To get to Naro Moru park gate from Nairobi it is advisable to leave by 8:00 A.M. Follow the Thika dual carriage way to Karatina. From here about 40Km turn right at the turning for Naro Moru River Lodge. Follow the road to Naro Moru town. At the end of town is the police station and the turning into the murram road for Naro Moru River Lodge. Here turn right into another murram road which leads the the base of the mountain (Park Gate). There is normally a board to indicate the turning. The Mt.Kenya Porters & Guides are also located on this road.
The Naro Moru Route is at the moment the most popular of all the routes which lead up to the peak areas. It is the steepest and the fastest way up the mountain but this may be a major setback to climbers vulnerable to AMS. The ascent up to Point Lenana and descent of this route can be accomplished within duration of four days or three days.
On the first day it is advisable to walk from the Park Gate to Met Station Bandas to acclimatize to the climate and the altitude. Ensure plenty of intakes of water. This is a rather steep climb especially the first few hills after which it commences to level off. Parties normally do take a long rest at Percival Bridge; some three hours walk from the Park Gate. From Percival Bridge Met Station is just two hours walk on fairly steep inclines. A good indication of Met Station is the two wide corners with scattered rocks and boulders at the sides and a really bad motor way. A night is normally spent here for further acclimatization and resting. On the second day climbers normally begin to walk by at least nine in the morning as it is the longest and the toughest day. On this days climb gaiters or plastic bags are to be put on for the bog. The first part of the climb is fairly easy. This is the climb up to Radio Mast, which normally takes one hour. From here the climb steepen’s and it takes another hour or two to reach the bog clearing. From here to the Picnic Point is normally a tiring but gentle climb of three to four hours. Parties can rest here and have a snack under the shelter of the cliff. Another hours walk leads you to the Teleki Valley and in the vicinity of the peak areas. the walk is now a brisk descent of the valley up to the river crossing and takes no more than one to two hours. From here the terrain is completely flat and in another thirty minutes you are no more than 200m from Mackinders Camp which is reached just after a tiring steep hill climbing. A night is normally spent here acclimatizing. It is very wise to have an early night as the next day you have to wake up at two in the morning to attempt the climb of Point Lenana.
In the darkness of the morning it normally takes an hour to reach the base of the steep scree. To ascend the scree it takes three hours of very tiring climbing and deep breaths. It is at this stage where most climbers experience hypoxia and altitude related ailments. There is normally a major rest at Austrian Hut and within another hour Point Lenana is reached. Normally most guides plan the climb such that you reach the summit of Point Lenana before sunrise as there is more traction. The scenery offered at sunset is just superb and the temple on the Chogoria Route is visible from here. The descent is quite easy and care should be taken especially when attempting to descent the scree. Descent from Point Lenana to Mackinders Camp is no more than three hours. At Mackinders there is a rest and breakfast. It is now that you commence to ascend back up to an altitude of 4200m up the Teleki Valley and back to Met Station via the Camel Rocks. If luck is on your side the view of the peaks is awesome from the first beacon at 4200m mark. Normally this walk is very enjoyable and takes no more than four to five hours. Some parties go all the way down to Park Gate on this day but parties do tend to spend an extra night at Met Station and descend the following day.
Parties wishing to go to Two-Tarn hut have to climb diagonally up the white scree behind the ranger’s hut. This walk is quite steep and does normally take two hours. The view from Two-Tarn Hut is also beautiful with the Emerald Tarn in the vicinity; rive minutes walk to the left of the hut. Just before the Park Gate there is the Mt.Kenya Guides and Porters association where guides, porters and equipment for hire can be attained. At the base is also the world famous training institution of the National Outdoor and Leadership School (NOLS) which does also organize climbs for clients.
Other routes on the mountain include Burguret Route, Sirimons Route, Timau Route, Chogoria Route, Meru Route and Kamweti Route. Though there have been attempts to develop new routes up to the peak areas there have been no particularly popular routes. Of all Chogoria Route is the most scenic, longest and the toughest of all the routes. The other more popular route is the Sirimons Route, which is also quite easy climbing compared to the Naro Moru Route.