Kenya off the beaten track

Hiking in Aberdare National Park

Stuart Butler

A world away from the African safari image of savannah grasses and drooling sunsets, the Aberdares consists of two different ecosystems. A high, cold and often bleak moorland and, below that, dense tangled montane jungle.

The wildlife here is a little different and a little harder to spot. But elephants are very common as are big grumpy buffalo. There are also montane species you won’t see anywhere else including bongo antelope, bush pigs and melanistic leopard and serval.

Unusually among Kenyan national parks, you can also get out of the vehicle here and enjoy long, lonely hikes over the moorlands: I have really enjoyed the sensation of trudging across the bleak moorlands in cold afternoon drizzle while always keeping a beady eye out for roaming buffalo.

The park also has some history. In 1952, a young English lady named Elizabeth was staying at the famed Treetops Lodge here (today’s version is actually a reconstruction of the original) when it was announced that her father had died. And so it was, that on a remote Kenyan mountain slope, that young lady became Queen Elizabeth II. Many years later her eldest grandson, and future king, proposed to Kate Middleton in a small wooden fishing cabin in a spot not so far away from where his grandmother became Queen.

Hiking in Kenya's Mathews Mountains

Lucy Booth

Most visitors on safari in Kenya flock south, heading towards the Mara and other big-name safari parks. For first-timers, the scorched deserts of northern Kenya might not seem quite so enticing in comparison to the lush forests and wildlife-packed savannahs to the south. But when I talk to intrepid souls on the hunt for real adventure, I always suggest they head in the opposite direction, where you’ll find some real hidden gems far removed from the busy safari circuits to the south.

The road north towards Ethiopia is an excellent tarmac road that heads through the sunbaked landscapes of the Samburu National Reserve and skirts Ololokwe, the sacred mountain of the Samburu people. Eventually you turn off the paved road and onto a bone-shaking dirt track which leads to the ‘sky island’ of the Mathews Range, also called the Lenkiyio or Lengeyo hills in the local Samburu language. These hills of green montane forests rise out of the desert where they offer welcome sanctuary for elephants, myriad birds and prehistoric cycads.

I love to visit the Mathews for a short hiking break, where you’ll see no other tourists – in fact not a glimpse of anyone except for the occasional Samburu herdsman who have lived here since time immemorial.

The best Mount Kenya route

Lucy Booth

The vast majority of visitors on a Kenya safari fly in, zoom around the Masai Mara and the other big name parks, and then jet off home again. For people looking for another side to Kenya, taking a few days to climb its highest mountain (and Africa’s second highest after Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro), is top of my list of recommendations.

In the league of mountain peaks, Mt Kenya’s Point Lenana at 4,985 metres is only a few hundred metres below Everest Base Camp and 900 metres below Uhuru Peak on Kilimanjaro. So it’s up there with the giants! Climbing Mount Kenya is ideal for experienced walkers looking for something to do in Kenya other than a safari and who don’t mind some hardships – expect cold nights and no showers for a few days.

I climbed to Point Lenana on Mount Kenya for the 11th time this year. I should mention that I’m in my 60s and averagely fit. But knowing the mountain so well means the mental challenge is manageable, and I rely on my brain’s muscle memory to cope with the physical challenge.

As with Kilimanjaro there are several routes up the mountain, of varying difficulty and popularity. The Sirimon route is the easiest ascent as it is the most gradual and the terrain is easier to navigate. Naro Moru is the most easily-accessed and therefore most commonly marketed, but this is one I avoid as the ascent and descent are both very challenging – the area known as the "Vertical Bog" which, depending on how much rain there has been, can be as bad as it sounds!

My favourite way to climb Mt Kenya is to go up via the scenic Chogoria route and back down via the Sirimon route. You won’t find this route offered by most commercial operators but it’s off the beaten track and walking on the eastern side of the mountain above the spectacular Gorges Valley and staying at Lake Michaelson is by far the best scenery. This is also the best Mt Kenya route for camping, as the ground is grassy and reasonably soft near the lakes, where there’s also easy access to water.

Kenya’s safari hidden gem

Stuart Butler

Just north of the equator in far western Kenya, is Kakamega Forest — Kenya’s only tropical rainforest. The land here is wet, green and intensely cultivated with a mix of subsistence farming and large tea estates. In amongst all this though are a few pockets of the dense rainforests that once covered large parts of western Kenya.

The Kakamega Forest Reserve is a fine example of this kind of forest and interesting walking safaris here reveal bird and primate life that has more in common with the forests of Uganda and the Congo than anything you’ll see on safari in Kenya. Wander the forest’s network of trails and take in the huge variety of flora and fauna it supports, including hundreds of bird species, some of which are not found anywhere else.

In my opinion, Kakamega is one of the most delightful places in Kenya, but yet hardly any tourists know of its existence. It should be a must visit for any ornithologist or herpetologist. As well as birds, reptiles and primates, I found the visit to the old mine shaft to look for bats especially memorable.

Get seriously off-the-beaten track

Stuart Butler

Another of western Kenya’s unsung wildlife highlights is the seriously off the beaten track Ruma National Park.

This park is a mixture of dense forest and thick, tall tropical grassland where large numbers of rare, and very beautiful, Rothschild giraffe can be found, as well as the massive, elegant roan antelope. On any visit here you will see plenty of these two creatures.

What you almost certainly won’t see however are the park’s rhino population. Rangers have told me there are quite a few here – all translocated from less secure areas – but in my three visits I’ve never seen any and the rangers tell me you have to be very lucky to see one.

But there’s something else you won’t see here either: other tourists. Once again I think that each time I have been I have had the entire park to myself and this makes for a very compelling reason to make the trek out here.

There are no facilities for tourists within the park, and only a few specialist operators will offer Ruma in a safari itinerary.

Stretch your legs at Saiwa Swamp

Stuart Butler

Kenya’s smallest national park, Saiwa Swamp, out in the far west near the farming town of Kitale, is another of Kenya’s underrated delights.

The park encompasses one small area of swamp surrounded by farmland and is home to a rare population of sitatunga antelope, an unusual semi-aquatic species that in Kenya can only be reliably seen here.

The park also offers stunning birdlife. My favourite thing about this park is that you can only visit on foot, following the walking trails and boardwalks that run through the park. It’s a delight to break free of the safari vehicles and stretch the legs.

In addition you will almost certainly have the entire park to yourself. I’ve been three times and never seen another person here. One word of warning though: Be careful of flash floods during heavy thunderstorms. I was once caught out by one of these: the waters rose very quickly, drowning the footpaths and I had to wade thigh-deep back across the marsh while trying very hard not to think about all the creatures that might live in a remote African swamp…

There are no facilities for tourists within the park, but nearby Kitale has plenty of fairly-priced hotels.

Chyulu Hills National Park

Stuart Butler

Bursting up above the hot red plains of Tsavo and Amboseli National Parks, the Chyulu Hills are a little visited, little known paradise of rolling green hills and forest.

The wildlife can be a bit hit and miss but there are still plenty of grazers around plus there are opportunities to mingle with Maasai herdsmen, walk across pretty landscapes and visit lava tubes.

Hells Gate National Park and Lake Naivasha

Stuart Butler

If you’re looking for a quick escape from Nairobi then Lake Naivasha and the neighbouring Hells Gate National Park is just a couple of hours from the city and a great place for a quick wildlife fix.

Lake Naivasha is a huge freshwater lake famed for its birdlife and hippos while Hells Gate is a small savanna park with plentiful antelope, zebra, giraffe and baboons. The nice thing about this park is that you can walk or cycle through it (very battered bikes can be hired) which allows you to get close to wildlife without the barriers of a vehicle. If you’re a climber then you can also arrange to scale some of the rock spires within the park.

There’s no facilities for tourists within Hells Gate but a massive array of places to stay and eat around the shores of Lake Victoria.

I recommend you avoid visiting during weekends, when it can seem as if half of Nairobi is out here.

Chalbi Desert and Lake Turkana

Stuart Butler

If you're ready to test your adventurous side, look north to the Chalbi Desert, east of the stunning and remote Lake Turkana where dry, cracked earth meets lush oases surrounded by palm trees and herds of zebra, giraffe, ostrich, oryx and hyena come to drink.

This arid part of northern Kenya is largely unvisited, even by domestic visitors. It’s unique, otherworldly landscape is believed to be formed from a lake that dried thousands of years ago. You’ll find volcanic hills in the background and desert wildlife in the sand dunes.

Thrill seekers can take part in adrenaline-filled activities like sandboarding and dune racing in 4WD vehicles alongside local residents on camelback, nights spent stargazing and perhaps even a swim in Lake Turkana, itself in a national park with good game sighting opportunities. It’s far from easy to get to Chalbi — it’s 425km north of Nairobi — so expect to fly in and then use a local driver who knows the roads and terrain (and an appropriate hardy vehicle).

Lake Bogoria National Reserve

Stuart Butler

Two hours drive north of the city of Nakuru, Lake Bogoria is another of Kenya’s Rift Valley soda lakes and as such when conditions are ideal it attracts tens of thousands of flamingos. Unfortunately, recent years have seen the lake waters rising and the flamingos are a less common sight than they once were.

Even so, this out of the way park is worth visiting just to see the hot springs that bubble up out of the ground around the lake. A little further north still is delightful Lake Baringo. It’s not officially protected but it’s a laid back spot to kick back and go on boat rides to see hippos, crocodiles and fish eagles.

Watamu Marine National Park

Stuart Butler

For a somewhat wetter ‘safari’ don’t miss the chance to don a snorkel and mask and peer down onto the underwater life of Kenya’s finest marine reserve. The vibrant coral reefs here teem with fish and a few turtles. At certain times of year whales and dolphins can be seen much further offshore. There is also a marine park in nearby Malindi and, south of Mombasa, there’s the Kisite Marine National Park.

Safaris and wildlife viewing is certainly not limited to land in Kenya. You might be familiar with the Big Five, but there’s even more underwater — the Marine Big Five: dolphins, whales, rays, sea turtles and whale sharks. All the above as well as the beautifully colourful tropical coral reefs can be explored on a snorkelling or scuba diving trip as well as on boat tours, many run by local fishermen who have grown up in the area and know the ocean and its residents well. Watamu Marine National Park is located north of Mombasa, featuring three bays, the mangrove forest of Mida Creek and elephants and monkeys inland.

Humpback whales migrate to these waters from June each year to breed and take care of their newborn calves in the warm, protected reefs before continuing their journey to Antarctica around October. Luckily, much of the migration occurs in Watamu and nearby shores in the shoulder seasons (June and September-October) so rates for both accommodation and activities/tours are often lower.

Adrenaline junkies are also well-served here with an array of waters ports such as windsurfing and waterskiing. Anyone who prefers to relax on or near the shore is assured of pristine white sandy beaches and plenty of lively beach bars and restaurants. Watamu is one of Kenya’s leaders in eco-tourism and encouraging ethical interactions with the animals. The same attitude applies at the hotels and eco lodges in the area, many with zero-waste policies, yoga/wellness focuses and more.

Shimba Hills National Reserve

Stuart Butler

Just inland of the popular Diani Beach, Shimba Hills makes for a brilliant short safari from the coast. The densely vegetated park has a large and visible elephant population and is the only place in Kenya where the stately sable antelope can be seen.

There’s also plentiful warthogs, baboons, vervet monkeys, buffalo and some introduced giraffes. Half and full day safaris can be easily organised from most of the beach resorts south of Mombasa. It’s a good bet for a family safari.