MKC 501: 5 Days Chogoria Route Down Naro Moru routeDistance: 75 km | Difficulty: Demanding | Start/Finish: Nairobi
5-Day Chogoria Route Summary
Pack camping gear and supplies to strike out west up this long but spectacular approach through the deep chasm of gorge valley. Mount Kenya Climbing Expeditions recommends the 5-day Chogoria route as it is the most scenic of all the routes and allowing one to enjoy the remarkable Nithi Falls, Lake Ellis, Lake Michaelson and the Gorges Valley. It is possible to add an extra day at Austrian Hut, top hut giving one and opportunity to acclimatize comfortably thus reducing summit distance and time. Mount Kenya is characterized by a series of peaks which are naturally crowned with snow, and its slopes are covered with forests. Here you can perform an adventurous activity, as the 5199 meter (17,057 ft) high summit is a difficult technical climb. Mount Kenya presents the perfect destination for the experience. It’s an extinct volcano with some trees half a million years old. Straddling the Equator, the mountain provides a mosaic of woods, moorland, stone, and ice, and is crowned by the glittering twin peaks of Batain (5,199m) and Nelion (5,188m). Regarded as the sacred home of Ngai, God of the Kikuyu men and women, Mount Kenya is Kenya’s premier mountain, a climbers mecca, as well as the state’s namesake. Mount Kenya is a favorite destination for a vacation. It is located 175km north of Nairobi and is readily available from Nanyuki, through the Naro Moru gate or Sirimon gate. Travelers from the Meru and Embu towns can use the Chogoria Gate.
While climbing higher up the slopes the countryside is scenic, with a green carpet of tea plantations, coffee shrubs, and macadamia trees. The air is tantalizingly fresh with crystal clear rivers running in the slopes, cold water gushing out of the woods, skirting the farms and down into the plains. High above the tea farms, the woods line to create the skyline and act as mega-sponges, providing the fresh water and also eye-catching waterfalls.
The Chogoria route is reported to be the most scenic path to the peaks together with the noise of the water at each step along the way. Descent is via Naro Moru through Mackinders Valley and the scenic treacherous Vertical bog. 5 Days Chogoria route program and pricing:Day 1: Chogoria/Mount Meru Bandas – 4hrs, 16km walk, 950m ascent
Pick up from your hotel in Nairobi at 7am to Chogoria town for an early lunch. After lunch, take a 4x4WD vehicle to the forest clearance, 16km from where the walk starts. You will walk for 16km through the forest along the dirt and sometimes very muddy road for 4hrs to reach Mount Meru Bandas at 2950m. Dinner and overnight at Mt. Meru Bandas, B,L,D
Day 2: Mount Meru Bandas – Road Head Camp, 3hrs, 9km, 350m ascent
After breakfast follow the track through giant heather and forest up to Chogoria road head from where the path drops to cross a stream then follows the broad ridge to the east of the gorges valley to reach Road Head Camp taking approximately 3-4hrs. Overnight at Road Head Camp at 3300m.
Day 3: Road Head/Mintos Hut – 4 hrs, 12km
After breakfast follow the track through giant heather and forest up to Chogoria road head from where the path drops to cross a stream then follows the broad ridge to the east of the gorges valley to reach Mintos Hut, 4200m. Dinner and overnight at Mintos Hut, B, L, D
Day 4: Mintos/Point Lenana/Met Station – 11-12 hrs, 29km, 785m ascent/1985m descent
Leave shortly after midnight at 2am towards the main peaks and divide after an hour, above a flat green area at the head of the valley known as temple fields, arriving at point Lenana at 6:30am. After taking photographs, descend via Naro Moru route to Mackinders for breakfast and continue down to Met Station at 3000m for dinner and overnight rest, B,L,D
Day 5: Met Station/Naro Moru/Nairobi – 3hrs, 9km, 400m descent
After breakfast, descend through the rainforest which is 9km to Naro Moru Park Gate at 2,600m where you will connect with your transport back to Nairobi, arriving at approximately 3pm, B,L
Tour cost: US$ 910 per person
Included in the price:
• Guarantee price/guarantee trek on confirmation
• Transfer to and from the base of the mountain
• Full board accommodation whilst on the trek.• Meal plan as detailed: B=Breakfast, L=Lunch and D=Dinner
• Accommodations in camps/huts as per the itinerary
• All park entrance fees to include government taxes
• Service of an English speaking professional guide, porters and skilled cook
• Start and finish Nairobi
• Treated water on the trek.
• On completion, successful climb Certificate
Excluded:
• Tips, laundry, sleeping bags and drinks• Accommodation before/after the trek• climbing gears
• International flights
• Visas to Kenya
• Items of personal nature
• Any other extras not detailed in the above itinerary