Rock Climbing in Hell’s Gate National Park, Naivasha Lake,
Central Province Kenya
Difficulty:
Easy to Medium
Hell's Gate is located in the South of Lake Naivasha and at about 90 km/55 mi in the northwest of Nairobi City. It covers an area of 68 km²/26.25 mi² and at 1900 m/6233 ft above sea level. Some of the highlights are the Fischer's tower, Central tower and Hell's Gate gorge. Although there is a wide variety of wildlife, the spot is famous for its variety of bird species including vultures, verreaux's eagles, swifts and augur buzzards.
Fischers Tower is a 25 m/82 ft high volcanic plug, standing on a flat valley floor and is mainly used for rock climbing in Hell Gate. With rocks composed of lavas, cracked vertically to bring forth columns with narrow rotten bands in between will definitely challenge your skills.
Climbing here is described from the east and anti-clockwise, graded between 4-5. There are 14 climbing routes which cater for all levels of climbers. The main cliffs face at the east, making mornings not suitable for climbing unless it is on a cool day.