|
KENYA
MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK
To request a private safari tour of Mount Kenya in Kenya, click here >>> |
|
 |
|
 |
In
the centre of Kenya only 10 miles south of the
equator is a snow-capped mountain. This seems
so unlikely that the German missionary to report
this in 1833 was laughed at. Its existence was
not acknowledged for another sixteen years and
it then took a further fifty years before anyone
climbed to the 16,900 feet (5,199 meter) summit.
Mount
Kenya is considered by the local Kikuyu
people to be the home of the Supreme Being 'Ngai'
- the Possessor of Brightness, and the mountain
is known as Kere Nyaga - Mountain of Brightness.
When Mt Kenya's peak makes an appearance between
the clouds, the sun dazzling off its snowy tip
and jagged peaks certainly gives it a godly
glow. The Kikuyu who live on the slopes always
face their homes towards this sacred peak.
|
| This
mountain is also fascinating because of its variation
in flora with the change in altitude. The lower
slopes are covered with dry forest followed by
montane forest full of cedar trees at about 6,500ft
(2,000m). Then begins a dense belt of bamboo and
short trees in which numerous animals hide. Between
9,750-11,375 feet (3,000-3,500 metres) comes high
altitude health dotted with giant tree heathers
and open moorland grazed by a few acclimatised
zebras and eland.
ANIMALS
& BIRDS
Elephants share the forests
and bamboo belts with black and white colobus
and Sykes monkeys, olive baboons and giant forest
hog. The rare and elusive bongo and suni antelopes
find solitude here, as do black rhino and buffalo.
|
 |
|
SEASONS
Daytime temperatures are pleasant year round and
do not vary considerably, but during the dry season
winter months, the nights get extremely cold.
Rainy Season: April to June -
hot and wet (long rains), November to December
- warm and wet (short rains).
Dry Season: January to March
- hot and dry, July to October - warm and dry
with freezing nights.
MOUNT
KENYA SPECIALITIES
· Hiking, climbing or
mountaineering
· Fabulous scenery
· Unique flora
· Dawn and dusk sightings
of Mt Kenya's peak
FACTS
The park was proclaimed in 1949
It covers an area of 276 miles² (715km²) |
|
Follow
the links below to Kenya's premier wildlife regions and game
reserves
PRIVATE SAFARI LODGES WE RECOMMEND IN THE MOUNT KENYA REGION |
|
Home | Game Reserve Index | Wildlife Checklist | Bird Checklist
|
