Things to Do in Hell's Gate National Park

Hike the Ol Njorowa Gorge

The slot canyon narrows. You wedge sideways between flash-flood-polished walls. Drip-water lands on your neck. Sunbeams bounce off mica flakes like shattered glass. You splash through ankle-deep pools, climb a rickety ladder between boulders, emerge onto a lookout. The Rift Valley floor spreads in tawny folds. The wind tastes of dry grass and distant rain.

Cycle among zebra and giraffe

The park's dirt service road rolls gently past grasslands. Grant's gazelles lift their heads as you whirr by. Secretary birds stamp, wings flashing like black capes. Buffalo sometimes block the track. Listen for low grunts and the sweet, hay-like smell they leave behind.

Rock-climb Fischer's Tower

Fischer's Tower is a 25-metre plug of volcanic breccia. It feels like warm pumice under your fingers. From the top you watch zebras weave between fever trees while hot wind carries the bleat of Maasai goats. The climb is short but vertical. Beginners score a quick thrill without an all-day commitment.

Picnic by Ol Karia Geothermal Spa

After a dusty ride, the spa's pale-blue, mineral-rich pools feel silk-smooth on sun-tight skin. They smell faintly of hard-boiled egg. Steam vents hiss around the perimeter while you float. Crowned cranes pick through reeds below.

Spot lammergeyer at Hell's Gate cliffs

Scan the sky where orange cliff faces reflect late-afternoon heat. Bearded vultures ride thermals. Their shadows slide over rock hyraxes that chirp like angry squeaky toys. Wind whistles through eroded lava tubes. Silence returns.

Fisherman's Camp on the lake's south edge offers lakeside bandas where hippos graze outside your tent at night.

Crayfish Camp in Naivasha town has mid-range cottages within stumbling distance of grilled-crayfish shacks.

Eburru's rustic geothermal cabins sit up the mountain if you fancy cooler air and midnight stargazing.

KWS Ol Karia campsite inside the park suits budget travelers who don't mind cold showers and curious hyenas.

Lake Naivasha Country Club delivers old-colonial lawns and gin-tonics on the veranda at sunset.

Crater Lake Tented Camp sits on a private sanctuary ten minutes west where colobus monkeys watch you breakfast.