Trip Reports
This trip report is from Brian Monetti, an NYC based climber who joined Peak Point Tours for a Mount Kenya experience with friends in early 2024.
Day 1
Nairobi
After we collected our luggage, we stepped outside of the terminal and were immediately greeted by Paul, the owner of Peak Point Tours, as well as the driver who will be supporting us through the entire trip. We head directly to the hotel which Paul arranged, one that overlooks Nairobi National Park. After an afternoon nap, we meet Paul for dinner at the rooftop restaurant to go over the plans for the next ten days. We even spot zebras and ostriches in the park below!
Day 2
Safari
Waking up with jetlag is never easy, but an hour later we in a Land Cruiser watching baboons, zebras, rhinos, and giraffe from only a few meters away in Nairobi National Park! Another driver alerts us to a pride of lions, and one is even devouring a cape buffalo! After half a day, we arrive at the Elephant Nursery, and see and learn how the baby elephants are cared for. In the afternoon, we go back to our hotel to pack for Mount Kenya.
Day 3
Start Mt. Kenya
Paul picks us up from the hotel, and after a several hour drive and a lunch at a local restaurant, we arrive in Mount Kenya National Park. An easy two-hour hike brings us and our team to Bandas, a rustic lodge where we spend our first night. Here we meet the support team, including cooks, porters, and assistant guides. The work of this incredible team, from cooking three multi-course meals each day, to carrying the bulk of your equipment, allows us to fully enjoy our experience, and not be burdened by heavy loads or having to spend our time cooking. Just day packs for this trek!
Day 4
Lake Ellis
After a breakfast of local coffee, pancakes, bacon, and eggs prepared by our cook, we head off on a 6km trek through lush forests, checking out the sunbirds and canaries and admiring the size of the elephant footprints on the trail. The support team, carrying our tents, food, and overnight bags, arrive at our campsite just moments after us. After a three-course lunch, we visit a nearby waterfall, then go fishing for trout in Lake Ellis. The two rainbow trout we caught are prepared by the cook as part of our dinner!
Day 5
Gorges Valley
The four-hour hike to Lake Michaelson takes us on a spectacular ridge overlooking the Gorges Valley. We get our clearest views yet of the summits of Mount Kenya, as well as incredible vistas of waterfalls, towering cliffs, and a raging river hundreds of meters below. Once at the lake, we drop our day packs and scramble around the area is called The Temple, a 100m tall cliff composed of massive columns. Dinner tonight includes more freshly caught trout, pasta bolognese, avocado salad, and a desert of banana fritters.
Day 6
Acclimatization
No need to wake up early today! Because we are nearly at 4000 meters in altitude, we are taking an easy day to let our bodies adjust to the thinner air. This acclimatization day is built into the schedule, and could have occurred lower if we needed. Because our group includes several avid rock climbers, we spend the day bouldering and scoping out potential rock climbs on the walls of the Temple for the next trip back.
Day 7
Point Lenana
Nonstop to the top! This big day includes 1000 meters of elevation gain, bringing us right to the summit of Point Lenana, the third highest peak of Mount Kenya. The journey takes us a cross a plateau covered in Dr. Seuss-looking Lobelia plants, and finally to Lenana itself. The climb up Lenana involves scrambling, and appears very complex in terms of route finding, but Paul knows every step of the way. The summit views are spectacular, and we can see for hundreds of miles.
Day 8
Descent
We wake up at the Austrian Hut to the most beautiful sunrise of our lives. Overnight a storm came through and dropped 15cm of fresh snow on the mountain, which made for great views, but thwarted our plans of climbing a technical rock climbing route on Nelion. We’ll be back next year for that though! Rather than sit around for several days waiting for snow to melt, Paul immediately organizes a contingency plan for us, and sets everything up for the next few days. We pack up, and hike out through one of Mount Kenya’s famous “vertical bogs,” which are as picturesque as they are wet!
Day 8 Evening
Nanyuki
After our hike out, we say goodbye to the bulk of our crew, and hop into the van for a short drive to Nanyuki, a nearby town where Paul organized our stay. We check in at a beautiful hotel, shower, and meet back up with Paul for dinner. Rather than eating hotel food, he takes out to a local spot to try Nyama Choma, the Kenyan version of barbecue. The food is absolutely delicious, the live music made for an incredible atmosphere, and we were all far worse at pool than we remembered!
Day 9
Naivasha
The next few days, despite being organized as a contingency plan, ended up being some of the best parts of our entire vacation! Paul set us up to stay in the town of Naivasha, a lakeside town famous for its wildlife and the nearby Hell’s Gate National Park. On our first day we took a boat safari, seeing hippos, gazelle, and giraffe. Paul, an avid birder, helped us find pellicans, kingfishers, sunbirds, and a variety of different weavers.
Days 10 + 11
Hell’s Gate
We didn’t travel all the way to Kenya with rock climbing gear to not use it! We spent the final two days of our trip climbing in Hell’s Gate National Park, a beautiful part of the Rift Valley. These two days included watching giraffes from belays, biking through groups of zebra, hiking to hot springs, and trying to keep hyraxes from snatching our food. Sadly, we had to head back home at the end. Paul joined us all of the way to the airport, and we are already planning the next trip back!
