Mt Longonot is a dormant stratovolcano mountain located some 68km from Nairobi. Mount Longonot is 2780m above sea level. The mountain has a wide crater at the top with small green trees and volcanic spaced steam vents along the crater wall. The mountain is located inside of a park bearing the same name. Mt Longonot day hike is very popular due to its short distance from Nairobi city and the lower park entrance fees.
Mt Longonot day hike takes between 3-5 hours depending on pace and fitness. The hike from the gate to the crater rim is 3.1km in length, but the height gain is rapid, making for a stiff climb. One can also decide to circumnavigate the crater rim, which is a distance of 7.2km. The hiking trail is provided some rest points, but it is narrow, especially on the crater rim.
The total length of the hike up, around the crater rim, and back is 10.3km through some narrow paths and treacherously steep inclines.
There are no lodge accommodation facilities in the park itself but Naivasha town and surrounds have a range of options. Mount Longonot National Park is also easily accessible from Nairobi (90 Kms)on a tarmac road.
The main attractions of the park include the extinct volcano and crater forest and the views of Lake Naivasha and the Great Rift Valley. It is also a great destination for birding – and in particular birds of prey.
3 Hours Before Flight Time
Mt Longonot day hike takes between 3-5 hours depending on pace and fitness. The hike from the gate to the crater rim is 3.1km in length, but the height gain is rapid, making for a stiff climb. One can also decide to circumnavigate the crater rim, which is a distance of 7.2km. The hiking trail is provided some rest points, but it is narrow, especially on the crater rim.
The trip departs Nairobi at 7:30am and the journey takes approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. Your start the ascent at 2150m from the gate and like all good uphill hikes, it will lull you into a false sense of security with a slow gentle rise to the first hill.
This gives you a chance to get your lungs and limbs freed up for the second section which, in our opinion, is most awesome. At the end of each section there is a rest point for the preparation of the next part of your journey.
You start the hike from the main gate of the National Park, hiking vertically up the dormant volcano, rising over 630 meters to the rim of the crater at 2776 meters above sea level. The walk is very steep and craggy in parts and a trek encircling the rim and back to the gate is around nine kilometers.
This day trek is a good warm up to experience the conditions of a mountain trek and test your stamina for a longer trek, like Mount Kenya or Mount Kilimanjaro.
Despite setting off early to avoid the heat of the sun, by the time you reach the end of the second section you will have surely generated your own heat. This hike is not an easy hike but is achievable by people of reasonably good fitness. Once you have finished the second section, you are on the rim of the crater.
There is another respite of slightly less demanding terrain, before making the final climb on the fourth section. This again is a demanding section. As you heave yourself over the rim of the crater you are rewarded with the awesome sight of Naivasha and the Great Rift Valley and a feeling that it was all worthwhile.
