Hells Gate National Park

Hells Gate National Park is where geothermal activity falls alive, you will hear a brushing sound when walking on an oblique slope, which is a desolate geothermal area. I have been privileged to visit this park twice, the very first time was a pure photography session in the canyon, while the second time was an adventure in the wild with bikes. The Park It is a niche attraction with its impressive cliffs makes for a nice day trip from Naivasha. Although there are plenty of herbivores around, it doesn’t really compete with some of the more popular parks in Kenya. Unfortunately (but sensibly!), in most national parks you’re not allowed to get out of the vehicle and, if you’ve never been on safari before, you might be surprised to hear that spending days in a car on bad roads looking at animals can quickly get very tiring. What makes Hell’s Gate special is that this is one of the few parks that allows you to dump the car and walk or, better, cycle, with African megafauna. It’s an opportunity not to miss! Aside from some buffalo, the park lacks dangerous animals and you are allowed to walk and cycle throughout. We were doing three hours of cycling and for one hour I found it amazingly exciting to cycle for a time unguided through herds of zebra, giraffe, and buffalo. You could even take a picnic along and you’ll feel like a character in ‘Out of Africa’. The bikes are for rent not far from the main entrance and you can bargain! The scenery of the canyon and the park is special, it’s a mix of classic savannah landscapes hemmed by impressive cliffs and volcanic and it is one of the filming locations for the Lion King and Tomb Raider. To be honest it was foolish of us to try to mountain bike through Hell’s Gate National Park on a clapped-out machine rented at the roadside lol! Suffice to say the ensuing three hours of aching legs, flat tires, copious sweating, and even more, copious swearing is not one of my adventure highlights. Here we were on a clanky old bicycle gingerly cycling past buffalo and wondering whether it was safe to cycle through the middle of a group of baboons who were blocking the road. I still recall the excitement and exhilaration of feeling that I was now a part of the food chain hahaha! Today I still prefer to walk in the bush for ONLY an hour rather than view it from a car and so on every trip. Other plus points for the park are that it’s an ideal family-friendly park and it’s considerably cheaper than many other parks. Now I understand why some of my friends opted to do rock climbing and use the car to go around the park.

Interesting fact, this is the park where the timeless movie Lion King was filmed. Also The Tomb Raider was filmed in Hells Gate. This tells you about its popularity both for local and international tourists. It is popular for its wildlife, its huge cliffs and its gorges. When visiting, options are plenty. It is located in Kiambu county 134km from Nairobi CBD. You can choose to go for a game drive for a cost of 1800/= per cruiser, or picnics at 250/= per head or cycling which costs 1000/= per bike but if you bring your own bike, you’ll only pay 200/=. While cycling around the park you can pass by the zebras and giraffes. I remember my visit there on a class trip, we visited one of the water-gouged gorges and we got to swim in one. This is strictly under supervision when the water levels are low. I really enjoyed that particular experience. Although there is not much wildlife, you can take part in hiking, camping and canyon walking. There some places where the canyon is 30 meters high. The view there is mind blowing. But you have to be careful and always be accompanied by a guide. Its a remarkable and memorable place to visit.

Despite its name, the park has spectacular scenery including the towering cliffs, water-gouged gorges, stark rock towers, scrub clad volcanoes and belching plumes of geothermal steam make it one of the most atmospheric Parks in Africa. When I visited it, I was not sure of what to expect. Park Entry includes 250/= for residents and 20USD for non residents. From the entrance, you feel so welcomed. My friends and I decided to try cycling. We used the route closest to Devil’s Tower and Elsa Gate. Within the first 10 km, we were able to see buffalos, giraffes, antelopes and baboons. After cycling, we were taken for bird viewing. The park boasts of over 100 species of birds and I remember not knowing the names of half of the birds we saw. But our guide was quite knowledgeable of the different species. Regrettably, I can’t recall most of them.There was also this gorge with a pond in it where we got to swim. It was so much fun. There were other activities including rock climbing and hiking through the gorge. Even though we didn’t partake in these activities, our guide kept telling us how this place is a hub for team building. I really enjoyed my time there.