MOUNT KENYA

At 5,199 m, Mount Kenya is the second highest mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro. For the Kikuyu, this enormous mountain is the home of the god Ngai. The name Kenya comes from the Kikuyu word Kerenyaga, which means "shining mountain", probably because of the glaciers and eternal snow that glisten on the peaks Batian (5,199 m), Nelion (5,188 m) and Lenana (4,985 m). The presence of snow on the equator seemed so unthinkable in the last century that Ludwig Krapf, the first European to discover Mount Kenya in 1849, was unable to convince the scientists of the time. Count Teleki was the first to attempt the climb in 1887, but he had to give up before reaching the summit. Mount Kenya was not finally conquered until twelve years later by Mackinder. The lower slopes are now cultivated by the Kikuyu, Meru and Embu people, while the vast plains to the north are occupied by huge ranches owned by wealthy landowners. At the beginning of the century, white settlers moved en masse into this region, which enjoys a particularly mild climate and is very favourable to agriculture. Some of their land was redistributed to the Kikuyu after independence, but many families of English origin still own large estates in the region. The mountain is more than 400 km in circumference and is surrounded by an excellent tarred road that connects all the major towns in the area: Nanyuki, Meru, Embu and, at the northern end, Isiolo.