Kenya Central Highlands & North

Home to snow-capped, equatorial Mount Kenya and the Laikipia Plateau's conservancies, with the wild, sparsely populated northern frontier of Samburu and Lake Turkana beyond.

This region is defined by county and covers the former Central Province (Nyeri, Kiambu, Murang'a and others), Meru, Embu and Tharaka-Nithi around Mount Kenya, Laikipia County, and the northern frontier counties of Isiolo, Samburu, Marsabit, Turkana and the northeast. Turkana County was formerly part of Rift Valley Province but is grouped with the northern frontier for travel purposes.

Highlights: Mount Kenya National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Africa's second-highest peak, with Point Lenana reachable on foot); Nanyuki, which sits on the equator; Ol Pejeta Conservancy, with its black rhinos and the "last northern white rhinos"; Lewa Conservancy; the Aberdare National Park and tree-top lodges near Nyeri; Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba reserves and their "Samburu Special Five" (reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra and others); Meru National Park; and Lake Turkana and the Sibiloi fossil site.

Classic itineraries: Nairobi–Nanyuki–Ol Pejeta–Samburu in 4–5 days; a Mount Kenya trek in 4–5 days; Lake Turkana requires a long off-road journey or a charter flight.

Getting there: Nanyuki is about 3 hours by road from Nairobi, and small planes fly to Nanyuki and Samburu. Note: the northeastern areas along the Somali border are not advisable for travel.

Destinations

• Nanyuki, Ol Pejeta & Mount Kenya
• Samburu National Reserve

Itineraries

• Self-Drive from Samburu to Maasai Mara – Head south from the semi-arid northern reserves through Laikipia and the Rift Valley, ending in the Maasai Mara.
• Mount Kenya: Sirimon to Chogoria Traverse – Traverse Mount Kenya from the northwest slope to the eastern slope, summiting Point Lenana at 4,985 meters.