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Mountain & Summit Trekking · 4 days / 3 nights
Easiest and driest ascent of Point Lenana — 4 days of afro-alpine grandeur.
The Sirimon route is widely regarded as the finest approach to Point Lenana, Africa's third-highest peak, and for good reason. Climbing from the north-west flank of Mount Kenya National Park, it offers the driest conditions on the mountain, a steady altitude gain that gives your body time to acclimatise, and sweeping afro-alpine moorland scenery from the very first hour on trail. As you leave the montane forest and emerge onto open ridgelines above 3,000 metres, the landscape shifts dramatically — heather giants three metres tall, groundsels the size of small trees, and the first glimpses of the Lewis Glacier draped across the high volcanic peaks of Batian and Nelion come into view.
Day by day the trek ascends through three distinct ecological zones. The lower moorland between Sirimon Gate (2,650 m) and Old Moses Camp (3,300 m) is alive with buffalo, eland, and the occasional leopard track crossing a muddy trail. Above Old Moses the giant lobelia and senecio plants of the upper moorland appear in surreal clusters, adapted to freeze every night and bask in equatorial sun every day. By the time you arrive at Shipton's Camp (4,200 m) you are sitting below the sheer north face of Batian, watching alpine swifts skim the rock walls while you acclimatise with an afternoon walk into the Hausberg Col area.
The summit push to Point Lenana (4,985 m) departs in the early hours of Day 3, headlamps cutting through the thin, cold air. The route crosses the north face snow field and climbs the rocky ridge to the trig pillar — an ascent that rewards first light arrivals with a sunrise spectacle over the Aberdares, Mount Kilimanjaro on clear days far to the south, and the jagged silhouettes of Batian and Nelion lit amber against the dawn sky. Standing on the highest trekking peak in Kenya is a profoundly moving experience, shared only with the ravens that wheel overhead and your fellow climbers.
The descent retraces the Sirimon route back through the moorland to Old Moses and then to the gate, completing a compact but unforgettable four-day mountain adventure that can be linked with a Nairobi same-day arrival and departure, making it ideal for travellers who want serious altitude without weeks away from home.
Route: Nairobi → Sirimon Gate (2,650 m) → Old Moses (3,300 m) → Shipton's (4,200 m) → Point Lenana (4,985 m) → Old Moses → Nairobi
After an early morning pick-up from your Nairobi hotel, you drive approximately four hours north through the Central Highlands, passing through Nanyuki town before entering Mount Kenya National Park at Sirimon Gate (2,650 m) for park registration and a briefing with your guide. The afternoon trail winds through a cathedral of juniper and Hagenia forest before opening onto the lower moorland, where your first giant lobelias and buffalo herds may appear before you reach Old Moses Camp (3,300 m) in the late afternoon. Settle in, enjoy a warm dinner prepared by your mountain cook, and rest early to let the altitude begin its gentle work.
This is the most spectacular trekking day on the Sirimon route, climbing steadily through the heart of the afro-alpine zone as the vegetation grows increasingly alien — giant groundsel trees (Senecio keniodendron) towering above your head and lobelia columns like ancient sentinels lining the valley. The trail crosses the Liki North Valley and climbs past the Mackinder Valley junction before arriving at Shipton's Camp (4,200 m), set dramatically below the sheer north face of Batian. An acclimatisation walk toward Hausberg Col or Tarn Hut in the afternoon helps you adjust to the thin air before a critical early dinner and a 23:00 wake-up call for summit night.
In darkness and silence, your guide leads you from Shipton's Camp across the rocky north face approach and up the final ridge to the trig point on Point Lenana (4,985 m) — Africa's third-highest summit and the highest trekking peak on the continent — timing the ascent for sunrise over the Aberdares and the first golden light on the twin technical peaks of Batian and Nelion. After photographs and a moment to absorb the view, you descend all the way back through the moorland to Old Moses Camp for a well-earned lunch and afternoon rest, your legs carrying the satisfying weight of a 1,600-metre summit gain and return.
A relaxed morning descent through the montane forest returns you to Sirimon Gate, where you sign out with Kenya Wildlife Service and enjoy a packed lunch before boarding the vehicle for the four-hour drive back to Nairobi, arriving in the early evening in time for onward connections or a celebratory dinner in the city.
This price is for the tour/adventure only. International & domestic flights and hotels are not included — we'll gladly suggest trusted options that you book directly.
Photo: Brihaspati / CC BY 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
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