Mount Longonot National Park – Daytrip

Mt Longonot day trip from Nairobi offers a challenging hike up an extinct volcano in the Great Rift Valley, with options to trek to the crater rim and even around it for spectacular views, often combined with a relaxing boat ride on nearby Lake Naivasha before returning to Nairobi, typically taking 4-6 hours total hiking time.

Mount Longonot Park Daytrip

Depart Nairobi for Mt Longonot National Park early in the morning and go through the Kikuyu lush green highlands and then on the eastern escarpment of the rift valley system. Lunch is included.

You will make a scheduled stop at the viewpoint on the side of the escarpment to enjoy the view of the Rift valley floor from a bird’s eye view. Situated on the floor of the world-famous Great Rift Valley. Located just 2 hours’ drive from Nairobi, it is the perfect location for an adventurous day trip.

The rift valley system was formed 5 million years ago, and the rift runs from the red sea through Ethiopia and Kenya and Tanzania up to Mozambique.

Mount Longonot is a dormant volcano near Lake Naivasha and is managed by the Kenya Wildlife Service and offers a great scenic walk around the rim of the crater.

The hike at Mount Longonot requires medium physical fitness and you will climb through the galleys that dot the sides of this mountain.  You can make some rest stops at the designated places on the trek.

You will get to the rim of the crater and look into the awesome crater below.

If you have the strength for it, you can go round the rim of the crater. The hike takes about 4 hours. You may decide to take the trail that leads to the floor of the caldera.

Mount Longonot Park Daytrip

The habitats covered include the savannah, dry scrubland and the Crater Forest.

The Park hosts herds of Zebras, Kongoni, Giraffe and warthogs. The variety of birdlife is prolific.

The Mount Longonot Gate is seats at 2150 metres and the peak at 2780 metres above sea level but following the jagged rim involves substantially more than the 630 metres vertical difference. The crater rim provides great scenic views across the beautiful Rift Valley.

Mount Longonot hike
View the Loita Plains and then proceed to Mount Longonot for a 5-hour hike. You will hike around the crater and down to the Gate. The total length of the hike up, around the crater rim, and back, is 10.3km. The hike from the Gate to the crater rim is 3.1km in length.

Sheer Adventure

Rising from the floor of the Great Rift Valley like a monolith is the extinct volcano of Mount Longonot. A unique feature is the thick forest that lies within the crater of the mountain.

The crater rim also provides great scenic views across the beautiful Rift Valley all the way to Lake Naivasha. Major wildlife attractions at Mount Longonot include buffaloes, elands, lion, leopard, bushbucks, common zebra, giraffe and Grant’s gazelles.

Overview

You then have the option to combine this tour with a visit to nearby Lake Naivasha for relaxation or nearby Hell’s Gate National Park for some more action.

Mount Longonot National Park – Daytrip