Nyeri

The tree-hotel lodges inside Aberdare National Park, reached by transfer from Nyeri or Mweiga, put you on a balcony over a salt lick where elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog and sometimes rhino come in through the night. A buzzer wakes you for the good ones. Park fees for non-residents run around KSh6,500 a day on top of the room.

St Peter's Anglican Church cemetery, off Kenyatta Road in central Nyeri, a ten-minute walk from the town centre. The founder of Scouting and his wife Olave are buried here under a simple stone marked with the tracking symbol for gone home. Scout groups from around the world sign the book. There is no fee; a donation to the church is the custom.

Enter via Ruhuruini or Wandare Gate, about 30 to 45 minutes from Nyeri on rough road. Above 3,000 metres the forest gives way to giant heather and tussock moorland, and Karuru Falls drops in three stages over 270 metres. Four-wheel drive is essential and the track becomes impassable in the April and November rains.

Karatina town, 25 km south of Nyeri on the A2 towards Nairobi. One of the largest open-air markets in East Africa and unquestionably the busiest in central Kenya — produce, secondhand clothes, tools, livestock. Tuesday and Friday are the big days. Matatus from Nyeri cost KSh150 and take 30 minutes. Go with small notes and no valuables.

On the Nyeri–Nyahururu road just outside town. Built in the 1950s to hold the remains of around 2,000 Italian prisoners of war who died in Kenya during the Second World War, with mosaics and a quiet crypt. Open most daylight hours, no charge, a caretaker will let you in. Twenty minutes, but a strange and moving twenty.

About 40 km north of Nyeri on the Nyahururu road towards Naro Moru. A private conservancy with one of the highest rhino densities in Kenya — the breeding stock that restocked several national parks came from here. Day entry for non-residents is roughly KSh8,000 to KSh10,000; you need your own vehicle or a driver from Nyeri, about KSh8,000 for the day.

From Nairobi it is 150 km on the A2 via Thika Superhighway, Sagana and Karatina — 2 hours 30 to 3 hours by car. Matatus and shuttles leave Nairobi from the Tea Room and Accra Road stages for KSh500 to KSh800 and run from about 05:30 until 19:00; the newer 14-seaters are worth the extra KSh100. Nyeri to Nanyuki is 60 km and an hour; Nakuru is about three hours via Nyahururu. In town everything central is walkable in fifteen minutes, boda bodas cost KSh80 to KSh200, and a taxi to Mweiga is KSh1,500 to KSh2,000. For the Aberdare gates you need four-wheel drive.

It is the standard one. The Ruhuruini and Wandare gates are 30 to 45 minutes away and the tree lodges arrange transfers from Nyeri and Mweiga hotels. You do need four-wheel drive for the moorland tracks — an ordinary saloon will not make it past the forest belt. Budget park fees of around KSh6,500 a day for non-residents on top of accommodation.

Cold enough to matter. June, July and August nights drop to around 10 degrees in town and near freezing on the Aberdare moorland at 3,000 metres. Hotels supply blankets and some have fireplaces, but heating is rare. Pack a fleece and long trousers for the evening even if your days are shirtsleeves — the temperature drops the moment the sun goes behind the range.

On a clear morning, yes — the peaks sit to the northeast and are usually visible between 06:00 and 09:00 before cloud builds. From about 10:00 until late afternoon you will see nothing. The clearest months are January, February and September. If Mount Kenya is your main objective, Nanyuki an hour north gives you far better and more frequent views.

The Italian Memorial Church, St Peter's churchyard and the town market all work in rain, and Karatina market 25 km south is roofed in stretches. Otherwise the honest answer is that the Aberdare tracks close, the mountain vanishes and you sit by a fire. April, May and November are the wet months — plan around them rather than through them.