Mt Kenya (4,985m)

10
Kenya
5 Days
5B 5L 4D
From$1,189 USD
Mt Kenya (4,985m)
Mt Kenya (4,985m)
Mt Kenya (4,985m)

Hike to the summit of Mt Kenya (4,985m) with the beautiful Chogoria route.

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Itinerary

Day 1: Meet the team and begin the hike

You will be met by your guides in Nairobi at 8am and driven to the remote town of Sagana. Here you'll have some refreshments and receive a briefing from your guides, before continuing to Chogoria and the start of your hike.

You'll enter the Mt. Kenya forest at an altitude of 1,600m, and make your way through dense forest to an altitude of around 2,950m. In the evening, you can relax around the campfire with your evening meal. The local food is amazing!

Please be flexible on day 1. If someone's flight is delayed or there is bad traffic or if the weather on the lower slopes of the Mt are bad. Then we might have s shorter days walk and have to drive further up the mt. We need to be a little flexible.

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Day 2: Lake Ellis

Enjoy breakfast, before packing your bags and setting off on the days hike. Today you are hiking to the remote Lake Ellis at an altitude of 3.400m. You'll leave the woodland behind as the terrain slowly changes into moorland and grass. The remainder of the afternoon is spent relaxing in camp before dinner and another early night.

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Day 3: Gorges Valley

Today you'll walk around Ellis lake and then into the spectacular Gorges Valley. Here you can enjoy a freshly prepared lunch, before continuing for a few more hours in the afternoon to your campsite. From here there is an optional 10-minute walk to the 'temple' - a fantastic viewing point over the valley.

Then it's all about having an early night, before summit day!

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Day 4: Summit Day (4,985m)

Summit day has arrived! You are woken early with a hot drink and a light snack before starting the hike. You'll be hiking with head torches at the start, aiming to summit for sunrise.

After enjoying the incredible summit views, you descend the mountain down the Sirimon route to Shipton's hut. After a short rest and a bite to eat, you'll make the final hike of the day, down the mountain to Judmier.

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Day 5: Hike to the park gate & return to Nairobi

After a relaxed start and a good breakfast, you'll leave camp and walk the final 10km downhill to the park gate. Here you say goodbye to your fantastic team of porters and guides, and then you'll be driven back to Nairobi.

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What's Included

Included
  • Professional guides.
  • Porters.
  • Local transfers (start and end date only, see FAQs).
  • All food and drink.
  • Camping accommodation during the trek.
  • National Park fees.
Not Included
  • International and local flights.
  • Hotel accommodation in Nairobi before or after your trek.
  • Visas.
  • Tips and gratuities.
  • Travel insurance.
Have a question?

If you have any questions about this trip or want to speak with an expert, get in touch.

We're ready to help.

Team Images
Team Images
Team Images

Rated 4.5

10 verified reviews

Katerina
Katerina

(Jan 2025)

Our hiking adventure in Kenya exceeded my expectations! This is a surprisingly beautiful and diverse national park, with lush vegetation, lakes, water streams, waterfalls, breathtaking views and stunning mountain peaks. I really appreciated the quality of the camp equipment, the support from our crew, the delicious food prepared by our cook and Dennis’ patience and positive energy. We all made it successfully to Lenana Peak and then took the long, very long way down to the last campsite. With very few hikers and rewarding sights, Mount Kenya is an absolute must-do!

Julia.
Julia.

(Aug 2024)

The most amazing family adventure! Tough but such a sense of achievement when you reach the summit! John from Savage Wilderness was the best guide - so knowledgeable and informative. His team of porters looked after us brilliantly over the five days - fabulous food and hot water bottles on cold nights! Would definitely recommend this trip.

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Richard
Richard

(Jan 2024)

This really was a trip of a life time. As a group we were so lucky to have such fantastic dry weather for the entire trek which meant we were able to summit Mt Kenya. Our guide John was incredible, he took care of all of us from start to finish and it was a privilege to have him as our guide for this adventure and without his calm and encouraging guidance I don’t think I would have made it to the top. We would not hesitate in recommending this tour.

Lalit
Lalit

(Oct 2023)

The Day 1 description is misleading. It says that "You will be met by your guides in Nairobi at 9am and driven to the remote town of Sagana. Here you'll have some refreshments and receive a briefing from your guides, before continuing to Chogoria and the start of your hike. You'll enter the Mt. Kenya forest at an altitude of 1,600m, and make your way through dense forest to an altitude of around 2,950m. " .The truth is that we start the hike at 2950m and its only 1.5 hr hike on day 1. I compare with my earlier hike on Mount Kilimanjaro and find that the Guide was very negative and did not give enough confidence that he will ensure the safety of the people. My nephew got scared by the negative altitude of the guide John. He would have summitted if John would not have scared him so much. There was no oxymeter with the guide for him to check the oxygen levels. I think this is a must to be done at breakfast and dinner everyday for the guide to know the real situation of the travellers. Food was very good and tasty. We were lucky to have a very good group.

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Dan
Dan

(Oct 2023)

Challenging, but a great, memorable experience. Consistent to my previous trip with Skyhook, everything from the pick up from my hotel on the first day to the final drop off went to plan without any issues. The main guide John was always considerate to the safety and well-being of everyone in the group, and he had great knowledge of the wildlife and local environment. The porters deserve a special mention, with the trip not being possible without them. They presented as hospitable and polite at all times, and it was incredible to see how hard working they all were to make our trip so memorable. THANK YOU

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FAQs

Before you go

Previous hiking and mountain experience is not required. A good level of fitness and the ability to hike 5 days in a row is required. If you lead a relatively active lifestyle, then we would recommend maintaining this.

The fitter you are, the more you will enjoy the hike - we recommend that you start training 2-3 months before the hike, with activities such as jogging, cycling, swimming etc. If you can, we also highly recommend going for a few practice day hikes with a 5kg rucksack on.

- A 4-season sleeping bag with a -15C comfort rating (not the extreme rating). This can be rented @$25
- Sleeping mat: Therma-rest or equivalent. Mats can be rented @$25
- Wool hat
- Waterproof gloves
- Fleece gloves
- Sun hat
- Sunglasses: essential when at altitude
- 3x T-shirts: No cotton.
- Long sleeve baselayer top
- Fleece or soft-shell jacket
- Waterproof jacket and trousers
- Down or Synthetic jacket
- Underwear
- Hiking shorts: one pair of quick-drying shorts
- Long underwear or tights
- Hiking trousers
- 3 pairs of thin socks
- 2 pairs of thick socks
- Hiking boots
- Gaiters (optional)
- Trainers or sandals
- Toiletries (Wet wipes, deodorant, toothbrush, multi-purpose soap etc.)
- Sunscreen and lip balm
- Earplugs
- Personal first aid
- Towel
- Water bottles (At least 2L)
- Water purification tablets
- Walking poles (optional)
- Day Pack (30 - 35L)
- Large Backpack (50 - 65L): this will be carried by the porters, and have everything you don't need during the day
- Dry bags
- Tech: Camera, phone, chargers etc.
- Snacks
- Personal medicine if required (please inform your guide in case of emergency)

You can see the latest NHS advice at https://www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk/destinations/africa/kenya

The maximum group size is 12 people.

Absolutely! We get lots of solo travellers -However, we do need a minimum of two people to guarantee a trip run. If you are booking solo, please check with Skyhook (info@skyhookadventure.com) to see if there is already an existing group you can join.

The minimum age for this trek is 18 years, or 16 years with a parent/guardian.

As of January 2024, all visitors to Kenya are required to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA). Kenya no longer issues visas for visitors.

Apply for the eTA on the website link below (visible after booking). This is also a very new process so changes are also possible, please check the official website.

Be advised that the Kenya eTA is not as simple as other eTAs, for instance, the USA, Australia and NZ;

- The amount of information asked for is more than that required by most countries for the issue of a visa.
- Exact flight and date of entry must be specified, as well as the date of departure, and evidence of this must be attached. So a ticket
must be purchased before application for an eTA.
- There is a charge for the issue of the eTA. The normal fee is USD 34.09, and the express (VIP) service costs about USD 55.00.

WHAT DO I NEED FOR THE APPLICATION?
- Passport information page
- Passport photo or selfie
- International Travel Itinerary/Airline tickets
- Hotel booking, or letter of invitation if not staying at a hotel. (NB Every night of the stay in Kenya must be accounted for here. It must
tie in with the international travel itinerary/flight information provided)

THE GOOD NEWS;
- The eTA application website is much more user-friendly than the previous Visa application website.
- There is no longer a requirement to provide the names and status of parents!
- When you upload your passport info page, your passport details are auto-populated onto the application form.
- There is no longer a limit on the file size or format of documents (ie they no longer need to be only jpeg)
- You can enter Kenya any time in the 3 months after the eTA is approved, and it’s valid for a maximum stay of 3 months.

According to the website; Normal applications will be approved within 9 hours - 3 days, and Express Applications in 24hrs. Note that we have experienced it taking a little longer.

It’s highly recommended you take out personal travel insurance. Travel cover protects you in the case of unforeseen circumstances including cancellations, injuries, equipment loss, flight changes and other events that could negatively impact your trip.

We suggest specialist adventure travel insurers, Rise & Shield. They cover 100s of activities and are easy to deal with if you need to make a claim.

They also cover unique scenarios, like trekking at altitude or emergency evacuation in hard-to-reach places, that ordinary travel insurance doesn’t cover.
On your trip

You may encounter some larger animals such as elephants and buffalo, and your guides will brief you when you arrive on how to stay safe around them.
You may also choose to do a 2-day safari immediately after your Mt Kenya trek.

Mt. Kenya can be hiked all year round, as it is very close to the equator, so it doesn't matter that much when you choose to hike the mountain. The drier seasons however are January - March and June - October, so we recommend picking these months if they work well for you.
Expect temperatures of 25-30 C (77-86 F) at the bottom, and as cold as -20 C (-5 F) on the summit.

Day 1: 3-4hrs, 14km
Day 2: 5-6hrs, 8km
Day 3: 7-8hrs, 9km
Day 4: 14hrs, 23km
Day 5: 2-3hrs, 9km

You will be camping for the entire trip, sharing a 3-person tent (with just 2 people in each). The campsites are in remote areas on the mountain and therefore have limited facilities. You can expect various types of toilets on your trip, including drop toilets (seated) and tented toilets. Warm water is available at the camps.

A single supplement to book your own tent is available at an extra US$50 per person. Please message your Guide after booking to arrange this. You'll pay the extra in cash in country.


Note that accommodation in Nairobi the night before or after your trip is not included. We recommend Holiday Inn (at Two Rivers) or The West Wood.

Day 1: Start - 1900m, End - 2950m
Day 2: Start - 2950m, End - 3400m
Day 3: Start - 3400m, End - 4200m
Day 4: Start - 4200m, Summit - 4200m, End - 3300m
Day 5: Start - 3300m, End - 2000m

Start: You can be collected at 9:15 AM at Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, or 9:00 AM from Nairobi Airport (NBO) on day 1 of your itinerary. If you fly in, please ensure that your flight lands early enough so that you are on time for the pick-up.
Please note that if you are late for the pick-up, you will need to take a private car for around 4 hours to Mount Kenya National Park (this can be arranged for you in advance - please contact us if required).

End: You'll be dropped back off at Nairobi Airport (NBO), or a hotel of your choice in Nairobi, at 6:00 PM on day 5 of the itinerary. Alternatively, you can choose to start a 2-day safari on the last day of your Mt Kenya itinerary. You'll go straight from the bottom of the mountain to your safari, rather than returning back to Nairobi.

If you arrive in Nairobi a day or more before the trip and depart a day or more after the trip then we will collect you from a hotel in Nairobi (Westland's area is best)- Airport transfers are not included if you arrive outside the trip dates.

Yes, you are welcome to leave any extra bags and possessions at our base camp in Sagana. We will give them back to you at the park gate when you get collected after your trek. Note that although the premises is secure, possessions are left at your own risk
Other FAQs

We recommend tipping $100 USD per client.

It is possible to book a flight on the last day of the trip. We can get people to the airport by 5 pm.

Please ensure you book international flights no earlier than 8 pm. If you are flying within Kenya, 6 pm is okay.

If you can't find an early morning arrival flight for the first day of your trip, you can arrive the day before. In this case, you will need to arrange your airport transfer as well as accommodation in Nairobi. We recommend staying at the West Wood or Holiday Inn at Two Rivers.
Your head guide is James

All trips on Skyhook are run by small, hand-picked local guiding companies. For this trip you'll be led by James and the guiding team based in Nairobi.

By booking through Skyhook you'll be joining a small-group trip. This can make it nice and sociable (you'll be added to a group chat after booking), and guarantees great value for money!

James
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