Ngare Ndare is an indigenous forest at the foothill of Mt.Kenya. It is known for its turquoise blue pools and waterfalls. It has many pools but one is encouraged to swim at first pool as the other pools requires technical expertise to access them & they are very rocky which may lead to injuries if one isn’t careful. It is adjacent to Lewa conservancy and it’s home to the big 5. Do you know who the big 5 are? And why they are called the big 5? Don’t worry😉, full explanation at the end of this post.

For more details about Ngare Ndare, visit http://www.ngarendare.org/

I’ve been to Ngare Ndare 3 times, each visit had its milestone. My first time was in 2017, i had seen some photos online and was mesmerized by its beauty and tranquility so i decided to visit. At this point Ngare Ndare wasn’t a popular as it is now. It was little heaven, chilled with less people & clean blue pools. The biggest activity for the day was swimming which i didn’t participate in because i didn’t know how to swim. The only thing i did was to dipping my legs into the water. Wasn’t happy about this, FOMO (fear of missing out) was killing me. On this day i promised myself that the next time I’ll be at Ngare Ndare I’ll be among the swimming squad.

In 2019 i fulfilled my 2017 promise👏🏽, I was a fish for a day😜. On this day i immersed my full body into the turquoise blue water, swam & showed off my YouTube learnt swimming skills. As much as i had mad fun, i was missing out on something else: cliff diving😪. I was scared of diving from the cliff😂. This fear bore a new challenge of learning & building confidence in diving. This meant i had another unfinished business at Ngare Ndare.

In Feb 2022 I was at Ngare Ndare for the 3rd time. This time with the confidence of a pro, i swam & dived from the cliff. Instead of being a fish i became a dolphin😁. No FOMO was experienced, just gratitude & happiness was felt. Through Ngare Ndare i built a new skill & found a new hobby: swimming. Apart from Mt.Kenya, this was another moment i was very proud of myself. If you haven’t read my Mt.Kenya post 👉🏽 https://redemtermaera.travel.blog/2022/04/13/mt-kenya-lenana-peak-hike-experience/

Apart from creating memories & personal development, below are the other activities you can do at Ngare Ndare:

• Hiking, a moderate hike of 3.5kms
• Canopy walk
• Nature Walk
• Bird watching
• Swimming & cliff diving
• Picnic
• Camping

Cost

• Conservancy/Entrance fee: ksh 2000 for citizens & residents, ksh 4000 for non-residents
• Armed ranger fee: ksh 1000 per ranger
• Car fee: ksh 500 for a 10-seater & below vehicles, ksh 1000 for others
• Camping per person: ksh 3000 for citizens & residents, ksh 5000 for non-residents.

Heeey you, you made it to the end👏🏽 and thank you for being here. Sending hugs🤗🤗 & love your way💖.

The big 5 are 5 African wild animals that were considered to be difficult & dangerous to hunt by the trophy hunting community. They were mostly hunted for their trophies which were & still are considered to be precious & prestigious to have or own. These animals are: The Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard & Lion.

The big 5 trophies:

• Rhino: its horn
• Elephant: Its ivory tusk
• Buffalo: its head inclusive of the horns
• Leopard: its skin
• Lion: its mane & head