5 Days Mount Kenya Chogoria Naromoru Routes
5 Days Mount Kenya Chogoria Naromoru Routes
5 Days Mount Kenya Chogoria Naromoru Routes
Overview
5-Day Chogoria Route, Naro Moru, Mount Kenya Climbing
MKC 501: Chogoria Route Down Naro Moru route
Distance: 75 km | Difficulty: Demanding | Start/Finish: Nairobi
5-Day Chogoria Route Naro Moru Summary
Pack camping gear and supplies to strike out on the eastern side of the mountain up this long but spectacular approach through the deep chasm of gorge valley. Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions recommends the 5-day Chogoria route as it is the most scenic of all the routes. Hiking on this route allows one to enjoy the remarkable Nithi Falls, Lake Ellis, Lake Michaelson and the Gorges Valley. It is possible to add an extra day at Austrian Hut, top hut giving one and opportunity to acclimatize comfortably thus reducing summit distance and time.
Mount Kenya is characterized by a series of peaks which are naturally crowned with snow, and its slopes are covered with forests. Here you can perform an adventurous activity, as the 5199 meter (17,057 ft) high summit is a difficult technical climb. Mount Kenya presents the perfect destination for the experience. It’s an extinct volcano with some trees half a million years old. Straddling the Equator, the mountain provides a mosaic of woods, moorland, stone, and ice, and is crowned by the glittering twin peaks of Batain (5,199m) and Nelion (5,188m).
Regarded as the sacred home of Ngai, God of the Kikuyu men and women. Mount Kenya is Kenya’s premier mountain, a climbers mecca, as well as the state’s namesake. Mount Kenya is a favorite destination for a vacation. The mountain is located 175km north of Nairobi and readily available from Nanyuki, through the Naro Moru gate or Sirimon gate. Travelers from the Meru and Embu towns can use the Chogoria Gate.
While climbing higher up the Mount Kenya slopes, the countryside is scenic, with a green carpet of tea plantations, coffee shrubs, and macadamia trees. The air is tantalizingly fresh with crystal clear rivers running in the slopes, cold water gushing out of the woods, skirting the farms and down into the plains. High above the tea farms, the woods line to create the skyline and act as mega-sponges, providing the fresh water and also eye-catching waterfalls.
The 5-day Chogoria route is reported to be the most scenic path to the peaks together magnificent waterfalls along the way. Descent is via Naro Moru route through Mackinders Valley and the scenic but treacherous Vertical bog.