Breath - Taking Experience At Naro Moru River Lodge

Naro Moru River Lodge is one of the places that you should be having on your list on places to visit before the end of this year if you are a resident in Kenya. The lodge is located 170 km from Nairobi making it a 2 hour journey. One would opt to use the karatina Nyeri road to Marua River Bridge then off Kiganjo before heading to Nanyuki. The place is situated at the side of Mount Kenya; therefore by the time you get there, the temperatures are quite low since the altitude is 2155 m above sea level.

During high season, one should book the accommodation in advance. One is welcomed at the gate by the smelling musky ground, thorny cactus, picture perfect lawn along the Naro Moru River and birds’ chirping. The riot of nature across the river and the rush of the water over rocks is a captivating contrast to the silence of the lodge. Fountains gush through stones while the rock garden leads up the steep to the rooms. The lodge is also a famous base for Mount Kenya climbing whose seasons are mid Dec – March. A deluxe room at Naro Moru lodge fitted with 2 beds is clean and comfortable with a temping milk- white bath tub. Wooden floors keep the room warm although the room is heated up at the chimneys when people go for dinner. The balconies are marked by elegantly finished with timber with polished logs.

One can have dinner at either Kirinyaga or Nelion restaurant. Kirinyaga restaurant has quite a bland menu while and hugs a heated pool while Nelion is smaller but has better food, more personal service and a cosy bar full of stories. Point Lenana bar is where the manager gets to interact with the visitors and also try to convince them to do mountain climbing. There are t-shirts and bandanas autographed ‘Yes we did it’ and ‘Nothing is harder’ mostly by hikers from alpine countries like Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland.

A foot safari to mount is none to leave out, furnished by experienced guides porters and offer an array of mountain climbing equipment and regalia. Essentials before taking a foot safari are, map reading, health, equipment, dressing, diet, weather, weight limit. It is six to seven hours walk to the Mackinder’s camp and one could spend a night at Teleki lodge. At this place the altitude is 14000 ft, thus creating sickness which is presented by nausea, breathing problems, vomiting, dizziness and sometimes mild dementia due to the reduction of oxygen. Hikers get to enjoy the sunrise at Lenana peak but they should also wear shades to protect their eyes from reflection from the ice and in addition be dressed up too like Eskimos since the temperatures are -10 to -15 degrees centigrade. The zones on the mountain are from rock, stone and ice zone. The return to Naro Moru River Lodge is 25 km.