MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK

Area: 715 Km².
Location: 193km north-east of Nairobi, approx. 3.5 hrs.
Mount Kenya is the sacred mountain of the Kikuyu people where their god Ngai is believed to live. It is a giant extinct volcano whose ridges have been worn down leaving only the central peaks. Mount Kenya is the second highest mountain in Africa (17, 058 feet) and the only spot in the world where snow is found on the Equator. The National Park contrasts warm savannah with glaciers and snowstorms, and it is also one of only a small number of great mountains whose summit can be reached by non-climbers. The park protects and preserves large sections of mountain forest and bamboo thickets with their varied wildlife, alpine moorlands, glaciers, tarns and glacial moraines.

Wildlife rhythms: Large mammals move to higher altitudes during dry seasons (January to March and July to October). High altitude birds may move to lower elevations during rains (March to June and October to December).

Wildlife highlights: Colourful wildflowers, and giant groundsels and lobelias are among at least 10 endemic plants of alpine meadows. Dense forests and bamboo shelter elephants, buffaloes and black rhinos; larger herbivores such as plains zebras and common elands graze as high as alpine meadows; bushbucks and defassa waterbucks are common in forests; and leopards reach the lofty passes. Sykes' monkeys (a local race of blue monkey), black-and-white colobus and tree hyraxes live in forests, where common birds include Hart-laub's turacos, white-headed wood-hoopoes and red-fronted parrots; high altitude birds are an attraction.

What to do: Various walking trails to summits, equator experiment.

Watching tips: Earth mounds produced by Ruppell's root-rat endemic to Mt. Kenya, can be seen in the Hinde Valley. Mackinder's eagle is common in the Teleki Valley. Leopards are the most common predator and have been seen even near the summit of Point Lenana. Spotted hyenas travel far up the Teleki Valley, cheetahs are occasionally seen on the Timau and Sirimon Trails, and lions hunt high on the Naro Moru Route.

Alternative interests: Mountain climbing. Mountaineers come from all over the world to climb Mount Kenya. To reach the twin summits of Batian (17,058 feet) and Nelion (17,022 feet) requires professional climbing experience, but anyone in quest of adventure and an interest in one of the most extraordinary eco-systems on the continent will love climbing the easiest peak - Lenana. Walking to the top of Lenana (16,355 feet) is higher than scaling Mont Blanc in the Swiss Alps. Lenana can be 'conquered' in three days and the trek up through mountain forests and across the high moorland is rewarding for any adventurer. From Lenana the views of the numerous glaciers, lakes and tarns and encounters with the giant vegetation of the mountain are awe-inspiring.