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Mount Kenya
National Park, Kenya
Adventure Africa Holidays is a specialist tour operator with
its office headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya but operating
throughout East Africa. We offer Safaris to Mount Kenya National Park, Kenya Mount Kenya National Reserve, Kenya Mount Kenya Park, Mount Kenya Safaris, Mount Kenya Park Kenya.
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Mount Kenya
National Park, Kenya
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Mount Kenya
National Park Background Information:
Mt. Kenya is an imposing extinct volcano dominating
the landscape of the Kenyan Highlands, East of the
Rift Valley. Mt. Kenya lies about 140 km North,
North-East of Nairobi with its Northern flanks across
the Equator. The mountain has two main peaks - Batian
(5200m) and Nelion (5188m). The mountains slopes are
cloaked in forest, bamboo, scrub and moorland giving
way on the high central peaks to rock, ice and snow.
Mt. Kenya is an important water catchment area,
supplying the Tana and Northern Ewaso Ngiro systems.
The Mount Kenya National Park includes a variety of
habitats ranging from higher forest, bamboo, alpine
moorlands, glaciers, tarns and glacial morains.
The park, which was inscribed by UNESCO as a World
Heritage Site in 1997 and is also a Biosphere Reserve,
covers 715 km2, and includes the Peaks consisting of
all the ground above 3200m with two small salients
extending lower down to 2450m along the Sirimon and
Naro Moru tracks. Surrounding the park is Mount Kenya
National Reserve with an area of approximately 2095
km2.
Mount Kenya National Park
Climate:
Climate, flora and fauna on Mt. Kenya varies with
altitude.
How to Get to Mount Kenya
National Park:
Access Roads:
175 kms from Nairobi, the park can be reached on
Nanyuki-Isiolo road via Sirimon Track or Nyeri-Nanyuki
road near Naro Moru. The park is also reachable via
Chogoria on the Embu - Meru road, about 150km north of
Nairobi.
Airstrips:
The closest commercial airstrip to the park is at
Nanyuki.
Mount Kenya National Park
Attractions:
Pristine wilderness, lakes, tarns, glaciers and peaks
of great beauty, geological variety, forest, mineral
springs, rare and endangered species of animals, High
altitude adapted plains game, Unique montane and
alpine vegetation with 11 species of endemic plants.
Mount Kenya National Park
Facilities:
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Huts:
Liki North Hut; Minto's Hut; Austrian Hut; Mackinders
Hut (managed by Naro Moru Lodge); Judmare Hut;
Shiptons Hut (managed by Mountain Rock Hotel).
Bandas:
Sirimon Bandas & Batian Guest House.
Mount Kenya National Park
Lodges:
Mountain Lodge (Serena Hotels) & Rutundu Fishes Lodge
Mount Kenya National Park
Activities:
Mountain climbing, game viewing and sighseeing.
Mount Kenya National Park
Common Vegetation:
This varies with altitude and rainfall, and there is a
rich alpine and sub-alpine flora.
Between 1200m and 1850m, the vegetation is mainly dry
upland forest comprising of Croton associations.
Juniperus procera and Podocarpus spp. are predominant
in the drier parts of the lower zone (below 2,500m),
with rainfall between 875 and 1400mm (Naro Moru and
Sirimon tracks on the western slopes). In wetter areas
(over 2200mm/year) in the south-west and north-east,
Cassipourea malosana predominates.
Higher altitudes (2,500-3,000m with rainfall over
2000mm/year) are dominated by a dense belt of bamboo
Arundinaria alpina on south-eastern slopes, and a
mosaic of bamboo and Podocarpus milanjianus with
bamboo at intermediate elevations (2,600-2,800m), and
Podocarpus at higher and lower elevations
(2,800-3,000m) and (2,500-2,600m).
Towards the west and north of the mountain, bamboo
becomes progressively smaller and less dominant. There
are also areas in zones of maximum rainfall
2,000-3,500m with up to 2,400mm/year, where Hagenia
abyssinica with Hagenia revolutum predominate.
Above 3,000m, cold (low temperatures) become a more
important factor, tree stature declines, and
Podocarpus is replaced by Hypericum spp. A more open
canopy here results in a more developed understorey.
Many of the trees are festooned with mosses. Grassy
glades are common especially on ridges. High altitude
heath between 3,000m and 3,500m is characterised by
shrubs with small leaves like African sage, Protea and
Helicrysum.
The lower alpine or moorland zone (3,400-3,800m) is
characterized by high rainfall, a thick humus layer,
low topographic diversity, and low species richness.
Tussock grasses Festuca pilgeri, and sedges Carex spp.
predominate. Between the tussocks there are Alchemilla
cyclophylla, Alchemilla johnstonii, and Geranium
vagans. Above the 3500m contour is the Afro-alpine
zone, a moorland characterised by tussock grasses,
senecios and lobelias.
The upper alpinezone (3,800-4,500m) is more
topographically diverse, and contains a more varied
flora. Many of the species here are bizarre,
especially the giant rosette plants Lobelia telekii
and Lobelia keniensis, Senecio keniodendron and
Carduus spp.. Senecio brassica is found in both the
lower and upper alpine zone.
There are a variety of grasses on well-drained ground
and along the streams and river banks such as
megaphytic Senecio battescombei and Helichrysum
kilimanjari.
Continuous vegetation stops at about 4,500m although
isolated vascular plants have been found at over
5,000m. There are 13 species endemic to Mount Kenya
listed in Hedberg, (1951).
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Source: Kenya Wildlife Service.
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