The 7-Day Mount Kenya Itinerary: The Health-Smart Version
A 7-day Mount Kenya itinerary that climbs the Sirimon route to Point Lenana (4,985 m) and descends via Chogoria, built around one change: a rest day at Old Moses Camp (3,300 m) before pushing on to Shipton's Camp (4,200 m). The standard 4-day guided version skips that day, moving sleeping altitude up 900 m in a single push, nearly double the 500 m-per-day pace the CDC recommends once you're above 3,000 m. Acetazolamide (Diamox), started the day before the climb begins, compresses the body's normal 3-to-5-day acclimatization into one, per CDC Yellow Book guidance. This is the altitude-first version of the climb built by a Wandr Health physician co-founder with ER experience treating returning travelers.
Point Lenana gets treated as a footnote to a Kenya safari, two extra days bolted onto a Masai Mara loop before the flight home. It shouldn't be. At 4,985 meters, Point Lenana is a legitimate high-altitude summit, and the standard four-day guided route pushes most climbers from Old Moses Camp (3,300 m) to Shipton's Camp (4,200 m) in a single push, well past the pace the CDC recommends once you're above 3,000 meters. This 7-day itinerary keeps the same Sirimon-up, Chogoria-down route guides use, but adds the acclimatization day that the fast version skips, and times acetazolamide (Diamox) to actually do its job before the ascent gets steep. The goal isn't just reaching the summit. It's reaching it without turning back at Shipton's with a headache that ibuprofen alone can't fix.
Who this itinerary is for
This suits fit hikers with no technical climbing background. Point Lenana is a walk-up summit, no ropes or scrambling required, but the route still demands 5 to 7 hours of trekking on multiple days and a cold, pre-dawn summit push over scree and rock. If you've done a multi-day trek before, Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail, an Everest Base Camp trek, you already know the rhythm: eat, hydrate, walk slowly, sleep, repeat. First-time high-altitude trekkers should treat the two nights at Old Moses Camp as non-negotiable, not a scheduling inconvenience to skip if a tour operator offers a faster package.
Returning altitude trekkers who've had acute mountain sickness before should talk to a provider about acetazolamide timing and their own prior response before booking. Everyone else should assume Mount Kenya will feel harder than a similarly-rated hike at sea level, because it is. General trail fitness matters more than technical skill: you should be comfortable walking 5 to 10 km a day on uneven terrain, carrying a daypack, for several consecutive days. Most operators supply porters for the heavy gear, so you're not hauling a full expedition pack, but summit day itself is unsupported in the sense that nobody can carry the altitude for you.
If your schedule only allows a compressed 4 or 5-day version of this route, that's a real option operators sell, but understand what you're trading away. Fewer nights of acclimatization means a meaningfully higher chance of turning back below the summit with a headache, and a higher chance of needing to descend early. The extra 2 days on this itinerary exist specifically to lower that risk, not to pad the trip.
The route
This itinerary runs the classic Sirimon-Chogoria traverse: up the gentler, more gradual Sirimon route on the mountain's northwest side, across the alpine zone to summit Point Lenana, then down the more scenic Chogoria route on the east side, past Lake Michaelson and the Gorges Valley. Sirimon and Chogoria are two of Mount Kenya National Park's main access routes, alongside Naro Moru, each entered through its own Kenya Wildlife Service gate.
Starting from Nanyuki, the northern gateway town, the route climbs from Sirimon Gate (2,650 m) through montane forest, then open moorland dotted with giant lobelia and groundsel, to Old Moses Camp (3,300 m). From there it continues through the Mackinder Valley to Shipton's Camp (4,200 m), the launch point for the pre-dawn summit push. The descent via Chogoria trades speed for scenery: alpine tarns, the dramatic Temple cliff face, and Lake Michaelson before dropping through the Gorges Valley to Meru Bandas and Chogoria Gate. Traversing rather than climbing and descending the same route also means you see twice the terrain in the same number of days.
Sirimon is generally considered the more gradual of the two main ascent routes, which is part of why it's the better up-route for a schedule built around acclimatization rather than speed. Chogoria has a reputation among guides as the most scenic descent on the mountain, and running it after the summit rather than before means you're moving downhill through the best scenery on tired legs instead of using it to warm up. Both gates are staffed by the Kenya Wildlife Service, which manages Mount Kenya National Park and requires park entry and climbing permits at each one; a licensed operator typically handles this as part of a guided package, along with the porters and cook staff who carry camp gear between huts.
Day-by-day plan
Day 1: Arrive Nairobi, transfer to Nanyuki
Land in Nairobi (1,795 m) and drive roughly three hours north to Nanyuki, the small equatorial town most Sirimon-route trekkers use as a staging base. Use the afternoon for a gear check with your operator, confirm your permits are booked, and get an early night. You're still well below the altitude range where the CDC starts tracking risk, so this is the easiest sleep you'll get all week, and worth using it as one.
Day 2: Nanyuki to Sirimon Gate, trek to Old Moses Camp
Drive to Sirimon Gate (2,650 m) for KWS registration, then start walking. The first stretch moves through montane forest, past podocarpus and bamboo, before opening onto moorland, roughly 9 km and 4 to 5 hours of trekking to Old Moses Camp (3,300 m). This is your first night above the CDC's approximately 2,450 m altitude-risk threshold. If your provider has you starting acetazolamide the day before ascent, today is that day, and you should already be dosing by the time you reach camp.
Day 3: Acclimatization day at Old Moses Camp
This is the day a standard four-day itinerary cuts, and it's the structural reason this version exists. Take a short day hike up into the Liki North Valley for a few hours, gaining a few hundred meters of elevation exposure during the day, then return to sleep a second night at Old Moses (3,300 m), the same altitude as the night before. No net elevation gain overnight. Climbing high and sleeping low here is what makes tomorrow's jump survivable instead of miserable, and it's the single biggest structural difference between this itinerary and the version that turns people back at Shipton's.
Day 4: Old Moses to Shipton's Camp via Mackinder Valley
Today is the big one: roughly 10 km and 6 to 7 hours across open moorland and into the Mackinder Valley, gaining 900 meters of sleeping altitude to reach Shipton's Camp (4,200 m), beneath the mountain's central glaciated peaks. That's still a fast single-day gain by CDC standards, nearly double the 500-meter-per-day pace recommended once you're above 3,000 meters, but with two nights already banked at 3,300 m and acetazolamide on board, most climbers handle it far better than the compressed four-day version of this same route. Expect the temperature to drop sharply once you arrive; Shipton's sits well above the tree line.
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Day 5: Pre-dawn summit of Point Lenana, descend toward Chogoria
Wake around 3 a.m. for the summit push. It's a steep, cold scramble over scree and rock, roughly 3 to 4 hours up, to Point Lenana (4,985 m), typically timed for sunrise over the Lewis Glacier and the neighboring peaks of Batian and Nelion. After summiting, descend back to Shipton's for a short rest, then continue down the Chogoria side of the mountain to overnight near Mintos Hut and Lake Michaelson, roughly 4,200 m. This is the longest and highest-exposure day of the trip; continue acetazolamide through the descent, and keep ibuprofen on hand for the headache that hits many climbers on the ridge or in the hours afterward.
Day 6: Descend through Lake Michaelson and the Gorges Valley to Meru Bandas
A long but genuinely beautiful descent day: past Lake Michaelson beneath the Temple cliff face, down through the Gorges Valley with its waterfalls and rock formations, dropping roughly 1,200 meters to Meru Bandas around 3,000 m. Descent is the actual treatment for any lingering altitude symptoms, and most climbers notice a real difference in how they feel, appetite back, headache gone, sleeping better, by the time they reach camp.
Day 7: Chogoria Gate to Nairobi, depart
Finish the descent through forest to Chogoria Gate, then transfer by road back to Nairobi, roughly four to five hours depending on traffic through Meru and Nyeri. You're back below 2,000 m. The broken sleep from Shipton's and Mintos should resolve within a night or two at low altitude, well before your flight home, and most climbers describe the hot shower and real bed at the end of this day as the best part of the whole trip.
Health prep for this trip
The single biggest lever on this trip is pacing, not gear. Book a travel health visit about six weeks out to confirm routine vaccines plus the Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Typhoid vaccines the CDC recommends for most Kenya travelers, and to talk through your own altitude history if you have one. Two weeks out, order your Mount Kenya travel medicine kit: acetazolamide for AMS prevention, Rx-strength ibuprofen for the altitude headache that tends to hit at Shipton's Camp and on the summit ridge, and hydroxyzine for the sleep disruption that becomes nearly universal above roughly 2,700 m. Start acetazolamide the evening before you leave Sirimon Gate, and keep taking it through your highest nights at Shipton's and Mintos.
For the fuller destination picture, including malaria and vaccine guidance for Kenya beyond the mountain itself, see the Kenya travel health guide. This route itself sits above Kenya's malaria transmission zone, so bite precautions (not chemoprophylaxis) are the standard advice here, but if your trip bookends the climb with a lowland safari extension, ask your provider about antimalarials during the same visit rather than treating it as a separate errand. Food and water safety habits, bottled or treated water, hot cooked food, are worth keeping up on trek even though the huts and camps are generally well run; most operators boil or filter drinking water for climbers as standard practice. If your provider discusses dexamethasone as a backup option for treating more significant AMS symptoms in the field, that's a reasonable second-line conversation to have, though acetazolamide remains the first-line prevention strategy for a planned ascent like this one.
What to pack
Layering matters more than any single piece of gear on this trip, since you're moving from equatorial forest to near-freezing alpine conditions inside the same day on more than one occasion. Beyond the basics your operator will list, prioritize:
- Warm layers for 4,000+ meters: insulated jacket, fleece, thermal base layers, warm hat and gloves for a pre-dawn summit that can sit near or below freezing
- Sturdy, broken-in hiking boots, gaiters help on the loose scree near the summit
- Headlamp with spare batteries for the 3 a.m. summit start
- Trekking poles, especially useful on the long Chogoria descent
- Sunscreen and sunglasses, UV exposure climbs meaningfully with elevation even on overcast days
- A basic first-aid kit and your acetazolamide, ibuprofen, and hydroxyzine, packed in carry-on, not checked luggage, in case bags are delayed
- A refillable water bottle or hydration bladder, staying well hydrated genuinely helps with acclimatization
- A lightweight pulse oximeter is optional but useful for tracking how you're adjusting night to night, some climbers find the data reassuring, others find it distracting; know which type you are before you pack one
Best time to go and what to avoid
Mount Kenya sits close enough to the equator that seasons are defined by rainfall rather than temperature swings, which makes trail conditions, not heat or cold, the main planning variable.
Even in a dry-season month, weather above 4,000 m can turn quickly, and snow at Point Lenana is possible in any month. Pack for cold, wind, and the possibility of snow on summit morning no matter which window you choose, and build in a spare day if your schedule allows it in case weather forces a delayed summit attempt.
Cost expectations
A guided 7-day Mount Kenya trek through a licensed operator, including park fees, permits, huts or camping, and a cook and porter team, typically runs from the low to mid four figures per person in USD, with real variation by operator, group size, and whether you're sleeping in huts or tents. That's before flights to Nairobi, travel insurance, and your travel-medicine visit. Most operators require the KWS park and climbing permits to be booked in advance and build them into the package price, so confirm exactly what's included, and what a weather-related delay would cost, before you sign a contract.
Day-by-day plan
| Day | What you're doing | Health note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive Nairobi, transfer to Nanyuki Land in Nairobi (1,795 m), drive roughly 3 hours north to the foothill town of Nanyuki, gear check and early night. | Still below the CDC's ~2,450 m altitude-risk threshold. Hydrate now, this is the easiest sleep you'll get all week. |
| 2 | Nanyuki to Sirimon Gate, trek to Old Moses Camp Drive to Sirimon Gate (2,650 m), register with KWS, trek roughly 9 km through montane forest and moorland to Old Moses Camp (3,300 m). | First night above 2,450 m. If you're starting acetazolamide, today is the day before, per CDC dosing. |
| 3 | Acclimatization day at Old Moses Camp Short day hike into the Liki North Valley, then back down to sleep a second night at Old Moses (3,300 m). No net altitude gain. | This is the day the standard 4-day itinerary cuts. Climbing high and sleeping low here is what keeps tomorrow's 900 m push survivable. |
| 4 | Old Moses to Shipton's Camp via Mackinder Valley Trek roughly 10 km across open moorland studded with giant lobelia and groundsel into the Mackinder Valley, arriving at Shipton's Camp (4,200 m). | A 900 m sleeping-altitude gain in one day. With 2 nights already banked at 3,300 m and acetazolamide on board, this is where the extra day pays off. |
| 5 | Pre-dawn summit of Point Lenana, descend toward Chogoria Wake around 3 a.m. for the summit push to Point Lenana (4,985 m), then descend the Chogoria side to overnight near Mintos Hut and Lake Michaelson (roughly 4,200 m). | Summit day is the highest point of exposure. Continue acetazolamide through descent; ibuprofen covers the headache many climbers get on the ridge. |
| 6 | Descend through Lake Michaelson and the Gorges Valley to Meru Bandas A long, scenic descent day past Lake Michaelson, the Temple cliffs, and the Gorges Valley, dropping to Meru Bandas (roughly 3,000 m). | Descent is the actual treatment for lingering altitude symptoms. Most climbers feel noticeably better by the time they reach Meru Bandas. |
| 7 | Chogoria Gate to Nairobi, depart Final descent to Chogoria Gate, road transfer back to Nairobi (roughly 4-5 hours), connect to your onward flight. | Below 2,000 m again. Expect the broken sleep from Shipton's and Mintos to resolve within a night or two at low altitude. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Most climbers do. Point Lenana sits at 4,985 m, and the standard route sleeps at Shipton's Camp around 4,200 m before the summit push. The CDC considers any unacclimatized traveler sleeping above roughly 2,450 m to be at risk for acute mountain sickness, and Shipton's sits well into the high-risk band. Acetazolamide speeds the body's normal 3-to-5-day acclimatization down to about one day. A licensed provider can confirm it's appropriate for you and rule out the rare contraindications, such as a sulfa allergy with prior anaphylaxis.
CDC Yellow Book guidance calls for 125 mg twice daily, starting the day before you begin ascending and continuing through the first days at your highest sleeping altitude. On this itinerary that means starting the evening before you leave Sirimon Gate on day 2, and continuing through the Shipton's Camp nights and the Point Lenana summit push. Your provider will confirm exact timing during your visit.
Technically, no. Point Lenana is a walk-up summit that doesn't require ropes, unlike Kilimanjaro's Uhuru Peak, which most operators also treat as non-technical. The real difference is speed: many commercial Mount Kenya packages compress the climb into 4 days, which forces a faster altitude gain than a comparable Kilimanjaro route. That's the entire reason this itinerary adds the extra acclimatization day at Old Moses.
Not on the mountain itself. The CDC reports malaria transmission in Kenya mainly below about 2,500 m, and this entire route, from Sirimon Gate through Point Lenana to Chogoria, sits above that line. Nairobi itself carries low risk within the urbanized center, where the CDC recommends bite precautions rather than pills. If your trip also includes a lowland safari extension, that's a separate conversation your provider can cover during your visit.
Not for a direct flight from the US. Kenya requires proof of yellow fever vaccination only if you're arriving from, or have recently transited through, a country with yellow fever transmission risk. The CDC does generally recommend the vaccine for travelers visiting Kenya's game parks and reserves outside Nairobi and the coast, so it's worth asking your provider whether that applies to a Mount Kenya National Park visit specifically.
Mount Kenya National Park is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service, and both park entry and a climbing permit for Point Lenana are required, booked electronically through the eCitizen platform or arranged by your trekking operator at the Sirimon or Chogoria gate. This is a logistics step, not a medical one, but most operators handle it as part of a guided package.
Mount Kenya has two dry windows: January to February, and June to September. Both offer clearer skies and firmer trails than the rainy months. Even in the dry season, weather above 4,000 m changes fast, so pack for cold, wind, and the possibility of snow on summit morning regardless of when you go.
Mild acute mountain sickness, headache plus nausea, fatigue, or dizziness, is common and usually resolves by staying at the same altitude, resting, and taking ibuprofen or acetaminophen. It should not be pushed through. The CDC's rule is not to ascend to a higher sleeping altitude while symptomatic, and to descend if symptoms worsen despite rest. Guided groups on Sirimon and Chogoria carry basic first aid and know the descent protocol; discuss your personal risk factors with a provider before you go.
Alec Freling, MD is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and co-founder of Wandr Health with ER experience treating returning travelers.