Aberdares National Park

General Information

The colonialists recognized the Aberdares as fertile grounds for the growth of coffee, tea, wheat and flowers who ultimately had no regard for the local population. As such the infamous Mau Mau leader and freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi had his headquarters in the thick forest of the Aberdare mountain range. The Aberdare National park forms part of the mountain ranges, which peak at a height of 4000m above sea level. The Aberdares are part of Kenya’s well-known mountains.

Aberdares was accorded national park status in 1950. It is renowned for its famous and luxurious tree- house hotels- Treetops hotel and The Ark Lodge; the former hosted the then and young Princess Elizabeth of Britain in 1952. The park covers a total area of 800 kilometers square. Following an extension in 1950, the park became the third largest park in the country and has the coveted position of, highest park in all Africa, as most of the plateau is located above an altitude of 3,000m.