Up Sirimon with a full rest day at 4,200m, over Point Lenana, and down the Teleki Valley to Naro Moru. Built around acclimatisation rather than distance.
This itinerary trades a long third day for a rest day, and it is the one we suggest for anyone who has never been above 4,000m. You spend two nights at Shipton’s Camp, using the middle day for a short walk up towards the Hausberg tarns before returning to sleep at the same altitude. That single decision does more for your summit chances than any amount of training.
A short drive from Nanyuki to Sirimon Gate at 2,650m, then straight into the forest on foot. Nine kilometres through rainforest and giant bamboo, climbing gently the whole way.
Colobus and Sykes’ monkeys are common, and you will see buffalo and elephant sign on the track. Slow is the instruction of the day.
Old Moses Camp · 3,300mOut of the trees and into open moorland, then up the Mackinder Valley beneath the peaks. Giant lobelia and groundsel line the route, some of them centuries old.
Shipton’s sits in a basin directly below Batian and Nelion. If the cloud lifts in the late afternoon, the view from camp is the best on the northern side of the mountain.
Shipton’s Camp · 4,200mThe day that makes this itinerary work. A relaxed morning walk up towards the Hausberg tarns and the base of the peaks, gaining a few hundred metres, then back down to sleep at 4,200m.
Climb high, sleep low is the oldest rule in high-altitude trekking and it is the reason our clients on this route summit more often than on any other five-day option. The afternoon is yours: photographs, laundry, or lying still and letting your body get on with it.
Shipton’s Camp · 4,200mAn early start into the dark, climbing the scree and rock above Shipton’s to reach Point Lenana at 4,985m for sunrise. Kilimanjaro on the horizon if the weather is kind.
Down the southern side to Mackinder’s Camp for a full breakfast, then a long descent through the Teleki Valley and the notorious Vertical Bog to the Met Station. The vegetation changes completely in a single afternoon.
Met Station · 3,050mA gentle two-hour descent through montane forest to Naro Moru Gate at 2,400m, with some of the biggest trees on the mountain and a good chance of colobus overhead.
Transport meets you at the gate for the transfer back to Nanyuki or Nairobi.
What’s included
- Kenya Wildlife Service park fees for every day on the mountain
- KWS-certified guide, cook and porters
- All meals on the mountain, freshly cooked
- Accommodation along the route
- Tents, sleeping bags and walking sticks
- Road transport at both ends of the trek
- Drinking water throughout
What to bring
- Well-broken-in hiking boots — the most important item you own
- Warm jacket and insulated trousers for summit morning
- Waterproof jacket and over-trousers
- Warm hat, gloves and a buff or balaclava
- Sunglasses and high-factor sun cream
- Head torch with spare batteries
- Daypack for the summit push
Missing something? We rent down jackets, insulated trousers, gloves, fleeces and larger packs at USD 5 per item for the trip. Sleeping bags, walking sticks and tents are already included.
What it costs
Five days at our standard daily rate, everything above included.
Airport collection and Nairobi transport available at USD 150. See our full cost breakdown for what sits outside the daily rate.
Book the Sirimon–Naro Moru Traverse
Tell us your dates and group size and we will send a day-by-day plan built around them.
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