Breathtaking views atop Mt. Longonot

Our journey begins in our minds one month to the date of travel and my workmates and I ask, hey,when can we go to Mt. Longonot? Everyone looks at their calendars, after a bit of push and pull we all settle for February 2016. Awesome!

We engage a travel agent Asai Africa Safaris to plan our trip since we needed transport so everyone can relax and avoid the tension and stress from driving in Kenyan roads. So we get the rates and settle for transport and accommodation for 2 nights at a hotel near the mountain (There are many nice hotels to choose from)

Prepare your Body
So I psyche my crew to go for a serious gym in readiness for the hike, of course, after going through some online reviews about how tough it was going to be. The mention of 13kms was such a scare for me and I wanted everyone to be prepared and we did not want anyone us becoming breathless in the middle of the hike!
The journey started from Kisumu at 11.00am 5th February 2016 and we had 251kms to go. The road was fairly good ,thanks to Kenyan government , the road has been reconstructed so it is less stress but you still have to endure Kenyan drivers on the road with their unique driving habits!
Four hours later, we are in Nakuru, before heading to a hotel in Naivasha town-this is our destination for the night.

A nice hotel wont hurt
We check in and head straight to the rooms to get some rest in readiness for the big day! At a quick glance you could tell that this is a fairly good hotel with lush green beautiful manicured lawns in the middle of hot and dusty Naivasha town. There was a beautiful swimming pool for those who enjoy swimming. I decided to ignore it for later…

Luckily enough there is a shopping mall a short distance from the hotel for those who want to grab a few items for the hike.

The hike begins

According to Wikipedia, Mt Longognot is classified as a stratovolcano (Whatever that means) located southeast of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, Africa. It is thought to have last erupted in the 1860s. Its name is derived from the Maasai word oloonong’ot, meaning “mountains of many spurs” or “steep ridges”. Mount Longonot is protected by Kenya Wildlife Service as part of Mount Longonot National Park. A 3.1 km trail runs from the park entrance up to the crater rim, and continues in a 7.2 km loop encircling the crater. The whole tour of 13.5 km took us about 7 hours given the fact that at some point we had to rest after every 30 minutes; parts of the trail are heavily eroded and very steep. The gate is around 2150 m above sea level and the peak at 2780 m above sea level.

So we arrive at the gate at 8.15am everyone excited and ready for the hike. We quickly pay the gate fee which is Ksh 350 (USD 3.50) per person for Kenyan citizens; the rate for residents is Ksh 300 for adults and Ksh 250 for children and for non-residents is USD 30 for adults and USD 20 for children.Tour guides are available at a small fee for those who require guidance but for us we did not see the need.

The climb is divided into two phases with resting points; the first one is rather steep towards the end, so we at least stop to take some drinks and rest before continuing with the hike. The second phase takes you to the rim of the crater where we stopped to take some pictures and have some snacks to re-energize. The feeling of reaching here and seeing the crater floor is heavenly! Its joy, it’s as if some greater beings are watching you, praising you that you made it there!

At this point, you can choose to go back or take the next challenge of going round the 7.2 km rim around the crater.
The journey around the rim started, and this is really tough- the real meaning of tough here, only if you consider yourself strong, proceed, the route is a combination of sharp ascends and dangerous descends, and you are a few meters from a plunging cliff to the base of the crater! You keep searching for the KWS resting point that marks the end of the journey around the rim of the crater, I think I checked this countless times and somehow encouraging myself, “you can make it! You are halfway, quarter way, almost done…’’ At some point you have to use your hands and legs. but the encouragement from fellow hikers is just out of this world…..

I saw two posters of emergency contacts but I wonder if like us, people actually take those numbers and save, This is a must do, save those contacts somewhere you can access when need be; because the emergency personnel are at the start point- the entrance, we didn’t see any ranger or KWS staff along the way, so you are own you own…and finally once you complete the journey round the rim and the feeling you get is relieve, joy, the feeling that I made it! We did it! Is just worth all the endurance.
Finally we descend towards the gate, 13.5kms done in a record 7 hours!

I have compiled some tips for you as you prepare for your trip to make it as memorable and comfortable as possible because this is not a tour to the beach!

1. It’s more fun when done in a group.
2. Wear comfortable shoes preferably sports shoes.
3. Wear comfortable clothing, the ones that guarantee movement and protect your knees ‘’if you need to crawl to get to the top’’
4. Carry enough drinking water
5. Start as early as possible before it becomes too hot.
6. Don’t forget a hat and sun shades to protect your face and eyes from sun rays.
7. Take and save those emergency numbers/contacts on your way up
8. Exercise and be physically fit early enough before the day of the hike
9. Carry a camera to capture those breathtaking moment
10. Have fun!!!

Your body and soul will thank you for doing this!

Originally published at travelafrica2016.wordpress.com on February 27, 2016.