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Write a User ReviewRunning in the Wilds of Hell’s Gate National Park
What really sets the park apart is that unguided walking and cycling is allowed. Most dangerous wildlife isn’t present, the one exception being buffalo, but the open grassland makes it easy to spot them from a distance. On my last visit, I decided to go for a jog through the park…an experience I can highly recommend. I parked my car at Fisher’s Tower at dawn and headed out on a 5km circular loop from there. The tower made a magnificent silhouette against the sunrise and shortly after, the cliffs were glowing red as they reflected the early morning sun. Although
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animals are very used to people walking and cycling, I soon realized they might be less used to people running. On my approach, baboons started balking alarm calls and a few Coke’s hartebeest ran off into the distance. I saw the 50-odd strong herd of buffalo before they saw me. As I got closer, each and every individual stopped grazing and stared at me the way only buffalos can – an encounter that easily made this one of the most exciting runs in my life.
Hell’s Gate: Canyons and Gorges
I always judge a park by three main criteria: its wildlife, the opportunities it offers for community engagement, and its scenic beauty. Hell’s Gate really only scores for me on the last of these three. They say that leopards hide in the rocky niches of the park’s dramatic sandstone cliffs, but I’m yet to be convinced, and all I’ve seen is a handful of giraffe, zebra and buffalo. But I do love the views – of the cliffs themselves, of Mt Longonot from the high point on the Buffalo Circuit. And there’s so much novelty in being able to walk, cycle or climb around a Kenyan national park without fear of being arrested or eaten. Put it this way: I wouldn’t cross the country just to visit Hell’s Gate, but I’m always surprised how much I enjoy it once I get here as part of a wider safari.
Hike or Bicycle Through a Valley Full of Wildlife
Protecting a long, scenic gorge hemmed in by tall burnished cliffs, this small park near Lake Naivasha stands out as the one place in Kenya where visitors can walk, run or cycle unguided in the presence of an exciting variety of large mammals. True, Hell’s Gate doesn’t offer a full-blown Big Five experience, but pedestrians are still likely to encounter buffalo, giraffe, zebra, warthog, baboon and a wide variety of antelope – a far more thrilling experience when you’re on foot than it is from a vehicle. The birdlife is also quite impressive, a particular highlight being the colony of Rüppell’s vulture that breeds on the cliffs (look out for the telltale white streaks on the rocks below their nesting sites). But it is the volcanic Rift Valley landscape that most impresses – ancient volcanic plugs, fuming hot springs and glassy obsidian rocks, all overlooked by the perfect cone of dormant Mount Longonot.
Walk With Giants
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 jeep 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 jeep and walk or, better, cycle, with African megafauna. It’s an opportunity not to miss. The first time I went to Hell’s Gate was some 20 years
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ago. I’d only been in Africa a couple of weeks and so far had only seen animals from the safety of a vehicle. Suddenly here I was 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 (there are very few large predators in the park so it’s highly unlikely that you really will become somebody's lunch). Today I still prefer to walk in the bush rather than view it from a car and so on every Kenyan trip I will always try to make time to visit Hell’s Gate. Other plus points for the park are that it’s an ideal family-friendly park and it’s considerably cheaper than many other parks.An Easy Walking and Birding Safari in an Impressive Coloured Gorge
Named for its pair of massive red-tinged cliffs, scenic Hell’s Gate lies next to Lake Naivasha. As there are no predators, you can explore on foot; I enjoyed the three-hour walk through the gorge, which was lined with sheer cliffs patterned by striking and lustrous black and red volcanic sediments. There are numerous plains game in the park and I encountered cute little Thomson’s gazelle skipping through the grass and incredibly tame rock hyrax scrambling among the rocks. Additionally, it’s well known for birds of prey and the likes of Verreaux’s eagle and Rüppell’s vulture can be seen hovering over the cliffs. It’s a great day excursion from a lakeside lodge but go early to best appreciate the magnificent colours in the rocks (and to avoid the heat).