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Kenya is located in the eastern part of
Africa. It has an area of about 150,000 square kilometers. It is a
very popular tourist destination and also a hotspot for climbing and
hiking. In the central highlands a couple of hundred kilometers
north of the equator lays Mt.Kenya. It is here, where the Kikuyu god
ngai resides. It is the highest mountain in Kenya and the
second highest in Africa. It is one of the few places near the
equator on Africa with permanent glaciers. The name of the country
has been known to have been derived from Mt.Kenya which was formerly
known as Mount Kirinyaga.
The mountain is
located 180 kilometers north of Nairobi and it can often be seen
from high-rise buildings in Nairobi and from Thika. It is an extinct
volcano, which formed a couple of million years ago. The mountain is
located in the Mount Kenya National Park, which is a designated
protected area around the mountain above 3200m altitude. The Kenya
Wildlife Service manages the park. The national park covers an area
of 700 square kilometers and was established in 1949.
Kenya enjoys an
equatorial climate with average annual temperatures of about 26oC
and diurnal temperatures of about 3oC. There are two
rainy seasons on the mountain from April-June and October-December.
The mountain is an important water catchment area and many rivers
such as the Naro Moru emerge from the melting glaciers.
The first
documented ascent of the mountain was by Halford Mackinders. At the
moment the mountain attracts several thousand climbers both local
and international annually. It is this popularity, which has
contributed to the deterioration of the environment and the litter
accumulation.
At the
base and around this mountain are famous hotels such as the Mount
Kenya Safari Club, Outspans, Naro Moru River Lodge, Treetops,
Mountain Lodge, Bantu Lodge and several others. Tourists who do not
wish to climb often visit the hotels for the view, luxury
accommodation, fresh air and the tranquil atmosphere.
Compared to Mt.
Kenya Africa’s highest mountain Kilimanjaro is a
relatively easy climb and the main summit of Uhuru peak (5895m) can
be
reached by most climbers. The mountain, though the highest is
relatively
a boring climb with not much scenery or change in landscape. The
origin
of the name Kilimanjaro still remains a mystery and is thought mean
a
great hill in Kiswahili. It is also thought that Mount Kilimanjaro
once
belonged to Kenya up until the division of the British empire in
east
Africa when the Queen of England altered the border of the two
nations to
accommodate the mountain onto Tanzania. After that local history has
it
that the presidents of the two nations agreed on a trade; Mount
Kilimanjaro will be part of Kenya if Kenya hand over Mombasa to
Tanzania
which did not happen as Kenya would loose a strategic port and its
second
largest city. |
