The Aberdare National Park is part of the Aberdare Mountain Range, a fascinating region of Kenya. Mountain ranges and peaks soar around 14000Ft, giving way to deep v shaped valleys with streams and rivers cascading over spectacular waterfalls- Ideal for landscape lovers. The range was named after the then President of the Royal Geographical Society by the intrepid Scot, Joseph Thomson, who explored the region in 1883. Part of the range is protected as the Aberdares National Park and encompasses all land over 3200m together with a projection due east, known as the Salient, which reaches down to 2130 m near Nyeri town.
The highest point of the range is Ol Doinyo Satima (the mountain of the young bull in Maa the language of the Masai), which reaches 3998m. There is a road which traverses the mountains from Naivasha to Nyeri which can be handled by a sturdy car in good weather. At its maximum elevation the road passes through misty moorlands at about 3350m where strange six metre tall mutants of alpine plants groundsel, erica, hypericum, lobelia and sennecio - grow in profusion. Icy rivers plunge in glorious cascades and spectacular waterfalls. The Salient which thrusts a dense forest through rich farmland is where both Treetops and the Ark are situated.
Game viewing is very rewarding. Lion, Leopards, Baboon, black and white Columbus and Sykes are abundant. Rare sighting of the golden Cats, Bongo a rare and elusive forest antelope, Elephant, Buffalo, Giant Forest Hog and Kenya's indigenous and endangered Black Rhino