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ABOUT MOUNT KENYA

Location: 0.15S, 37.15E
Elevation 17,058Ft (5200M)

Located on the equator, in Kenya’s central highlands, Mount Kenya is Africa's second highest mountain and one of the continent's most popular destinations for mountaineers and trekkers. An extinct volcano, it is one of the few places near the equator with permanent glaciers.  Of its three peaks, hikers in reasonably good condition can reach the third highest peak, Point Lenana (16,355 ft./4,985 m). The climb can be made in three days, the descent in one or two, and the views from the top are breathtakingly spectacular. The most scenic trek, the Chogoria route, takes 5 - 7 days.  

The best times to make the ascent are from January to March, and September to October, when the weather tends to be warmer and dryer. Its two highest peaks, Batian (17,058 ft./5,199 m.) and Nelion (17,023 ft./5,188 m.), require considerable technical climbing skills. Inscribed by UNESCO in 1997 as a World Heritage Site, Mount Kenya is one of the most impressive landscapes of Eastern Africa, with its rugged glacier-clad summits, Afro-alpine moorlands and diverse forests. Mount Kenya is also a gazetted National Park and the protected area is some 2,100 square kilometers.

The forest zone is the largest remaining in Kenya and its ecosystem as a whole plays a critical role in water catchment for two main rivers in the country, the Tana and Ewaso Ngiro. Varying geographical conditions on Mount Kenya contribute to a diverse range of flora including the Afro-alpine moorlands, giant heath, extensive stands of East African bamboo and major forest types including mixed closed canopy forest. Mount Kenya also hosts several wildlife species dwelling mainly within the natural forest including birds and mammals of international conservation interest such as bongo, elephant, black rhino, giant forest hog and leopard.  The base of the mountain lies at some 5,250 feet (1,600 metres) above sea level.