Mount Kenya National Park

Mount Kenya National Park protects the second-highest mountain in Africa, an ancient stratovolcano rising to 5,199 metres at its twin technical summits Batian and Nelion. The third peak, Point Lenana at 4,985 metres, is the popular hiking summit and can be reached without climbing equipment by trekkers with good acclimatisation. The park covers 715 square kilometres of moorland, alpine zone, and montane forest above 3,200 metres, while a wider UNESCO biosphere reserve extends below. The mountain hosts a remarkable range of plant life including giant lobelia and groundsel, and its forests shelter elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and the rare bongo antelope. The most popular routes to Point Lenana — Sirimon, Chogoria, and Naro Moru — can be combined into spectacular traverse itineraries that pass alpine tarns, glacial moraines, and the dramatic vertical Gorges Valley. Mount Kenya was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 for its outstanding biological and geological values.