Best Holiday Destinations in the Mount Kenya Region

Mount Kenya is the 2nd tallest mountain in Africa and prides of several great tourist sites around it with a majority of tourists visiting to climb the mountain.

Mount Kenya, which was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions, is comprised of three glacier-cloaked peaks. The highest is Batian, although Nelion, the next highest, is tougher to climb while Lenana is the lowest peak and is considered easiest to climb, however, unpredictable weather can pose as an obstacle.

It is a great tourist destination that is mostly flocked by International tourists as local tourists flock the coast for their holidays.

December is fast approaching and that means the holiday season too which is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek ways to make life better for us and those significant in our lives.

Travel agencies reap big during this season and are already up with great deals to enable Kenyans to take a break and travel out to relax. Most Kenyans may not afford to with the current cost of living but it is probably because they do not know that tourists, both local and international save for a period to afford holidays.

It is said all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, save a little for an annual holiday, as you spend, to rejuvenate your body and mind. Holidays do not have to be exorbitant and neither do you always have to visit the coast for all your holidays! Kenya is beautiful with so many breathtaking sites, don’t get me wrong the coast is beautiful but we all know how congested it can get during holidays with the prices doubling in the peak season. We take time to look at great places you can visit in the Mt. Kenya region and experience nature without feeling ripped off.

Mount Kenya Safari Club

Right at the foot of Africa’s 2nd tallest Mountain, the great Mt. Kenya is Mount Kenya Safari Club.

You can never run out of recreational activities during your stay at this club as they vary from horseback riding, golf, croquet, a putting green, a bowling green, table tennis, swimming, a beauty salon to get yourself pampered, an animal orphanage, among many other activities.

The club also prides of a heated swimming pool that is very ideal for families with young children and everybody that is scared of cold showers! The pool has a surrounding that is very ideal for cocktail parties for up to 500 people.

Mount Kenya Safari Club has neighbors like the Mawingu Estate where one can stroll and engage in more activities which are tailor-made to suit families. At the Mawingu Estate, visitors are allowed to assist in feeding animals in the compound.

Oljogi Conservancy

Animals are the jewel of Africa and you can never see enough of them. Oljogi gives you a rare experience as you can never be closer to World animals anywhere else like in this park.

Rhinos, elephants are trained to play trumpets and are friendly to tourists, cheetahs and lions, are just a drop in the ocean of the view Oljogi conservancy have to offer.

Caretakers at the conservancy take care of animals devotedly with the intense care that is obvious in their health and welfare. The conservancy has a vet clinic to ensure the great welfare of the animals.

The beauty of seeing human beings nurture animals at whatever cost is just fulfilling.

Paxtu Cottage

Paxtu Cottage is located in Nyeri County and was home to the late ‘Lord Barden-Powell’, who was the founder of the scout’s movement.

Scouts and Girl guides travel from all over the country to visit the scouting museum.

Paxtu Cottage inspires the scouting principles in any boy scout that visits.

The cottages have annual visits when scouts from all over the country meet and commemorate Lord Barden Powell.

Mount Kenya National Park

At the east of the Great Rift Valley on the foot of Mount Kenya, lies Mount Kenya National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The National park gives you a rare sight of the equatorial snow offering sceneries such as a glacier, mineral springs, lakes, alpine forest and dense pockets of bamboo.

Wildlife to expect at the National park includes buffalos, black and white colobus monkeys, elephant, tree hyrax, hyenas, and leopard.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Neighboring Mount Kenya, 200 kilometers north of Nairobi, is Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a home to Kenya’s Big Five animals.

The conservancy acts as a strategic place for close-up wildlife encounters. Conservation and sustainability are important at the 90,000-acre private game reserve.

The conservancy is home to Kenya’s Big Five which are lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and buffalo.

Other wildlife animals at the conservancy include cheetah, hyenas, hartebeest, and Zebras.

The conservancy is also famous for its northern and southern white rhinos which include Baraka, a blind black rhino, who tourists could be lucky enough to see while it feeds.

The wildlife can be viewed during self-drives or guided tours with entry into the park including a visit to the chimpanzee sanctuary.