Kimakia Forest Hike

Located at the border between Muranga and Kiambu counties, on the southern edges of Aberdares Forest reserve is Kimakia Forest. This hike starts at their KFS office and traverses along wide-open forest roads before we turn into the forest itself. The hike down the forest can be slippery and long but very scenic. Next comes the river crossing and river trek before finally we’re at the double tier waterfall – our main objective for the hike

The return journey from the waterfalls is exactly the same way we came until finally, we return to the KFS office, completing a 15 km trek. This hike has amazing scenery, thrills, change of environment, river crossings and best of all – 2 amazing waterfalls in series where you can swim and relax

It takes about 2 hours or so to get to the starting point and the route is very scenic. The distance to the starting point is about 85 km. We’ll depart the city at 6am

We’ll be using Thika highway just up to the Blue Post area before turning in towards C67 highway and to the starting point of the hike

1. Hiking level – moderate. Total hiking distance is about 15 km. Factors contributing to moderate hiking experience include the long climbs and difficult and steep terrain through the forest and river trek over stony beds

2. Main attractions – forest trek, river trek, waterfalls and swimming

3. Type of hike – forest and river trek

4. Atmospheric conditions – due to the mid – high altitude and wet area, the weather tends to be cool and wet.

5. Slipping hazard – significant at the forest when going down and when hiking next to the river

6. Steepness – over the course of the hike, we will be steadily going up and then down through the forest which is steep in places. The areas next to the waterfall can also be steep

7. Hiking path condition – First part is open road trails, then forest trails and river trek after which we do the reverse.

8. Water usage – medium to high – recommend a minimum of 2 litre depending on weather

9. Route visibility – the trail is generally visible except for a few places where the paths can split

10. Biodiversity – numerous species of insects, birds and trees

Once we’re done with the hike, we’ll head back to the city. Depending on when we start and finish, we could be back by 7:00pm latest

• Good hiking boots, walking stick
• Sun hat – to protect against the sun
• Water – at least 2 litres
• Snacks and lunch – since we expect to finish latest by 7pm, we recommend you bring snacks and lunch to eat while relaxing at scenic locations along the route