11 Day Mount Kenya Trek and Masai Mara Safari Combined

Combine your Mount Kenya climb with an incredible Masai Mara safari experience. This tour combines the classic five days Mount Kenya trek with the popular 6 day Masai Mara and Rift Valley Safari. Its without doubt the best way of seeing Kenya!

Mount Kenya is without doubt, a beautiful mountain and the climb to the trekkers peak at Point Lenana (4,985m) is claimed by many to be the superior to climbing Kilimanjaro. The Sirimon Naro-moru route is justifiably the most popular on the mountain. The climb up Sirimon is well paced with wonderful scenery, whilst Naro-Moru offers the quickest and easiest route down. Sirimon Naro-Moru can be done in 4 days, but to aid acclimatisation an extra day at Shipton’s Camp is always wise.

The Rift Valley Lakes of Nakuru and Naivasha lie half-way between Mount Kenya and Masai Mara and are well worth the stop with all the big game and incredible birdlife on offer. The Maasai Mara National Reserve is a vast park of rolling grasslands interrupted only by crocodile infested rivers. It plays host to all the big game and the incredible wildebeest migration during the peak summer months.

The obvious highlights of this trip are climbing Mount Kenya and safaris in Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru, but there is plenty in the detail too. You will get to camp out in the Maasai wilderness with a Maasai warrior standing guard against the wildlife outside. You’ll also visit Maasai villages and schools and hopefully get a small sense of the incredible changes that modernisation is bringing to these remote communities. When you are not camping, you’ll stay in charming local guesthouses, including a night in a Colonial tea plantation complete with an out of Africa veranda and lush gardens.

This is the perfect safari combination for anyone who plans to climb Mount Kenya and has enough time in Kenya to enjoy the best of the country. If you are short on time, we can recommend the alternative combination of Mount Kenya with a 3 day Samburu safari extension.

You should have a decent level of trekking fitness, but as long as you lead a reasonably active lifestyle and are comfortable walking for 6-8 hours a day then a gruelling pre trek fitness regime is not really necessary. Age is not really a limiting factor, children as young as 10 and adults as old as 80 have climbed Mount Kenya.

As with most treks, the huts and facilities are basic. In all likelihood you won’t be showering for 4 or 5 days and you’ll be sleeping on a well worn mattress. If you come prepared with the right kit and right attitude this shouldn’t be a problem. Bringing your own 4 season sleeping bag is a a very good idea as are baby wipes for washing with.

The safari element is designed for anyone with a general interest in wildlife and culture. If you are serious birder or wildlife enthusiast we would recommend a more extensive safari program, please contact us for details.