The dreamy Aberdare

A waterfall in the Aberdare Forest. [Peter Muiruri, Standard]

“Alluring and dreamy, the rise and fall of the misty valleys, hills and mountains of the spectacular Aberdare.”

The description of the mighty Aberdare National Park by Kenya Wildlife Service aptly describes the mystique that shrouds one of Kenya’s water towers and wildlife sanctuary.

In the dying days of July, I could have been excused to step out of the city for an adventure in the freezing terrain of the Aberdares. But I did — together with a battery of journalists with an equally insatiable desire to conquer the ‘Switzerland of Africa’.

On a chilly Thursday, we took the Thika Superhighway and onto the Kenol-Marua road. Although the latter is under construction, large segments of the newest dual carriageway in Kenya are open to vehicular traffic, reducing the journey to the Aberdare Forest to a little over two hours.

At the park headquarters along the Nyeri-Mweiga road, we picked up Brenda, the affable KWS ranger and our guide for the next two days. Brenda knows the 767-kilometre square park like the back of her hand.

A short drive down a paved country road led us to Ark Gate, so named after the Ark, the lodge within the park designed after the Biblical Noah’s ark.

We ventured deeper into the dense forest, the biting cold notwithstanding. Like in other key wildlife sanctuaries in Kenya, animals abound in the Aberdare Forest. A leopard dashed across the road and disappeared into the thick undergrowth, too quick for anyone in our car could take a snap.

Our colleagues in another vehicle behind us got another treat from the leopard that crossed their path a couple of times. A few here managed to capture the moments on camera.

Either way, we had bagged the first of the Big Five. It is rare to see such cats in the thick forest but there have been sightings of the black leopard as well. 

Watching animals in the Aberdares is a tricky affair. These creatures, perhaps due to lack of human traffic, are skittish and will dash deeper into the forest at the slightest disturbance.

And then the mist. In addition, the park is usually clogged in thick fog, especially in the upper elevations, reducing visibility to a bare minimum. Some animals could just be grazing by the roadside but hardly visible to human visitors.

This was the case with some buffaloes that hid their massive bodies in the bushes and only left their heads with the thick bosses protruding through the bush.

Elephants are among the alluring sights of Aberdare National Park. [Peter Muiruri, Standard]

We crossed paths with the black forest hog, a bigger and darker version of the warthog. A shy bushbuck kept poking her head among the bushes while a Sykes monkey played the acrobat high up the podocarpus. The forest is home to the rare mountain bongo, and sighting one was, well, rare.

As darkness approached, we returned to our pit stop for the day; the newly-opened Treetops Lodge, Kenya’s hotel of superlatives and the haunt for young Princess Elizabeth in 1952.

As the night wore on, a hyena’s laugh punctuated the night as it approached a nearby waterhole where a herd of elephants, part of 3,000 elephants here, had taken position. The hyena may have been looking for an easy picking, a difficult undertaking.

Interestingly, a number of elephants here have bits of their tails bitten off by hyenas, perhaps out of frustration for not getting a whole meal.

A black rhino attempted to take a sip but was soon repulsed by the jumbos who by now had the exclusive use of the waterhole, yet they had tolerated a lone buffalo moments earlier.

Bird lovers are always in for a treat as Aberdares is home to the critically endangered Aberdare cisticola the Jackson’s francolin, sparry hawk, goshawks, eagles, Egyptian geese, sunbirds and plovers.

At first light (actually fog), we were out again, this time, to chase Aberdare’s famed waterfalls past the moorlands.

They are a number here, including Karuru Falls, the highest in East Africa and whose ice-cold waters drop an impressive 300 metres; the Gura Falls from the opposite side of the same gorge; Chania Falls, and the Magura Falls cascading across the mouth of the Queen's Cave.

It was a brisk walk (Safari ants notwithstanding), a gentle slope then a sheer drop to the bottom of Chania Falls. There is nothing more magical than watching huge volumes of water cascading down a few hundred metres with refreshing droplets hitting your sweaty face.

Chania Falls is among the alluring sights of Aberdare National Park. [Peter Muiruri, Standard]

Magura Falls is equally enchanting but easily accessible to anyone who can climb a flight of stairs in the city. You just need a good pair of lungs to cope with thin air at higher altitudes.

Our attempts to get to the bottom of Karuru Falls were futile. Thick fog enveloped the surrounding terrain and made it impossible to see beyond a couple of metres, only content to hear the thunderous roar of the falls. Nothing wrong with having the falls on the bucket list.

This park, in the words of KWS director-general Dr Erustus Kanga, “is not only a true gem of natural beauty but also rich in history and culture”. It was gazetted in May 1950 and has played a significant role in Kenya's history.

Its forests and caves served as hideouts for freedom fighters during the Mau Mau uprising, with landmarks like the Kimathi ‘Post Office’ and caves among key features.

The Aberdare Ranges, where the park is located, are locally known as Nyandarua and revered by the Kikuyu community as a sacred site similar to Mount Kenya.

The diverse habitats make the park an adventurer’s paradise, attracting thousands of hikers and trekkers. The high-altitude peaks dotted with ‘dragon teeth’, or volcanic, rock formations assuming the rugged look of a set of teeth offer excellent training for those aspiring to summit Mt. Kenya.

Despite the vast allure of natural beauty, the park needs more hospitality outlets and well-tended campsites to accommodate more local adventurers and shore up visitor numbers. In the meantime, Aberdares will continue offering nature enthusiasts lasting memories of life high up in the cloud.