Offering you a perfect blend of mountain
ranges and wildlife of a national park is the adventurous
Aberdares Safari. Formerly called 'Nyandarua', Aberdares
National Park was gazetted in 1950. Stretching as far as 160
km, Aberdares hill range runs through the Aberdares National
Park. With a large number of lions, Aberdares National Park
is rightly described as "Scotland with Lions". Located in
the central highlands, Aberdares National Park is the
highest park in Africa.
Aberdares National
Park houses a rich collection of flora and fauna. Have a
look at the rain forests, bamboo jungles apart from watching
different animals in their natural habitats. Jackal, Ant
Bear, Bush Baby, Mongoose, Shrew, Reedbuck, Mole, Leopard,
Hyrax, buffalo are some animals that you can see roaming
during your Aberdares Safari. Bird watching at Aberdares
National Park lets you watch different and some of the
rarest birds like African Black, Eagle, Augur, Bonbon,
Canary, Bee-eater, Dove, Harrier, Heron and so on.
Kenya is located in the eastern part of Africa. It has an
area of about 150,000 square kilometers. It is a very
popular tourist destination and also a hotspot for climbing
and hiking. In the central highlands a couple of hundred
kilometers north of the equator lays Mt.Kenya. It is here,
where the Kikuyu god ngai resides. It is the highest
mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa. It is
one of the few places near the equator on Africa with
permanent glaciers. The name of the country has been known
to have been derived from Mt.Kenya which was formerly known
as Mount Kirinyaga.
The mountain is located 180 kilometers
north of Nairobi and it can often be seen from high-rise
buildings in Nairobi and from Thika. It is an extinct
volcano, which formed a couple of million years ago. The
mountain is located in the Mount Kenya National Park, which
is a designated protected area around the mountain above
3200m altitude. The Kenya Wildlife Service manages the park.
The national park covers an area of 700 square kilometers
and was established in 1949.
Kenya enjoys
an equatorial climate with average annual temperatures of
about 26oC and diurnal temperatures of about 3oC. There are
two rainy seasons on the mountain from April-June and
October-December. The mountain is an important water
catchment area and many rivers such as the Naro Moru emerge
from the melting glaciers.
The first
documented ascent of the mountain was by Halford Mackinders.
At the moment the mountain attracts several thousand
climbers both local and international annually. It is this
popularity, which has contributed to the deterioration of
the environment and the litter accumulation.
At the base and around this mountain are
famous hotels such as the Mount Kenya Safari Club, Outspans,
Naro Moru River Lodge, Treetops, Mountain Lodge, Bantu Lodge
and several others. Tourists who do not wish to climb often
visit the hotels for the view, luxury accommodation, fresh
air and the tranquil atmosphere.
Compared to Mt. Kenya Africa’s highest
mountain Kilimanjaro is a
relatively easy climb and the main summit of Uhuru peak
(5895m) can be
reached by most climbers. The mountain, though the highest
is relatively
a boring climb with not much scenery or change in landscape.
The origin
of the name Kilimanjaro still remains a mystery and is
thought mean a
great hill in Kiswahili. It is also thought that Mount
Kilimanjaro once
belonged to Kenya up until the division of the British
empire in east
Africa when the Queen of England altered the border of the
two nations to
accommodate the mountain onto Tanzania. After that local
history has it
that the presidents of the two nations agreed on a trade;
Mount
Kilimanjaro will be part of Kenya if Kenya hand over Mombasa
to Tanzania
which did not happen as Kenya would loose a strategic port
and its second
largest city.
Though Kilimanjaro is
relatively dry and can be climbed all year round the
main dry climbing season begins from January-February and
June-September.
For climbers with limited time one can easily fly to
Kilimanjaro
International airport from either Nairobi or Dar es salaam
and stay
overnight in Moshi or Arusha town.
The
Mount Kenya Clean Up Mission 1998 was formed in May 98. It
was an idea based on previous attempts by the community to
clean the mountain. Financial backing and funding was done
entirely by local companies. Today the establishment is not
active and the main aim remains to create environmental
awareness and educate climbers on the necessity to conserve
the environment on the mountain