Do you have a favorite hiking destination? Or is any of the places you've hiked before getting attached to you that you enjoy every visit? Sleeping Warrior and Ugali Hills, located on the shores of L. Elementaita in Nakuru County is easily becoming one of my favorite places to visit. Description: Location: Sleeping Warrior & Ugali Hills, Gilgil, Nakuru County. Distance: Between 15-22km. If you start at L. Elementaita, you'll do 22km. Duration: 6-7hrs Terrain: Steep climbs with loose rocks and soil. Entry Fees: 300pp. Guide Fees: 2500 per guide(slightly negotiable). For bigger groups, you might need more than one guide. Weather: Expect sunny mornings and showers in the afternoon(Any TV station looking for a weather reporter? I'm here. Haha). Dress Appropriately. Sunscreen is really crucial and Arimis/Valon/Vaseline will do just fine. Attractions: Hills(Sleeping Waarior, Ugali+Saucer, and many more surrounding hills), L. Elementaita, the GRV escarpment, etc. It is highly advisable to get there early before the intensity of the sun gets crazy, otherwise you'll relive those bible stories of burnt offerings and many more.
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Description. Location: Ololosokuan Nature Trail. Activity: Bouldering and rock climbing. Starting Point: Savannah Sunset Resort. Finish Point: Savannah Sunset Resort. Terrain: Rocky, with some steep climbing areas. Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate Duration: 2-3hrs. Entry Fee: Ksh 200. Guide Fee: Ksh 1,000 "I'll go next weekend." That's what I always told myself whenever the name Ololosokuan was mentioned or read anywhere. For the longest time, I've always pushed this place to the next weekend until I finally ran out of more 'next weekends.' A friend hit me up asking for details about the place and since I had never been there, I took up the task to find all the necessary info, at first with no intention of joining in. After few days and several calls made and messages exchanged, I had all what I needed. I shared these with the friend and I found myself now very interested in taking on the adventure. A date was set and we agreed on meeting point and departure time. Being a short trail, we agreed to do it late in the afternoon so that we could add in one more exciting thing at the end of the trek(read till the end to find out what). We hopped onto a Matatu(in Nairobi you don't just board. You might have to chase and hop in as it moves) headed to Ngong town at around 1230hrs and arrived there at 1330hrs. From Ngong town, you'll need to take taxi or 'nduthi' (slang for motor bike) to take you to the resort. We arrived at Savannah Sunset Resort at about 1400hrs, just in time to find the guide finishing with a group that had taken the walk earlier in the morning. We took a few minutes to relax as we allowed Manuh(the guide) to have his lunch, otherwise we'd(read I'd) have had to guide him back on our backs, haha.
One hour later and we took off. Manuh is a very experienced guide and he showed us all the amazing spots for photos and where to step or not to step for our safety. When it comes to scenery, this remains one of the best hikes in my 'easy hikes' category. Do not be fooled though, it's not super easy. I'll still say it's a technical hike. Description: Start Point- Kijabe AIC Hospital. End Point- Mai Mahiu Rd. Duration- 4-5hrs. Difficulty level- Easy to Moderate. Terrain- Rocky surface at railway, dark tunnel, forest walk and some steep climbs. Charges- Ksh 200pp Guide Fees- Ksh2000 for a group per guide. For this hike, you will need to be comfortably dressed, nice hiking shoes and equipped with headlights/torch for the dark tunnel. Some sections of the trail will require you to jump, crawl, slide, walk, or whatever form of movement you can master that will keep you going. The initial plan was to leave Nairobi CBD at 0700hrs, but the driver had a mishap on the way and we left at about 0900hrs. Fortunately for us, it is a short drive and there was minimal to zero traffic, so we would take less than two hours to get there. And after a brief stop over at the Great Rift Valley view point, we set on the last few clicks of the journey and got there at about 1030hrs.
After clearing with the relevant authorities and doing few stretches, we were ready to hit the rail(well, that's what welcomed us). The old Kijabe Railway line that served Nairobi and Nakuru is one of the highlights of this tour. You will get very sensational views and pics of the railway as it meanders through the forest. Unfortunately, the sun had probably organized a BBQ party and was looking for some fleshy steak and we just happened the provide that. We were properly grilled that at some point I felt like someone amongst us was smelling like burnt offering... haha. But still, the thought of adventure meant there was no turning back. Plus you wouldn't really turn back to anywhere since the vehicle already left for the exit point. Mount Longonot is a stratovolcano mountain located on the south-east side of L. Naivasha, Nakuru county. It stands at an height of about 2,779m asl. Longonot is a Maasai word which means "steep." The hike covers a total of about 13km, with 3km from the start point to the crater point and a further 7km going round the rim. The whole hike takes about 5-6hrs On this day, we started the journey pretty late and managed to get on site at around 1000hrs. With the sun blazing hot, it was bound to be a tough day. The journey takes you through the scenic rift valley escarpment and also offers a chance to visit the oldest Portuguese church On arrival, we found a huge group of other hikers clearing at the gate in readiness to go in. Our turn arrived and we were good to go. A bit of stretching and warm up exercises to get us into shape took about 10 minutes and we started the hike at around 1030hrs. We were so determined and nothing could stop us from hitting the trails. Off we went. It didn't take long for us to realize we were in for a rough treat. Now, hiking is manageable if you are with an energetic crew. And that's exactly what we were on this day, or so we thought. 14 people with blood pumping for adventure was quite something. First 2km, piece of cake. The other 1km to the crater point is where a few of us started asking themselves questions subconsciously. But they still made it to the top. Huurraayy!!!.
If we thought we had accomplished a major fete, that thought didn't last long. This is where the real journey began. |