KENYA, MOUNT KENYA
In depth guide to the seasons, animals, birds and wildlife habitats of the African safari region
of Mount Kenya.
To
request a private safari tour of Mount
Kenya in Kenya, click here >>> |
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In
the centre of Kenya only 10 miles south of the
equator is a snow-capped mountain. This seems
so unlikely that the German missionary to report
this in 1833 was laughed at. Its existence was
not acknowledged for another sixteen years and
it then took a further fifty years before anyone
climbed to the 16,900 feet (5,199 meter) summit.
Mount
Kenya is considered by the local
Kikuyu people to be the home of the Supreme
Being 'Ngai' - the Possessor of Brightness,
and the mountain is known as Kere Nyaga -
Mountain of Brightness. When Mt Kenya's peak
makes an appearance between the clouds, the
sun dazzling off its snowy tip and jagged
peaks certainly gives it a godly glow. The
Kikuyu who live on the slopes always face
their homes towards this sacred peak.
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mountain is also fascinating because of its
variation in flora with the change in altitude.
The lower slopes are covered with dry forest
followed by montane forest full of cedar trees
at about 6,500ft (2,000m). Then begins a dense
belt of bamboo and short trees in which numerous
animals hide. Between 9,750-11,375 feet (3,000-3,500
metres) comes high altitude health dotted with
giant tree heathers and open moorland grazed
by a few acclimatised zebras and eland.
ANIMALS
& BIRDS
Elephants share the forests
and bamboo belts with black and white colobus
and Sykes monkeys, olive baboons and giant forest
hog. The rare and elusive bongo and suni antelopes
find solitude here, as do black rhino and buffalo.
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| SEASONS
Daytime temperatures are pleasant year round
and do not vary considerably, but during the
dry season winter months, the nights get extremely
cold.
Rainy Season: April to June
- hot and wet (long rains), November to December
- warm and wet (short rains).
Dry Season: January to March
- hot and dry, July to October - warm and dry
with freezing nights.
MOUNT
KENYA SPECIALITIES
· Hiking, climbing or
mountaineering
· Fabulous scenery
· Unique flora
· Dawn and dusk sightings
of Mt Kenya's peak
FACTS
The park was proclaimed in 1949
It covers an area of 276 miles² (715km²) |
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Follow the links below to Kenya's premier wildlife regions
and game reserves
PRIVATE
SAFARI LODGES WE RECOMMEND IN THE MOUNT KENYA REGION |
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