Hell’s Gate National Park
Hell’s Gate National Park is a small national park in Kenya that is pound in the rift valley province of Nakuru as the nearest city. Hell’s Gate National Park covers an area of about 68.25 square kilometers and is found within Nakuru County near the famous Lake Naivasha. Visitors intending to visit the this Park will need to travel for about 90 kilometers from the city of Nairobi and it was named after a narrow break within the cliff and got its name the Hell’s Gate from the fisher and Thomson who was the explorer in the year 1883.
Hell’s Gate National Park was fully established in the year 1884 and this is when it was put under the control of the government through the Kenya wildlife services. There variety of attractions that you can see when visiting this park and among the several attractions that you can see when visiting the hells gate include the following;
Attractions in Hell’s Gate National Park
Are you looking for what to see at Hell’s Gate National Park? These are some of the tourist attractions that you can see at the park
Superb scenery in form of the volcanic plugs or towers
The park is composed of several volcanic plugs that were the result of the hard igneous rocks during the volcanic activities and these towers include the central tower and the Fishers tower. The Fischer’s tower is found just at the entrance of the Hell’s Gate National Park while the central tower is found at the southern end of the main gorge.
The Fischer’s towers of the park have it is history attached to the people of the Masai Mara and their undisputable culture. The Masai believed that the towers were formed as the result of their girl who turned into this impressive rock and the story is o impressive given the time you can give them to illustrate this point. As the girl was heading to her future husband, she turned her back to her father which is an abomination within the Masai culture and as the result of this the girl turned into the Fisher’s tower which we all see at the Hell’s Gate and this is according to the Masai beliefs.
The Hell’s Gate National Park also boasts the hell’s gate gorge which is a deep valley that moves through the center of the park. The gorge is lengthened in by the rusty-hued rock walls and within the sheer. It consists of Fischer’s tower that is climbed by the tourists visiting the park under the proper instructions for the safari guide. Fischer’s tower is about 25 meters high which derived its name from the German explorer Gustav Fisher, as he was leaving Mombasa to Lake Victoria while doing his exploration tours. Later most of these crew members were killed by the hostile Maasai.
Visitors exploring this park will also be able to enjoy the caves especially the obsidian cave which is found impressively within the park. The cave was found with obsidian rocks and it can be accessed while you’re on the two kilometers track of the buffalo circuit. While entering the cave, you will witness a bushy rocket and a black rock that is comprised of the rift valley floor.
Olkaria geothermal power station
This is one of the first of its kind on the whole African continent and this power station was established in the year 1981 which involves generating electricity or the power from the geothermal power underneath the hell’s gate from the spectacular hot springs and the geysers.
Hell’s Gate National Park also features the lower gorge or what is called (Ol njorowa). This is also one of the magnificent features that is found within the park, located at the southern end of the main gorge with the large volcanic plug, it consists of the walls eroded by the waters and it is famous for the movie production take for example the top raider movie.
Wildlife attraction of Hell’s Gate National Park
Hell’s Gate National Park houses a lot of the wildlife species that are found in the various regions of this small park. Some of these animals’ species that are found within this wonderful park include the king of the jungle that is the lion, African buffaloes, hyenas, antelopes, olive baboon, wild dog, striped hyena, cheetahs, hartebeest, impala, serval, mountain reedbuck, black-backed jackal, Kirks disk-disk and the steenbok among other wildlife species.
Bird species
Hell’s Gate National Park is also a habitat to various birdlife species which is over 100 recorded bird species and it was recognized as the breeding spot for the bearded vultures and other bird species within the park among the bird species found in the park include the following chin spot bastis, white-rumpled swift, yellow-rumped seedeater, golden-winged sunbird, bearded vulture, Verreaux’s eagle, Africana kestrel, Eastern imperial eagle, yellow bishop among other interesting bird species.
What to do in Hell’s Gate National Park
Are you looking for tourist activities in Hell’s Gate National Park? The park has got a lot of tourists activities resulting from the above tourist attractions and these enhance your tourist experience or safari experience proving the heartbreaking, entertaining safari experience and thus there are different activities that you can engage in which will keep you busy and happy entire safari trip some of the tourist activities within the park include the following;
Safari game drives
The Park provides the best opportunities for safari game drives despite its small size and the fact that the park is the home to the various animal’s species, you will traverse the park through the savannah plains that cover the entire park. While enjoying the game drive safari, you will be able to see various animals which among other include lions, African buffaloes, hyenas, antelopes, olive baboon, wild dogs, striped hyena, cheetahs, hartebeest, impala, servals, mountain reedbuck black-backed jackal, Kirks disk-dik and the steenbok. In Hell’s Gate National Park you can do the safari game drives on the vehicle as well as the cycling within the park.
Cycling / Biking
Hell’s Gate National Park is one of the best national parks that are good for cycling, cycling for you to see the game within the park is so interesting and it is the only national park in Kenya that offers this wonderful experience. Cycling experience starts from the park’s main gate and it goes to the valleys of the park as your spotting several bird species as well as the animals that you meet across, it is important to note that cycling trips or safaris in this park takes you closer to the animals as you traverse through the natural habitat, there are park bikes which can hire and you see for the cycling purposes at negotiable price and if you can, you are free to come with your bicycle.
Rock climbing safaris
Hell’s Gate National Park is a park that is made up of several rocks which were formed as the result of the volcanic activity and these among others include the cliffs and the towers as we saw earlier. These offer the best experience to the visitors especially those who are interested in climbing. This park is popular because of the very many tourists that flock into the park looking for climbing experiences.
Bird watching safaris
Hell’s Gate National Park is also among the important birding destination in Kenya. The park provides various areas for the destination or sports for the bird watching and there over 100 species of the recorder birds within the park and the various bird species that you will enjoy while enjoying the bird watching safaris include among others chin spot basis, white-rumpled swift, yellow-rumped seedeater, golden-winged sunbird, bearded vulture, Verreaux’s eagle, mottled swift Africana kestrel, Eastern imperial eagle, yellow bishop
Nature walk safaris
The Hell’s Gate National Park is filled with villages and volcanic features which produce very spectacular scenes that are so much enjoyed during the nature walk safaris. Nature walk safaris within the park can be done on foot as you’re being escorted by the Park Range as you visit various sceneries within the park including the obsidian cave, fishers tower, central tower, and many features of the park that you can look at. While on nature walks safaris in Hell’s Gate National Park you can as well enjoy other various species of animals which include the striped hyenas, wild dogs, giraffes, kobs among others.
When is the best time to visit Hell’s Gate National Park?
Hell’s Gate National Park can be visited any time of the year and the park remains good throughout all months, days, and the year
but there is always that best time when you can move and enjoy various attractions and sceneries within the park for the best safari experience and this comes within June, July, August. September and October. These months represent the dry season when the park can easily be explored because the grass is always short making the game viewing so visible and even during the dry season, the animals can be easily seen in large numbers within the park especially concentrating at the water levels and therefore you must visit the Hell’s Gate during the dry season as the best season for the wildlife exploring.
Where to stay in Hell’s Gate National Park?
Hell’s Gate National Park is surrounded by several accommodation facilities where you can stay. The accommodation facilities around the park comes in form of campsites, hotels, and lodges and some of the accommodation facilities where you can stay while on your tour to the park include the Endachata Campsite, Sweet Lake Resort, Buffaloe’s view cottages, Crater tented camp and game sanctuary, Naiburta Campsite, Loldia house, Olduvai Campsite among other accommodation facilities.
How to access Hell’s Gate National Park?
The park is found just 90 kilometers outside Kenya’s capital city Nairobi where most of the wildlife safari in Kenya commence. While in Nairobi, there you can access Hell’s Gate National Park by the road and the air transport. While using the road, you can use many roads that do connect to the park from Nairobi such routes include the Nairobi through Naivasha town on the lake road at the junction just 5km south of the Naivasha town. While by the air transport, there chartered and scheduled domestic flights from the Jomo Kenyatta international airport that goes and land at the Naivasha airstrip which is the hell gate park. It is also important to book your safari earlier enough to avoid delays and inconveniences that may arise especially those that include delays and missing flights.
