Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, its highest points being Batian (5,199 m), Nelion (5,188 m) and Lenana (4,985 m). Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, over 100 miles northeast of Nairobi.
The area around the mountain is protected in the Mount Kenya National Park. Its slopes include several different biomes - the rocky peak area, with its mantle of glaciers and snowfields; the alpine zone with its distinctive giant vegetation; and the vast gentle lower slopes drenched in mountain forest and bamboo jungle. Tarns and alpine meadows; exotic, equatorial, high-altitude vegetation; sunbirds, hyrax and soaring eagles make the walk around the peaks one of the most beautiful treks in East Africa.
Wildlife within the forests below the park boundary includes elephant, buffalo, lion, several species of antelope including the rare bongo and occasionally the melanistic forms of both the leopard and the serval. Twelve small (and rapidly shrinking) glaciers may be found scattered among the complex of seven named peaks, of which Batian and Nelion are the highest.
Both Batian and Nelion are technical climbs but Point Lenana, at 4,985 metres (16,354 ft), can be reached by a hiking trail. January or February and August or September are considered to be the best months to climb Mount Kenya.
