 Mountain
Climbing
After a night at Mountain Lodge, guests have an early morning
rendezvous at the mountain moor land, a distance of about 20 kms
from the Lodge, at which point the climb begins.
Accompanied by the Lodge Resident Naturalist (who is also an
experienced mountaineer), as well as a guide and porters, the
guests begin their ascent. The pace of the climb will be
determined by the guests’ fitness levels, as well as the
number of days guests wish to take. The shortest duration would
be 3 days, while those wishing to take the climb at a leisurely
pace may take twice as long. Rest camps set up in the evenings
enable the climbers to enjoy a hot meal before retiring for the
night.
Nature Trail
The trail begins and ends at the Lodge, winding through
different vegetation zones up the mountain slopes; one big loop
of about four kilometers divided into three sections, each
taking an hour to cover and the guests decides on length (time)
of walk to cover.
The Resident Naturalist will acquaint the guests with issues of
natural history, archeology, environmental, ecology – all of
which uniquely identify the region.
Due to the environment, the forest animals seen here tend to
behave slightly different from plainsland game. They are
generally timid and will take off into the thick forest cover
when disturbed.
Common species spotted around the lodge’s waterhole and along
the nature trails include - elephant, black rhino*, buffalo,
water buck, leopard*, warthog, colobus monkey, sykes monkey,
spotted hyena*, bush baby, suni, genet, giant forest hog*, bush
pigs*, red duicker, tree hyrax, marsh mongoose, aardvark* among
others.
Note: Animals marked by asterisk (*) are nocturnal and can
only be seen at the floodlit waterhole.
Several huge, tall and wide buttressed indigenous trees are
found on the route. The Wild Strangler Fig (Ficus spp) has a
deep historical attachment with the Kikuyu people for it was
regarded as a sacred tree under which they met to give
sacrifices to their god “Ngai.”
The Pear-wood (muganjoni) has a hollow buttress and was used as
a “post-office” by the Mau-Mau freedom fighters to pass and
receive information on the British soldiers. It was also a
collection point for arms and munitions for the freedom
fighters.
Twice-daily excursions are at 9:00 am as well as at 3:00 pm
Other activites available at Serena Mountain Lodge include:
Trout fishing
Day trips to Mt. Kenya moorland – 12,000 feet above sea level
Kikuyu traditional Mwomboko dancers
Slide presentations on the fauna & flora of Mt. Kenya
Tree-planting of indigenous trees around the lodge compound
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Located at
2,194 metres on the slopes of Mount Kenya, Serena Mountain Lodge
is surrounded by a dense rainforest that comes alive at dusk
with a myriad of sounds that make the African bush so special
and exhilarating.
The lodge has
42 attractive bedrooms furnished with indigenous wood and
African art, each with private bathroom. A spacious balcony also
overlooks the waterhole where there is a continual procession of
big game.
The
professional, attentive and friendly staff serves guests
sumptuous international menus, buffets and barbecues alongside
authentic African dishes. The full service bar serves fresh
fruit juices, soft drinks, tea and coffee, cocktails, wines,
spirits and liqueurs.
Within the
grounds of Serena Mountain Lodge there is a fully
air-conditioned conference room which can accommodate up to 35
people and is suitable for small meetings, seminars or banquets.