Nairobi — The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife has opened a one-month photo exhibition at the National Museum of Kenya aimed at raising awareness of Mt Kenya as a prime adventure tourism destination.
The exhibition dubbed “Mt. Kenya Photography exhibition” will allow the public to interact and purchase amazing pictures of the incongruous Mount Kenya topography as well as highlight adventurers scaling the mountain’s rough terrain.
Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife Najib Balala said that there is a big potential for more visitors to tour iconic Mt Kenya, hence the need to continue harnessing resources to improve the visitor experience and to appeal to more adventure seekers and mountain climbers.
“The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife through the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), the Kenya Tourism Board, and other partners have put together this exhibition so that we can arouse the interest of Kenyans and other travellers to visit this iconic landmark,” said Balala.
Earlier in May this year, CS Balala alongside KWS Director General Brigadier (Rtd) John Waweru and other dignitaries participated in an expedition of scaling up the mountain to showcase the exciting and immense potential of this gem.
The expedition realized Sh. 10 million in cash and kind and proceeds are already being plowed back to among other things improve nature trails, develop sanitation facilities, and hike trails.
In the launch event held at the National Museum, Chief Executive Officer for Safaricom, Peter Ndegwa noted that they are proud to be a part of this initiative of conservation as it is a part of their core purpose of transforming lives.
KWS Director General, Brigadier (Rtd) John Waweru says that an ambitious plan has been mooted to address the urgent need to transform the heritage site into a popular rendezvous for fun seekers.
“We plan to enhance the experience in our adventure parks by refurbishing and upgrading the visitor facilities. Some of the other experiences we want to improve include; sport fishing, camping, cave exploration, cultural and religious visits, and sprucing up amenities that have been a pain point for climbers who visit the mountain for a hiking experience. I call upon adventure enthusiasts to list Mt. Kenya on their bucket list,” said the DG
Some of the partners supporting the initiative include; Visa Kenya, Vipingo Ridge, Safaricom’s M- Pesa, and Sahihi Interior Builders among others.
Mount Kenya is the second highest peak in Africa standing at 5,199 M and is one of the key adventure tourism destinations on the continent.
Some of the known attractions at the mountain include the three peaks namely Lenana, Nelion, and Batian, lakes which include Alice, Michaelson, and Ellis, and the diverse vegetation and wildlife.