KENYA EXPERIENCE
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Climbers on the snow below Mount Kenya's peaks

Milima

Milima means the mountains.

Mount Kenya & the highlands

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Lakes & Highlands

Tea, coffee and Africa's second-highest peak.

Kenya's central highlands are the country's green heart: tea estates rolling over the hills around Kericho and Limuru, coffee farms in Nyeri and Kiambu, and above them all the glaciers and spires of Mount Kenya, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a serious trek.

  • Point Lenana trek
  • Tea estate visit in Kericho or Limuru
  • Coffee farm and cupping in Nyeri
  • Aberdare tree-top lodges
  • Standing on the equator at Nanyuki

Mount Kenya & the highlands: at a glance

Best time
January to February and August to September for trekking; tea and coffee visits year-round.
Wildlife
Elephants, buffalo and colobus monkeys in the forest belts; the last two northern white rhinos and chimpanzees at Ol Pejeta.
Weather
Cool and fresh: warm sunny days, cold nights, freezing on the upper mountain. Driest January to February and August to September.
Park fees
Mount Kenya and Aberdare national parks are Kenya Wildlife Service parks, with separate climbing fees. Ol Pejeta is a private conservancy with its own fees. We list every fee on its own line in your quote. Kenya Wildlife Service
Safety
On the mountain, altitude is the main risk: climb with a registered guide and allow time to acclimatise. Otherwise a calm, rural region. U.S. State Department: Kenya
Malaria
Low on the upper slopes above about 2,500 m but present in the lower towns and plains. Ask a travel clinic about your route. CDC Travelers' Health: Kenya
Tea fields rolling over the hills near Kericho

Mount Kenya & the highlands

Experience: Agro-Tourism.

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A climber on the rock of Nelion, Mount Kenya
A cape buffalo looking into the camera
Elephants at a waterhole in the Aberdares
Hands holding a heap of roasted Kenyan coffee beans
Ripe red coffee cherries being picked by hand

Mount Kenya

Point Lenana (4,985 m) is reachable by fit walkers in four to five days through moorland, giant lobelias and tarns. The peaks of Batian and Nelion are for climbers. The Aberdare range to the west hides waterfalls, bamboo forest and the tree-top lodges where elephants gather at night.

Rows of roses inside a greenhouse at a Naivasha flower farm

Tea and coffee country

Kenya is the world's largest exporter of black tea and grows some of its most prized coffee. Estate visits, picking, factory tours and cupping sessions put a face to the cup, and the scenery is the greenest in the country.

A tea picker with a basket among the bushes

Highland towns

Nanyuki sits on the equator at the foot of the mountain; Nyeri is coffee country and the burial place of Baden-Powell; Thika's pineapple fields and Fourteen Falls are an easy day from Nairobi.

A climber on the rock of Nelion, Mount Kenya

Getting there

Two to four hours by road from Nairobi; Nanyuki has a daily flight.

Good to know

  1. Best timeJanuary to February and August to September for trekking; tea and coffee visits year-round.
  2. Getting thereTwo to four hours by road from Nairobi; Nanyuki has a daily flight.
  3. ExperiencesAgro-Tourism, Education & Research, Sports.
  4. ItinerariesHighlands, Lakes & Samburu (14 days).

Your questions

How hard is it to climb Mount Kenya?

Point Lenana at 4,985 m is reachable by fit walkers in four to five days with no technical climbing. The main peaks are for climbers.

Can I visit a tea plantation in Kenya?

Yes. Kericho and Limuru estates run field, factory and tasting visits; Limuru is an easy day from Nairobi.

When is coffee harvest in Kenya?

The main harvest runs October to December with a smaller one in May to July; farm visits and cupping run year-round.

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Experiences in Mount Kenya & the highlands

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