Kenya
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya National Park / Natural Forest protects the afro-alpine region surrounding Mount Kenya, the second-highest mountain in Africa at 5,199 m.
The mountain is an extinct volcano with 12 remnant glaciers on its slopes, which are retreating rapidly. Also, there are several small lakes and it is the main water catchment area for two large rivers in Kenya; the Tana and the Ewaso Ng'iso North. The site also comprises the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve in the foothills, which are within the African elephant migration route.
Community Perspective: This site requires an up-to-date review.
Site Info
Official Information
- Full Name
- Mount Kenya National Park / Natural Forest (ID: 800)
- Country
- Kenya
- Status
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Inscribed 1997
Site history
History of Mount Kenya
- WHS Type
- Natural
- Criteria
- vii
- ix
Links
- UNESCO
- whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
- whc.unesco.org — whc.unesco.org/
Related Resources
- ngarendare.org — Ngare Ndare Forest Trust
- kws.go.ke — Kenya Wildlife Service
- en.wikipedia.org — Wiki on Mount Kenya
News Article
- Dec. 8, 2023 scmp.com — Why Africa’s Mount Kenya risks becoming as polluted as Kilimanjaro, as access to its peaks is made easier for visitors
- March 5, 2019 whc.unesco.org — For more than a week, devastating fires have raged in Mount Kenya National Park
- Sept. 8, 2012 bbc.co.uk — Mt Kenya to get electric fence to stop wildlife straying
- March 20, 2012 washingtonpost.com — Elephants, wildlife flee as fire spreads across Mount Kenya
Community Information
- Community Category
- Natural landscape: Mountain
Travel Information
High entrance fees
Recent Connections
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African Wild Dog
Known to use the (elephant) wildlife co… -
Somalia-Masai regional centre of endemism
"the area lies at the interface of the … -
Mammal Migrations
"Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ngare Nd…
Connections of Mount Kenya
- Individual People
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Charles Darwin
The Darwin Glacier was named by the geologist John Walter Gregory - the first person to reach the icefields of Mt Kenya in 1892/3.In his book "The Great Rift Valley" he describes that this "was so named as we owe to Darwin the first precise description of a glacial valley in England" -
Leakey Family
Gray Leakey, a cousin of Louis Leakey, was taken captive and led into the forests of Mount Kenya, high up on the mountain, where "he was buried alive and upside down in deep red soil" (during the Mau Mau insurgency 1952-1960)See www.codesria.org
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Sir Wilfred Thesiger
1970See prmprints.com
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- Geography
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Volcanic plugs
"The summit of Mt. Kenya is the remnant of a volcanic plug which was left as softer materials were eroded by glaciation" (AB ev) -
World's most prominent mountains
32nd most prominent (3825m/1374m/Kilimanjaro) -
Equator
its peak "is about 16.5 kilometres (10.3 miles) south of the equator" (wiki) -
Glaciers
Northey, Krapf, Gregory, Lewis, Diamond, Darwin, Forel, Heim, Tyndall, Cesar, Josef. (Not expected to last longer than another 30 years) -
Highest (over 5000m)
Mt Kenya (5119m) -
Territorial Highest points
5199m/17057ft
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- Trivia
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Fatal Accidents or 'disasters'
"On July 19, 2003, a South African registered aircraft, carrying 12 passengers and two crew, crashed into Mount Kenya at Point Lenana: nobody survived" -
Depicted on National Coat of Arms
Kenya -
On beer cans and bottles
White Cap Lager depicts the snow-capped peak of Mount Kenya.
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- Ecology
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Stratovolcanoes
"Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano that was active in the Plio-Pleistocene." (wiki) -
Critically endangered fauna species
(Eastern) Black Rhino: "Lewa holds over 12% of Kenya's eastern black rhinoceros population" (wiki) -
Eagles
Ayres hawk eagle (Official description) -
Lions
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy : "There are currently 44 lions acros the Lewa-Borana Landscape."See www.lewa.org
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Megaherbs
giant groundselsSee en.wikipedia.org
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African Wild Dog
Known to use the (elephant) wildlife corridor (IUCN Outlook 2020) -
Elephants
African elephant -
Rhino habitat
black rhinoceros -
Somalia-Masai regional centre of endemism
"the area lies at the interface of the Afromontane and Somali biomes and within the Somali – Maasai Center of Endemism" (AB ev) -
Big Five
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy: It ... includes the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and African Buffalo) (wiki) -
Mammal Migrations
"Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve also lie within the traditional migration route of the African elephant population of the Mount Kenya – Somali/Maasai ecosystem and has always been the traditional dry season feeding area for elephants." (OUV)
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- Damaged
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Wildfires
2019: "fires have already destroyed more than 80,000 hectares of forest and grassland, which represents almost half the area of the World Heritage site"See whc.unesco.org
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Poaching
Subsistence hunting is carried out in the forested lower slopes, and to a lesser extent at higher elevations where its impact is limited due to the extremely rugged terrain and difficulty of capturing prey species. The few remaining critically endangered mountain bongo antelopes are at high risk to subsistence hunting. The African elephant remain also at high risk due to ivory poaching.
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- World Heritage Process
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First inscriptions
Kenya: two inscriptions in 1997, with Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest as the lowest number -
Extended
2013: To include Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Ngare Ndare Forest Reserve
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- Religion and Belief
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Axis Mundi
See en.wikipedia.org
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Sacred Mountains
It has been regarded as a sacred mountain by neighbouring Kikuyu and Meru people.
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- Human Activity
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Canopy Walkways
Ngare Ndare Forest: "A 450 m long bridge suspended 30 feet above the ground, longest in East Africa."See ngarendare.org
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- Constructions
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Via Ferrata
"In July 2012 a new via ferrata developed by the Kenyan Wildlife Services (KWS), opened on Mount Kenya" (Wiki)
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- WHS on Other Lists
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Biodiversity hotspot
Eastern Afromontane -
World Biosphere Reserves
Mount Kenya (1978) -
World Heritage Forest Programme
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IUCN Green List
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy -
Alliance for Zero Extinction
Grammomys gigas (Giant Thicket Rat) -
WWF Global 200
Terrestrial, Montane Grasslands and Shrublands: (104) East African MoorlandsSee web.archive.org
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Centres of Plant Diversity
Af62 Mount Kenya - "Vegetation varies with altitude and rainfall and the property supports a rich alpine and subalpine flora"
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- Timeline
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Pliocene
Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano that was active in the Plio-Pleistocene (wiki) / It is an ancient extinct volcano, which during its period of activity (3.1-2.6 million years ago) is thought to have risen to 6,500 m (AB ev)
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- Visiting conditions
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High entrance fees
52 USD -
Foreigner prices
Different prices for Citizens, Residents and Non-Residents. From 430 Kenyan shilling to 52 USD.See www.kws.go.ke
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- WHS Names
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Named after a Mountain
Mt Kenya 5199m -
Country named after them
The mountain was named by Krapf as both Kenia and Kegnia when he first sited it in 1849 apparently using a native word which he recorded (possibly Kikuyu Kirinyaga?). The colony in which it stands was originally known just as "British East Africa Protectorate" but the growing number of white settlers led to a change of status in 1920 when the "Kenya Colony" was created - named after the mountain. Because of their indiginous origins the names of both the mountian and the country were carried forward unaltered into the post colonial era.
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News
- scmp.com 12/08/2023
- Why Africa’s Mount Kenya risks bec…
- whc.unesco.org 03/05/2019
- For more than a week, devastating …
- bbc.co.uk 09/08/2012
- Mt Kenya to get electric fence to …
Recent Visitors
Reserved for members.Community Reviews
Show full reviews
There is a drought now all over Kenya, as the mini rainy season of Nov 2005 did not come. So the Masai bring their cattle and sheep up to the tourist area. This drove away the animals. The cows meanwhile are dying from the altitude and new germs which they have no resistence to. Seeing a lot of dead and dying cows being butchered was not fun.
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