Budget Eco Cycling Safari: Hells Gate National Park, Kenya
Hells Gate National Park in Kenya is a landscape which will inspire feelings of awe and incredulity in the meekest of people. It sits at an elevation of around 2000m above sea level, and is only just over 100km from Nairobi, making it a very accessible national park.
Red and orange hued cliffs sit strong and solid, rising high above you and creating an otherworldly atmosphere as you cycle or drive through the park’s interior. The area features two volcanic rock formations: Fischer’s Tower and Central Tower. Almost as soon as you enter the park you will see the striking outline of Fischer’s Tower standing before you, a towering and incredible presence which you can pay a fee to climb up, using ropes and harnesses.
When we visited in November, the landscape was dry and dusty but had areas of sprawling greenery too, with several watering holes, which make it the perfect ecosystem for the animals that live here. Most paths are well maintained, but some are very sandy, so just be careful when you’re cycling!
This incredible and unique national park is also close to Lake Naivasha—around 10km—so it’s a good idea to group these two amazing places together and make a weekend of it, staying close to Lake Naivasha so you can see the hippos at night.
Our top tips for visiting Hells Gate National Park
- Get there early to avoid as many people as possible (our general motto in life haha) but also because this is the time that the wild animals are most active, and it’s much cooler which helps when you’re cycling.
- Pay for your entry fee in advance online on Kenya Wildlife Service website—it’ll speed up your entry into the park by as much as thirty minutes.
- Enter via the Elsa Gate, head left at Fischer’s Tower and follow the route round towards the Central Tower. We did the side track off to the Obsidian Caves and it wasn’t amazing, so you can skip that bit. Go to Ranger’s Post, and then if you want to go to the spa you can (we didn’t as it’s expensive!), then follow the cliff road back past the campsites to eventually exit from Elsa gate. This was around 18km of cycling, which in the Kenyan heat is not easy, so make sure you have enough water.
- Take your water in reusable bottles! Single use plastic is banned from all Kenyan National Parks, including water bottles, so make sure you have your reusables filled up or you’ll be in trouble with the heat.
- Drive to or get dropped off at the main entry gate and hire a bike from here. You may think it’s best to stop around 1km earlier, where the turn off from the main road is, as the bike hire places are situated here. BUT: we drove down and parked near the gate, and the security guard phoned the bike hire company to ask them to bring the bikes to us. This saved us cycling an extra 2km on an uneven track unnecessarily, and meant we got to witness someone using a moped to drop two bikes off to us, which was very cool!
- Take the 15km buffalo loop but also go down some of the other paths at random whilst looking for animals—you’ll spot wildlife wherever you go in the national park, but some of the cycle paths are too small for cars, which is pretty cool.
- Wear hiking boots even though you’re cycling. There was A LOT of dusty and sandy terrain in the national park, as well as crazy steep sections, some of which we couldn’t cycle, so we got off to push the bikes. Trust us when we say you will need hiking boots on!
How to visit Hells Gate National Park, Kenya
We travelled to Hells Gate National Park in Kenya by hiring a car in Nairobi and driving ourselves the 110km – just over 2 hours. We enjoyed the road trip and they drive on the left in Kenya which we are used to so it felt easy to do, and it was cheap! The car hire was about $20USD per day and petrol was low-cost too.
You can book a transfer to Hells Gate NP from Nairobi, as well as visit the national park on tour.
How much did it cost to visit Hells Gate National Park?
Park entry fees were $26 USD per person, and bike hire was around $5 USD per person. We also hired a car for the weekend to explore this region of Kenya, which cost around $20 USD per day, and petrol was quite cheap. All in all, this is one of the cheapest safari’s we have done in Africa, especially in Kenya, as tourism activities in this country are expensive.
What animals can you see in Hells Gate National Park?
In one day of cycling in Hells Gate National Park we saw hundreds of zebras, giraffes, warthogs, antelopes, impala, and wildebeest. It felt incredibly special as we barely saw another person all day—it felt as though we had the whole national park to ourselves, and the animals of course!
Is it safe to cycle around Hells Gate National Park in Africa?
Yes! There are no lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo or rhino in this national park, so it’s perfectly safe to roam around without a vehicle. Even though there are none of the big five (the park is unfenced so this can change, so don’t be alarmed if you do spot one of the big five here), there are still hundreds of wild animals. This made it feel both exciting and safe.
If you do cycle in Hells Gate NP, make sure you don’t get too close to any animals—they are all wild and living in their natural habitat, so try to minimise your disturbance to them. If you respect the wildlife, they will respect you. Remember, if you do come face to face with a predator, don’t run.
What are the benefits of cycling around Hells Gate National Park?
1) It’s unique and fun
2) It releases no carbon = YAY
3) It’s budget friendly
4) You can see loads of wild animals
5) You’re completely free to take whichever path you want
What else can you do in Hells Gate National Park?
You can pay to climb up the mighty volcanic formation of Fischer’s Tower, using ropes and harnesses and with a guide and instructor, near the main entrance point to the national park.
Hells Gate National Park is also home to a geothermal spa which you can pay to enter and bathe in the natural hot springs. The water here is rich in minerals such as sulphur and silica which are believed to improve skin conditions, cure diseases and improve health generally.
Would you recommend visiting Hells Gate National Park, Kenya?
Without a doubt. Cycling in Hells Gate National Park was one of our most memorable and special experiences whilst in Africa. Do it!