I think all high mountains have "their heads in the clouds" and can be elusive, but not on this day. We were able to see and photograph the mountain easily.
We went with gotomountkenya.com and had an amazing experience.Pre trip: Evans the manager was prompt in replying to email queries and was flexible to our suggestions for possible variations to the trip. We had the flexibility of doing the Chogoria-Sirimon route in 4 or 5 days (we took 4) and were able to decide this while on the mountain. Transfers were individualised and accommodating (I was able to stop by a town en route to Nairobi to pick up some belongings). Transport always punctual. We did not have water purification or sleeping bags and one of us (I) forgot waterproof trousers and this was all arranged easily by our guide.Staff: our porters showed excellent professionalism and were attentive, helpful and fun. Our guide Josephat was encouraging throughout the climb and offered to carry my bag (or me) whenever the route became physically challenging. He was happy to stop the group for water or rest breaks whenever needed. Josephat was also knowledgable on the flora, fauna and wildlife. Food: our entertaining dancing chef David prepared delicious and plentiful 3 course meals that pleased everybody. Hot drinks, popcorn and snacks always available as soon as we arrived at each camp. Accommodation: huts and tents better than expected. Even had a wood fireplace in the Chogoria hut! The Chogoria-Sirimon route was sparsely populated and had stunning scenery. Sunrise at the summit was priceless.In summary, a well organised, professional local company with exceptional service at competitive prices. We would not hesitate to recommend gotomountkenya.com to anybody. Asante sana! Clare, Laura and Duke.
Just spent 4 awesome days climbing Mount Kenya and hiking in the National Park.Would recommend Duncan Njoroge as your guide, he and his team were fantastic. You can find him at Equitorial Star Adventure Safaris
This review is about the Chogoria-Route, which my friend and I took in November 2014.First of all, I've never been to Kenya (not even Africa) before and I am not a great mountaineer at all, despite coming from a montainous region (Austria). My friend asked me, to join her on this trip and - as I was kind of blank at this time - borrowed me money, to buy necessary gear and pay the fees. I am kind of a worried person and it's sometimes hard for me to deal with new, surprising factors. Plus, I am kind of a lazy couch-potatoe, no trained at all for a exhausting trip.So it is very good to say, that all my worries vanished during this trip, thanks to the guide Evans and thanks to his great team.The drive to the starting point was a bit adventureous, as it was mud-season and the "road" kind of slippy. But due to the careful, souvereign steering of the driver, who seemed to know his Landrover by heart, we made it through right on time. The first days I felt my legs working hard, compensating the lack of muscle power, but we always went very very slow. "No stress" was the motto and "Security first!". When we reached a resting point, food was already prepared, even when the accomodities were rather simple, it tasted very good.It varied enough to feel well fed and gave us the necessary minerals and vitamins, so our digestion never "went out of hand".The team was very friendly and gave us the feeling, that a) They like what they do, b) we are welcome and c) they are there for us. You could ask them for anything. Be it some drinking-water or some toilet-paper or additional gear or questions about the beautiful nature sourrounding us. At no point I felt lost or forgotten. Said friend had a bit of a rough time, as she started the trip with a cold and kind of felt the height, so she got exhausted easily and wasn't sure if she could go on. Everytime when she was on the brink of giving up, the guide took his time and patiently led her through the possible options. Where some other (Austrian?) guides probably would have lost patience, feeling annoyed after a while of extended Q&A sessions by an exhausted and worried (despite very strong and talkative) young woman, he calmy and respectfully took care of her, made her overcome her inner worries, so she could made it safely to the Peak and to the homebase after all.As for me, I got much fitter over the time. When we started, I needed all the rest I could get, at the the end of the trip, I even could keep in pace with the porters. Well, they had the triple amount of weight on their backs, but hey...they were used to it...!So needlessly to say, I can truly recommend this trip with that company. Even if you are not a fan of mountains, it can do you really good and make you feel a lot better.
In January 2015 we did the Chogoria - Sermon 5 day tour and couldn't recommend it more highly. The team, lead by our guide Josephat, were great - carrying all of the equipment, making sure we were always comfortable and David serving delicious food. Go To Mount Kenya is a professional company who were great to deal with. I would thoroughly recommend organising your climb with them. The scenery was incredible - it's a challenging but incredibly rewarding and worthwhile experience. Thanks to Evans and the team at Go To Mount Kenya for a wonderful experience.
Spectacular Alpine island in the middle of Kenya. What a treat. Well kept park. Clean well-maintained trails and climbing huts.
Went on a 4 night trek up Mount Kenya with Duncan Njoroge (Equatorial Star Adventure a Safaris). He and his team were brilliant: very professional, really knew they're stuff. The Cook was fab! We ate so well! Delicious food. And they were all so nice! Mount Kenya is a must too!
We took the 4 Day Mt Kenya Sirimon - Chogoria Traverse.Excellent service, professional guide and porters and great food. We are very satisfied from start to end and glad we choosed "go to mount Kenya". Thumbs up!
We took the 4 day option, up Sirimon and down Chigoria. Firstly this is a con as the first and last 'trekking' days are done on roads and can just be considered 'add ons' to boost the price which was a hefty $700.00 + each for the 3 of us. The descriptions for these 'trekking' days are hilarious, go and read them on their website.The guide was acceptable, however a bit smarmy with wildly ridiculous stories, he grated after being with him for 4 days. The food was appalling, everything fried and no variety whatsoever. Disgusting white bread, Kikuya baby porridge and ginger soup every day! The food was not nutritious and they had the gall to recommend not taking a breakfast before the climb to Mt Kenya. Too lazy to get up early to prepare food for us. We even queried whether the chef was actually a chef from the filth provided us. They managed to cut costs considerably with the 'food' they produced. Even the little fruit offered was only enough for one person and had to be shared by the three of us...eg 1/2 a passion fruit each, a few slices of thinly cut orange and a piece of tree tomato each. Absolute jokers.
I have just returned from a trip to Kenya. The highlight was a 5 day trek from Chogoria to Sirimon including summit of Mt Kenya (Port Lenana). We went with Go to Mount Kenya - a team of local guides, porters and cook. Our guide Zachary could not have been more helpful and knowledgeable. The food prepared each day by David was excellent and our 3 porters were friendly and good companions. Booking from UK was easy and Evans who runs Go to Mount Kenya was very flexible and quick to respond to any queries.We also visited Nakuru and the national park there and again this was organised by Evans who arranged transport and services of a great guide (James) who was with us all the time and made our trip really enjoyable and informative. I cannot speak highly enough of Go to Mount Kenya and the care, thought and support they gave us in making our stay so fantastic.