfers back to Nairobi for city tours.