Mount Kenya 360 Degrees Mountain Bike Safari

After lunch at the lodge, there will be a briefing about tomorrow’s ride and a chance to check the bikes and fittings. A late afternoon test ride within the vicinity of the lodge will allow you to ensure that you are comfortable with the bike allocated to you.

On return to the lodge, enjoy a relaxed evening and dinner with the rest of the group. Overnight at Mountain Rock Lodge.

NB. If arriving into Kenya in the evening, it may be necessary to overnight in Nairobi before the start of the ride, adding an extra day to the programme.

This initial ride is meant to get us better accustomed to the mountain terrain, with much of the morning spent on scenic forest trails. There will be time to stop along the way at the Mau Mau Caves and the Gathiuru Forest station, before reaching the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, where we regroup with the vehicles and transfer by road through the bustling town of Nanyuki (with a brief stop at the Equator crossing) to Kisima.

After a picnic lunch in Kisima, we continue with a relaxed 15km ride through farmland and down to our campsite in the Ngare Ndare Forest.

Ngare Ndare is a lush indigenous forest supporting a rich variety of bird and animal life. Elephant and buffalo are frequently seen here, as they make their way from the wildlife conservancies of Laikipia to the rich grazing lands around Mt. Kenya.

This evening, you’ll have a chance to explore the forest on an exciting canopy sundowner walk, before returning to the campsite in time for supper.

At the end of a gripping 20km ride we emerge into the local farming area around Meru. After a picnic lunch, we climb back into the vehicles for a driven transfer through the busy town of Meru.

Our afternoon ride is along the Old Meru Road to Nkubu. This meandering 25km road takes us through scenic farmland carpeted with maize, beans, banana plants, coffee and tea bushes – the beauty of the route is enhanced by massive tree cover and dozens of sparkling waterways. We’ll aim to arrive at our campsite in the grounds of Nkubu River Bank Hotel late this afternoon.

Lunch is followed by a driven transfer through the busy Chogoria Market to the Chogoria trailhead. The afternoon’s ride involves a steep ascent part-way up the Mt Kenya Chogoria route, stopping at the forest station and then continuing down to the main Meru-Embu road and past the Weru Tea Factory. It’s a tough but fairly short ride at 12km, followed by a driven transfer to Thuchi River Lodge, where we sleep in cottages.

The day ends with a tough uphill ride through montane forest to Castle Forest Lodge, where we stay tonight in the lodge’s campsite.

We start with a tough 27km stretch of dirt road from Castle Forest Lodge to the village of Gathaithi, where we briefly join a tarmac road for 3km. Then, we turn off onto another dirt road for 4km before stopping for lunch at the 34km mark.

Lunch is followed by a 10km ride along a tough, hilly dirt road through Karatina University before we ease off to a final 5km of tarmac to get to Hombe Guest House campsite.

After a leisurely breakfast, we start the day with an 8km downhill ride on a tarmac road with minimal traffic, before turning off onto a dirt road – a 26km stretch with moderate down and uphill sections – that takes us through Munyu town and on to Naro Moru.

We re-group at Naro Moru town for a short transfer to Mountain Rock Lodge, where our celebratory lunch will be waiting, along with certificates to mark our achievement!

The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Dinner and overnight at Mountain Rock Lodge.

You may like to extend your holiday with a safari or Mt Kenya climb.