Hells Gate, Lake Nakuru and Lake Elementaita in 3 days!

This was such an exciting trip for me filled with so many different activities! With 3 destinations in 3 days planned on a 10k budget, it was definitely one for the books!

Day one: HellsGate

The drive from Nairobi to HellsGate takes about 2 hours, dependent on the speed of the driver. The short distance from Nairobi makes HellsGate the perfect destination for a day trip, offering many fun and adrenaline filled activities. Whether you want to ride a bike while looking out for wild animals, try your luck in rock climbing or walk through the famous gorges, HellsGate has it all!

Disclaimer: One should refrain from visiting the gorges during the rainy season. This is because the gorges are prone to flash floods which can be dangerous.

The rock climbing was definitely my favourite part of the visit! I'd never done anything like it before. As someone who's afraid of heights, the urge to give up in the middle of the climb was immense. It didnt help that the steps got harder too. After encouragement and cheering from the spectators however, I got to the top, and definitely adding it to the top of my personal achievements list.

Charges

Entrance Fees

Local: 300

Resident: 600

Non-Resident : $26

Vehicles Fees

Less than 6 seats: 300

Bike

Bike Fees: 215

Renting fees: 500

Gorge Walking

Community fees: 1500(doesn’t matter the size of the group, so the bigger the group the cheaper!)

Rock Climbing

700 per person

Day Two: Lake Nakuru National Park

The journey continued to Nakuru, which took approximately 2 hours from Hellsgate. The distance isn’t actually that long, but traffic can be hell-ish on the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. We booked an airBnB for the first night and woke up at the crack of dawn to make our way to the Lake Nakuru National Park. The best times for a safari are either sunrise or sunset, because that’s the time you get to see the most animals. I still haven’t seen a lion in the wild in all the safaris I’ve been to however, despite adhering to this rule, so there must be a flaw to the rule or I’m just really unlucky(probably the latter).

Lake Nakuru is known for the large numbers of flamingoes that flock at the lakeshore. The flamingoes don’t flock the lake as much as they used to but it’s still a beautiful sight.The Park offers a wide range of sightings tightly packed in 45 km². The sightings include a baboon cliff offering an amazing sight of the lake, and a waterfall named Makalia Falls.

Costs

Entrance Fees

Locals: 860

Residents: 1030

Non-Residents: $60

Vehicles Fees

Less than 6 seats: 300

Day 3: Lake Elementaita

If you’ve ever used the Nairobi-Nakuru highway there’s no way you’ve missed the sight of Lake Elementaita. It is a shallow soda lake surrounded by dramatic escarpments, hot springs and Mt. Longonot. It took me 30 minutes from Nakuru.

If you dine at one of the restaurants facing the lake you can easily make your way to the shores of the lake. This lake offers a twist though. You can hire a quadbike to ride along the shores the lake while taking in the beautiful scenery around. One can hire the quadbikes from Sirville Lodge for an hour(with a guide ofcourse). And after this you can enjoy a cocktail at the bar facing the lake ;)

Costs

Quadbike Fees

1000 for one person on the bike

1500 for two people on the bike

Other Costs

Food and drink at the lodge.