The sirimon chogoria route is the classic way to climb Mount Kenya, up the drier, gentler Sirimon side and down through Chogoria’s dramatic gorges and moorland, giving you two completely different landscapes in one trek.
- FromUSD 1,150per person, group of 4, park fees and crew included
- Duration5 days, 4 nights
- StartsNairobi or Nanyuki
- Best forHikers who want scenery variety without technical climbing
- Style2 to 8 people, porters and guide included
Rated 5.0 on Google from 46 reviews. Price confirmed in writing before you pay.
We run the sirimon chogoria route over 5 days with a full crew, guide, cook and porters, plus every park fee itemised so you know exactly what you are paying for before you commit to a deposit.
Below is the full day by day itinerary, hut and camp details, honest 2026 pricing by group size and the questions climbers ask us most before booking Mount Kenya’s most popular trekking route.
Highlights
- Two distinct landscapes, Sirimon’s open moorland and Chogoria’s dramatic gorge scenery
- Point Lenana summit at 4,985 metres, no technical climbing gear required
- Full crew included, guide, cook and porters carrying your main bag
- Huts and camps along the route, no need to carry a tent
- 5 days of park fees included and itemised in your quote
- Good acclimatisation profile compared with faster 4 day routes
Day by day plan
- Day 1
Nairobi to Sirimon Gate and Old Moses Camp
You drive from Nairobi or Nanyuki to the Sirimon gate, where your crew registers and you begin a gentle walk through montane forest and heath, gaining altitude gradually. You reach Old Moses Camp at about 3,300 metres by the afternoon, marking your first night spent up on the mountain.
- Day 2
Old Moses to Shipton’s Camp
A longer day through open moorland, with views opening up across the Mackinder Valley toward the peaks. You reach Shipton’s Camp at about 4,200 metres by mid afternoon, with time to rest and acclimatise before an early night ahead of the summit push.
- Day 3
Summit Point Lenana and Descend to Chogoria’s Minto’s Hut
A pre dawn start, usually around 3am, gets you to Point Lenana’s summit at 4,985 metres in time for sunrise, the trek’s high point both literally and as a genuine experience. You then descend the Chogoria side to Minto’s Hut, passing dramatic gorge and tarns scenery along the way, a long but rewarding day.
- Day 4
Minto’s Hut to Chogoria’s Meru Bandas
A long descent through Chogoria’s moorland and forest zones, following the route’s famous gorge views, before reaching the lower Meru Bandas camp for your final night on the mountain.
- Day 5
Descend to Chogoria Gate and Drive Back
A final morning walk through dense forest brings you down to the Chogoria gate, where your vehicle meets you for the drive back to Nanyuki or Nairobi, arriving that same evening.
Sirimon Chogoria Route Prices, USD Per Person
| Group size | Price per person |
|---|---|
| 2 people | USD 1,450 |
| 4 people | USD 1,150 |
| 6 to 8 people | USD 950 |
- Prices include 5 days of park fees (about USD 350), guide, cook, porters, huts and transfers from Nairobi
- A KES resident version is available on request, with citizen or resident park fees substituted
- Personal climbing gear, sleeping bag rental and travel insurance are quoted separately
Get my exact price on WhatsApp
Reserve this trip
Pick your dates and group. See the total. Hold it with a deposit.
Pay by Mpesa, bank transfer or card once we confirm in writing. Free changes until you confirm.
Included
- Park entry and camping or hut fees for all 5 days
- A qualified mountain guide, cook and porters for the full trek
- 3 meals a day while on the mountain
- Hut or camp accommodation for 4 nights
- Return road transport between Nairobi or Nanyuki and both gates
Not included
- International flights and Kenya ETA or visa
- Sleeping bag and personal climbing gear, rentable locally if needed
- Tips for your guide, cook and porters
- Travel and medical evacuation insurance
- Pre or post climb accommodation in Nairobi or Nanyuki
Why Is Sirimon Chogoria the Most Popular Mount Kenya Route?
The sirimon chogoria route combines the best of both approach roads, Sirimon’s gentler, drier ascent for better acclimatisation and Chogoria’s dramatic gorges, tarns and moorland for the descent, so you see two very different landscapes rather than retracing the same path both ways.
It also spreads altitude gain more gradually than faster routes, which meaningfully improves your summit odds and reduces the risk of altitude sickness compared with a rushed 3 or 4 day itinerary on a single route.
How Hard Is the Sirimon Chogoria Traverse?
Moderate to challenging, but with no technical climbing gear needed for Point Lenana, unlike Mount Kenya’s higher technical peaks, Batian and Nelion. Good general fitness and prior hiking experience matter more than any specialist mountaineering skill.
The summit day is the hardest, a pre dawn start, thinning air above 4,500 metres and a long day covering both the ascent and a substantial descent to Minto’s Hut. Reasonable fitness, realistic pacing and following your guide’s altitude advice matter more than raw athleticism.
What Huts or Camps Are Used on the Sirimon Chogoria Route?
Old Moses Camp and Shipton’s Camp serve the Sirimon side, both with dormitory style accommodation and basic facilities, while Minto’s Hut and the lower Meru Bandas cover the Chogoria descent.
None require you to carry a tent, though conditions are basic, shared rooms, cold nights and simple washing facilities, standard for high altitude trekking huts anywhere in East Africa.
How Much Is the 5 Day Sirimon Chogoria Climb?
The sirimon chogoria route starts from about USD 950 per person for a group of 6 to 8, rising to about USD 1,450 per person for a group of 2, with park fees, crew and huts all included.
A KES resident price is available on request, using citizen or resident park fee rates instead of the non resident figure. See our Mount Kenya climbing packages page for how this compares with our other routes and durations.
What Is the Summit Success Rate on Point Lenana?
Point Lenana, at 4,985 metres, has a high summit success rate compared with Mount Kenya’s technical peaks, since it requires walking fitness rather than climbing skill, typically well above 90 percent for reasonably fit trekkers on a properly paced 5 day sirimon chogoria route.
Success drops mainly due to altitude sickness rather than physical exhaustion, which is why the gradual acclimatisation profile of this specific route, rather than a faster 3 day alternative, genuinely improves your odds.
What Fitness Level Do You Need?
You should be comfortable walking 5 to 7 hours a day on uneven terrain, ideally with some prior multi day hiking experience, though you do not need technical climbing or scrambling skills for this particular route.
Training with regular hill walks or stair climbing in the weeks before your trip genuinely helps, as does spending a night or two at moderate altitude beforehand if your schedule allows it. Even experienced hikers should not underestimate the effect of altitude above 4,000 metres, which slows everyone down regardless of general fitness level back at sea level.
What to Pack for the Sirimon Chogoria Route
Layering matters more than any single piece of gear, since you move from warm forest to freezing pre dawn summit conditions within the same trip.
- A warm sleeping bag rated for sub zero temperatures, or rent one locally
- Waterproof hiking boots with good ankle support
- Insulated jacket, gloves and a warm hat for summit morning
- A reliable headtorch with spare batteries for the pre dawn summit push
- Sunscreen and sunglasses, UV rays stay strong at altitude even in cold conditions
Best Time of Year to Climb Mount Kenya
Jan to Feb and Jun to Sep are Mount Kenya’s driest windows, with the most stable conditions for the sirimon chogoria route and the clearest summit morning views.
The long rains, Mar to May and short rains, Oct to Dec, bring wetter trails and more cloud cover, though the route remains open and climbable year round with the right gear.
Sirimon Chogoria vs Other Mount Kenya Routes
Naro Moru is faster but steeper and offers less scenic variety, a straight up and down approach on a single path rather than two different landscapes.
Our 4 day Naro Moru route climb and 4 day Sirimon route climb both suit climbers with less time, while the technical Batian and Nelion technical climb suits experienced mountaineers wanting Mount Kenya’s true summit rather than Point Lenana.
Acclimatisation and Altitude Sickness on This Route
The sirimon chogoria route’s 5 day profile spreads altitude gain more gradually than shorter alternatives, which is the single biggest factor in reducing altitude sickness risk and improving your realistic summit odds.
Drink plenty of water, walk at a slow, steady pace and tell your guide immediately about any headache, nausea or dizziness, standard altitude sickness symptoms that are far easier to manage early on than once they turn severe further up the mountain.
Who the Sirimon Chogoria Route Suits
This route suits fit hikers who want a genuine mountain achievement without technical climbing, photographers drawn to Chogoria’s gorge and tarn scenery and travelers combining a Kenya safari with an active add on. See our Kenya walking and adventure safaris page for other active trip ideas.
It is less suited to travelers with very limited time, since the full traverse needs 5 days, or those seeking a technical mountaineering challenge, better served by the Batian and Nelion technical climb instead.
Combining the Climb with a Kenya Safari
Nanyuki, the usual gateway town for Mount Kenya, sits close to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, making it easy to pair the sirimon chogoria route with a few days of game viewing before or after your climb.
See our Nanyuki getaway packages for resident pricing, or ask us to combine your climb with a 3 day Aberdare and Ol Pejeta safari on one shared itinerary and invoice.
Resident Pricing for the Sirimon Chogoria Route
Kenyan citizens and residents pay significantly lower park fees than non resident climbers, which brings the total cost of the sirimon chogoria route down noticeably once crew and hut costs are held constant.
Tell us your citizen or resident status when you enquire and we will send a KES quote alongside the standard USD figure, so you can compare both directly rather than working out any conversion yourself before deciding.
Booking Your Sirimon Chogoria Climb
Message us on WhatsApp with your preferred dates and group size and we will confirm crew availability, huts and a full price in writing before any deposit, park fees itemised separately from the crew and accommodation cost.
Weekends and school holiday periods book out fastest for guides and porters, so confirm 2 to 4 weeks ahead if your preferred dates fall inside a busy school holiday period this year.
How to book your sirimon chogoria route
Booking your sirimon chogoria route with us takes about five minutes of your time. The rest is our job. Here is exactly what happens, step by step, so there are no surprises along the way.
- Send your dates. Message us on WhatsApp with your travel dates, how many people are coming and the ages of any children. Tell us if you have a budget in mind. We plan with it, not around it.
- Get a written quote. We reply with a clear price per person, what it includes and what it does not. No hidden park fees and no vague extras. If a cheaper camp or a shorter route makes more sense, we say so.
- Tweak it until it fits. Change a camp, add a night or swap a park. Ask as many questions as you like. Changes cost nothing until you confirm.
- Confirm with a deposit. A deposit holds your vehicle, guide and rooms. You get a written confirmation with every detail and the date the balance is due.
- Travel day. Your driver guide meets you at your hotel or the airport with a name board. You have their number and ours for the whole trip.
What every trip with us includes
Every sirimon chogoria route plan we put together comes with the basics done properly. You ride in a safari vehicle with a pop up roof, with a professional driver guide who knows the parks. Water is in the cooler box and park fees are sorted in advance so you do not stand in a queue at the gate.
We also stay reachable. If something changes on the road, a flat tyre, a closed route or a sudden storm, we sort it and keep you posted on WhatsApp.
Paying safely
We share payment details in writing only and every payment gets a receipt. The payment options and the balance date sit on your written quote, so nothing is left to memory or a phone call.
Why book with a Nairobi team
We live here. We drive these roads all year, we know which camps are honest about their photos and we know when a park is too busy to enjoy. That local knowledge is what turns a good sirimon chogoria route into a great one. Our Google rating sits at 5.0 from 46 reviews and we plan to keep it that way.
Ready when you are. Send us a message and we will put a plan together for you shortly.
Questions people ask
Why is Sirimon Chogoria the most popular Mount Kenya route?
The sirimon chogoria route combines Sirimon’s gentler ascent for better acclimatisation with Chogoria’s dramatic gorge and moorland scenery on the descent, giving trekkers two different landscapes and a more gradual altitude profile than faster single path routes.
How hard is the Sirimon Chogoria traverse?
Moderate to challenging but not technical, no climbing gear is needed for Point Lenana. Good general fitness and hiking experience matter more than specialist skill, with the pre dawn summit day being the physically hardest part of the trek.
What huts or camps are used on the route?
Old Moses and Shipton’s Camp on the Sirimon side, then Minto’s Hut and the lower Meru Bandas on the Chogoria descent. All offer basic dormitory style accommodation, so you never need to carry a tent on the sirimon chogoria route.
How much is the 5 day Sirimon Chogoria climb?
Prices start from about USD 950 per person for a group of 6 to 8, rising to about USD 1,450 per person for a group of 2, with park fees, crew, huts and transfers all included in the total.
What is the summit success rate on Point Lenana?
Typically well above 90 percent for reasonably fit trekkers on a properly paced 5 day sirimon chogoria route, since Point Lenana needs walking fitness rather than technical climbing skill. Altitude sickness, not exhaustion, is the main cause of any failed summit attempt.
Can I combine the Sirimon Chogoria route with a Kenya safari?
Yes, Nanyuki sits close to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, so many climbers add a few days of game viewing before or after their sirimon chogoria route trek. Ask us to combine both into one itinerary and one invoice.
Official information: Kenya Wildlife Service.
Ready when you are. Send your dates and group size. We reply with a clear price and a plan you can change.
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