So I’m on a bike and there’s an annoying looking buffalo not far away. This is Hell’s Gate National Park, famous in Kenya for its largely predator-free environment (seemingly aggressive buffaloes don’t count) and therefore providing the unique opportunity to cycle or walk amongst the wildlife. Often on safari you find yourself on a game drive or driving to the next park; Either way, you tend to spend a lot of time in a vehicle. Hell’s Gate gives you the opportunity to stretch your legs and in this article you will find everything you need to plan your experience.

Hell’s Gate National Park is located in the Southern Rift Region, near the city of Naivasha, 90 km from Nairobi. Nicknamed “A walk on the wild side” by the Kenya Wildlife Service, the park has 68 km² of savannah where you can bike and walk among the animals.

experiencing the park
This week Francis and I took two of his children for a bike ride in the park. We saw zebra, antelope, gazelle (both Thomson’s and Grant’s), baboon, buffalo, warthog and giraffe. It was super exciting for the kids – even though their father was a safari guide, they hadn’t had many opportunities to go on safari themselves. Matthew has inherited his father’s piercing eyes, and with the energy of an eight-year-old boy, he stepped forward to report on the buffalo and wild boar we were about to see. Leopards and hyenas also live in the park, but are rarely seen.

The most common trail is eight kilometers from Elsa’s Gate to the Ol Njorowa Gorge. At Elsa’s Gate, the main entry point to Hell’s Gate, you can rent bikes. There are other places to rent bikes with local guides, which is perfect if you also want to bring a guide to the park. Don’t expect top-notch bikes, but the brakes worked, the wheels spun, and for the most part we were able to shift gears (but the park is pretty flat, so you can get by without too many gears).

About a kilometer from the gate is the Fischer Tower, where the rock climbing equipment is set up. Hell’s Gate is more famous for its geological formations than its animals, and Fischer’s Tower is a rocky pinnacle jutting out of the ground in the middle of otherwise flat terrain. The tower is only 25m high, making it quite manageable to climb.

The Ol Njorowa Gorge is the highlight of the park. Guides are stationed at the entrance gate to the gorge where there is also a picnic area and parking lot. There are two walks to choose from: the shorter walk takes 45 minutes to an hour, and the longer walk takes two to three hours. On the longest walk you will see where tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed.

Another 5.5 km (and only 500 m from the Ol Karia gate) is the Geo Spa. Hell’s Gate was named for the steam rising from the rocks creating a resemblance to what the gateway to Hell might look like. The entire Rift Valley was created through volcanic activity and many mountains along the valley are extinct volcanoes. There is still a lot of geothermal activity in the area, with Hell’s Gate being the most active (Mount Suswa also has steam coming from the ground, which the local Maasai have harnessed to collect water). The Kenyan government is working with foreign experts to create a massive geothermal plant that will ultimately provide 40% of Kenya’s electricity. The Spa is where you can get up close to the geothermal activity and take a bath in the hot springs.

If you feel like you need more than one day to enjoy all these activities, there are two campsites in the park. The facilities are basic, but when you’re camping inside a national park in Kenya, that’s enough of a thrill to overcome not having a hot shower. Ol Dubai Camp sits on a ledge overlooking grazing animals and the Fischer Tower.