Description

Mt Longonot National Park is located 90km from Nairobi city on the floor of the Great Rift Valley. The mt Longonot national park is a popular park for hiking and mountain climbing that takes less than 3-4hrs to climb/hike up and down. It is one of the best adventure day trips from Nairobi. This park is easy to get to and has the best sightseeing opportunities and one can look inside the mountain crater.

Itinerary

6:00am:- Nairobi- Great African Rift Valley

Pick up by Gemfinders Safaris & depart Nairobi for Mt Longonot National Park going through the Kikuyu lush green highlands and then on the eastern escarpment of the rift valley system.

6:30am: – Great Rift Valley View Point

You will make a scheduled stop at the view point on the side of the escarpment to enjoy the view of the Rift valley floor from a birds eye view. The rift valley system was formed 5 million years ago and the rift runs from the red sea through Ethiopia and Kenya and Tanzania. The rift valley is an active volcanic area and has some of the most interesting features including more than 8 lakes, dormant and active volcanic mountains and hotsprings and geysers like the Olkaria geothermal wells and Lake Bogoria geysers.

You can actually see the volcanic Mt Suswa and Mt Longonot from this high place with their evergreen craters and the undulating green rift valley floor. The view from here is just amazing. Make sure to take as many photos from here as you can.

7:00am: – Mt Longonot National Park

Drop into the rift valley and arrive at the Mt Longonot national park for your Hike up to the crater. The hike requires medium physical fitness and you will climb through the galleys that dot the sides of this mountain.  You can make some rest stops at the designated places on the trek. You will get to the rim of the crater and look into the awesome crater below. If you have the strength for it, you can go round the rim of the crater.

12:00pm: – Mt. Longonot –Lake Naivasha

Descend from the Longonot mountain for the base at the park headquarters. Relax for some while and take on the drive to Lake Naivasha.

1:00pm: – Lunch at Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp

Arrive at Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp and enjoy a sumptuous lunch at their restaurant by the lakeside while watching the lakes beauty and the birds flying by.

2:30pm: – Boat Ride in Lake Naivasha

Go on an hour  boat ride in this wonderful rift valley lake. The boat ride will take you to see the hundreds of birds in this lake including the diving African fish eagle which dives in the water to catch fish without ever missing. You will also go to the hippo pool and see the hippos as they swim and bleat inside the water while opening their mouths to over 180 degrees.

4:00pm: – Lake Naivasha -Nairobi

Depart Lake Naivasha for Nairobi going through the lush kikuyu highlands and arrive back in Nairobi at 5:30pm. You will be dropped off at your Nairobi hotel.

Mt. Longonot Hike Distance & Stats

Distance: 13.5km from Nairobi

Maximum Elevation: 2780m

Maximum Elevation Gain: 996m

Duration: 4-6 hours

Difficulty: Moderate to hard

Beginner-friendly: Yes

Child-friendly: Yes, 7 years and above

COST: 

Kes 15,000  for 1 person.

Kes 9,000 per person sharing based on 2 people

Kes 6,500 per person sharing based on 3 people

Kes 3,500 per person sharing based on 4- 5 people

Kes 2,500 Per Person sharing based on 6-8

Inclusions

• Entrance fees 
• Professional English speaking guide/driver.
• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Private tour
• Walking tour
• Transport
• Boat ride

Exclusions

• Lunch
• Any other item not included

What to carry:

• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Sport shoes
• Comfortable light clothes