MOUNT KENYA NATIONAL PARK
Mt. Kenya, formed between two-and-three-million-years-ago by a series of volcanic eruptions is an imposing extinct volcano dominating the landscape of the Kenyan Highlands, East of the Rift Valley. It lies about 140 km North, North-East of Nairobi with its Northern flanks across the Equator. Mount Kenya is 5,199 m. high making it Africa's second highest mountain. It offers easy or challenging ascents with superb scenic beauty. There are two main peaks on Mount Kenya namely; Batian (5200m) and Nelion (5188m). Its 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. Mt. Kenya is unusual in that it can be climbed by most anyone in fit condition. The climate, flora and fauna on Mt. Kenya vary with altitude.
It is the home of the Supreme Being: Ngai, a name also used by the Maasai and Kamba to describe God according to Kikuyu folklore.
The park includes a variety of habitats ranging from higher forest, bamboo, alpine moorlands, glaciers, tarns and glacial morains pristine wilderness, lakes, and peaks of great beauty, geological variety and mineral springs.
It inhabits rare and endangered species of animals in the belts of bamboo forests which merges into the upper forest of smaller trees and these include; black and White Colobus and Sykes Monkeys, bushbuck, buffalo, elephant and lower down Olive Baboon, waterbuck, black rhino, black fronted duikers, leopard, giant forest hog, genet cat, bush pig and hyena. More elusive is the bongo, a rare type of forest antelope. Also, found here are; Sunni Bucks, Mount Kenya Mole Shrews, Skinks (lizard), albino zebras and a variety of owls.