Have an explicit understanding on the notable activities and wildlife diversity in Hells Gate National Park and lodgings at this Kenyan game reserve.

This national Park North West of Nairobi is a wildlife endowed destination for nature enthusiasts in Kenya and around the world. This Kenyan National Park situates on 68 km² of unique landscapes. Hell’s Gate National Park was established in1984 and its activities fall under the management of Kenya Wildlife Service. It has quite a large population of wildlife that harbor in and around it.

This wildlife conservation area stretches 90 kilometers in the Northwest of Nairobi in Nakuru County. It is renowned popularly for numerous reasons, most importantly as the location for the Disney animation, the Lion King.

Hells Gate National Park is a natural habitat to an extensive collection of wildlife, both the endangered and the secured. It harbors some of the Big Five, i.e. elephants and cap buffalos, numerous herbivores, carnivores and bird life. The rich biodiversity of this park also covers its gorges.

Why is Hells Gate National Park Famous?

This iconic wildlife conservation is famously renowned for its unique landscapes like the towering cliffs and the volcanic rock formations, diverse blend of wildlife and panoramic landscapes.  

Hells Gate National Park fees structure

It should be denoted that there are simple charges levied by the park operators from Kenya Wildlife Service to get access to this park’s activities and unique wildlife. Take a brief look at the fees paid on entry;

• Each adult foreign nonresident and resident pays 40 USD in the low season, i.e. from March to June. In the peak season, i.e. from July to February, the entrance fee is 70 USD.
• Infant foreign tourists are charged 20 USD each and also students foreigners pay 20 USD each
• Each East African citizen pays 600 KSH in the low season whereas in the peak season the charge levied is 800 KSH
• East African infants and students are charged 215 KSH for a daily entry ticket at Amboseli National Park.

Safari vehicles are also levied for entry per day. They are priced as follows;

• Compact SUVs with a maximum seating capacity of 6 pay 300 KSH
• 6-12 seats vehicles pay 1030 KSH
• 12-24 seats vehicles pay 2585 KSH
• 25-44 seats vehicles pay 4050 KSH
• 45 seats vehicles and beyond pay 5000 KSH

Wildlife at Hells Gate National Park

The following are the wildlife that are present in the Hell’s Gate;

• Primates, i.e. baboons, monkeys and some chimpanzees
• Hyraxes
• Giraffes
• Zebras
• Antelopes
• Buffalos
• Warthogs

Things to do at Hells Gate National Park

At this park, a number of perfectly coordinated activities are ready for tourists to engage in. These activities are the best way to encounter wildlife at the Park. Take a look at the top things to do at this captivating wildlife conservation area.

1. Safari Game Drives

Game drives at this National Park might be the most fun ways to engage wildlife at this wildlife conservation. Game drives are done in reliable 4X4 wheel drive vehicles that can move through all the kinds of terrain in this park. The dependable cars, each has a pop up roof and windows that bring in clear light fashioning magnificent and unobstructed views for you at the park.

Safari game drives are led by experienced guides or park rangers plus a skilled driver. These experts provide all the biography of whatever encountered wildlife species you would need to know about on this Safari.

Safari game drives in this reserve usually start in the early mornings and late afternoons. You shall notably observe quite a number of free lancing nature artifacts especially the numerous herbivores like the giraffes, zebras and antelopes as well as numerous bird species.

As you cruise through the rough terrain park routes, enjoy the beautiful landscapes surrounding the routes like the dramatic cliffs and the Fischer’s Tower. Safari Game drives at Hells Gate National Park are charged 75 USD per adult tourists and 50 USD for infant tourists.

2. Hot Air Balloon Safaris

These safaris are posh experiences in a large Hot Air Balloon that sits a maximum of 15 passengers including the tour guide. The flights are usually launched in the early mornings not so high in the sky but above the shrubby vegetation in this wildlife conservation. This time has the calmest weather and highlighted by the astounding experience of seeing the sun rise from behind the highest free standing mountain in the world.

This Safari soars you above Hells Gate giving you the opportunity to observe the topography of this pack in high definition. It will give you a skeptical overview of the elephant herds at this park, lion prides, flocks of birds and an impressive view of the unique landscapes like the volcanic rock cliffs, the Njorowa Gorges and the Fischer’s tower.

This well accommodated safari with on flight breakfast and refreshments is the best to record moments and snap pictures of wildlife on their treks, hunting tactics, breeding characters and solitary attributes.

The Hot Air Balloon Safari is charged 475 USD per person.

3. Nature and wildlife walks

Guided walks in the Hells Gate National Park are astounding and memorable. They give you the opportunity to get detailed about the least and most information about this park. They are led by a knowledgeable guide or park ranger who is familiar with the geographical setting of the park.

Along the walks, the guide explains about the ways of life of the encountered wildlife species from the names to as far as their body attributes. Await an extensive array of plants, shrubs, small mammals like the jackals, aardvarks, the African Hare and the tree squirrels..

These walks will present you perfect photographic opportunities to take snaps around the wildlife encounter only at spots designated safe. Nature walks at Hell’s Gate National Park are not charged.

Besides the above exhilarating activities, there are other interesting coordinated safaris for you to include on your to do list such as;

• Photography safaris
• Bird watching safaris
• Visiting the native communities
• Camping

Accommodation at Hells Gate National Park

This park has a collection of fine lodgings and tented camps within and around it that provide quality stay comfort for you and your loved ones. These lodgings are of different accommodation services, i.e. they are luxurious, midrange or budget friendly.

Take a look at the best lodge from each sector;

Best Luxury Hotel

Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort is the best luxurious accommodation option near this wildlife park, just 8 miles. It has the best luxury endowed rooms made in a theme that relives you of wildlife even outside the park.

This lodge has an extensive array of amenities and facilities like a fully stacked health club, multi cuisine restaurants, no lag internet connection, and so much more. It tops its uniqueness with exhilarating road trip views of Amboseli National Park.

This high end hotel charges 380 USD for a fully accommodated night of two people in one room. Bookings and reservations for space at this hotel go on at their website or you can book through your trusted tour operator to see availability.

Besides this lodge, you can choose to stay at Muthu Lake Naivasha Country Club, Naivasha Kongoni Lodge or at Enjoy the silence Hotel. These lodges are the other top options in the luxury sector of accommodation at Hells Gate National Park.

Best midrange Hotel

Midrange accommodation at Hells Gate National Park is led by Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp. This camp 15 miles from the headquarters of the park. It is themed in love and romance.

This exquisite setting provides skeptical views of the game reserve that is just steps far from it. The rooms for resting are self-contained and elegant. The atmosphere the park surrounds is cheerful during day and colorful in the nights.

Customer care at this lodge is delightful with meals and other services are delivered in time. Expect to pay 158.5 USD each night for a well packaged accommodation at Lake Naivasha Crescent Camp.

Weavers Haven, Shwari Cottages and Lacasa Green are the top most alternatives if not comfortable with this lodge.

Best budget friendly Hotel

Lacasa Estate is the best budget friendly lodge at Hells Gate National Park. It is 13 miles far from the park with tented accommodations too. Its services are slick and affordable. The meals are perfect and the environment I cozy.

The prices per night for a couple at this tented lodge is 84 USD inclusive of meal plans. Its counter parts in the budget friendly stays are Pendeza La Casa, Roza Guest House and Bida Furnished Apartments.

Best time to visit Hells Gate National Park

On planning your trip to Hells Gate National Park, you need to consider quite a number of aspects. Among the few aspects you should consider is what times of the year you should give this wildlife conservation a visit.

Hells Gate phases through two weather seasons, i.e. the wet season and the dry season. The wet season runs from November to May whereas the dry season runs from June to October.

In the dry season, the park is typically dry with less dense vegetation. The skies are very clear with the sun vibrantly raying in the savannah grasslands of this park. The trails in the reserve are very smooth and dry making movements on all safaris easy, quick and enjoyable. This makes it very easy for tourists to spot wildlife.

The wet season however is characterized by a bust of infant wildlife and plentiful bird species in this game reserve. The vegetation is lush green and densely vegetated with vibrant green.

The biggest challenge of this weather season is probably the muddy and almost unnavigable terrains of this wildlife conservation after the heavy rain pours. Hells Gate National park records high rainfall totals in this season that make park activities have a few inconveniences in their punctuality.

The skies are often dark because of the ever present nimbus clouds lashing a rain pour at any moment. This makes spotting of wildlife challenging, plus recording photographic memories is quite unclear too.

The dry season is statically the best time to visit Hells Gate National Park because of its so many advantages to its bio and its less flaws.

How to get to Hells Gate National Park

Travelers to this game reserve can arrive most conveniently by road, specifically through a trusted tour company. With a tour company safari, expect to pass through Kenyan traffic swiftly. These companies can cover this 90 km stretch from Nairobi to the park location in under 2 hours. The drivers are skilled and know whatever quickest routes to get to the park. Some of the routes these drivers may use are not traceable on GPS platforms.

Alternatively you can travel by self-drive through the smart road network from Nairobi to the South of Lake Naivasha. For those unfamiliar with Kenyan roads, the GPS platforms are quite accurate and provide less traffic routes to the reserve. Going to this game reserve, you need an all-wheel drive vehicle to cruise through the mixed Kenyan roads terrain. Talk to us for the most reliable all-wheel drive vehicles at the fairest prices.

Your Drive Kenya is famously renowned for its world class services when it comes to moving you around all East African Countries, with expert drivers and astounding cars. Our cars are of the best condition and efficient performance is guaranteed.

The fleet of cars is of all wheel drive cars, famously known as 4X4 cars with outstanding on and off road ability. Expect to get through all the types of roads on this journey to Hells Gate National Park in our affordable vehicles.

You could choose to rent any of the cars available at our offices for your travel plans throught Kenya. We have the Land cruiser 70 series, the V8/VX series, Toyota Rav4 and the TX/TZ series.

The Land cruiser 70 series is a reliable 4X4 vehicle with a very strong engine that can tow up to 2500 lbs. It’s a seven seater trooper with clear windows and a pop up roof.

The TX/TZ series collection is of Toyota Land cruisers that have a good fuel economy. These prototypes have a strong engine under the hood, i.e. the 2.7 liter petrol and the 3.0 liter diesel for the TX series, whereas a 3.4 V6 for the TZ series. All these cars are four wheel drive, can seat 5 adult passengers and have good ground clearance.

The V8/VX series are big build SUVs themed for the luxurious drive. These cars are Land cruisers but with stronger engines compared to the 70 series and the TZ/TX series. The V8 has the 4.7 Liter petrol engine and the VX has the 4.5 liter diesel engine. They are the most comfortable cars for your safari drives to Hells Gate National Park and around Kenya

The Toyota Rav4 is a compact sized four wheel drive car. It has a small 2.0 liter engine but quite strong for its class. It’s capable for traversing past the uneven terrain of Kenyan road without any hardship. It is the most economic 4X4 vehicle on Kenyan roads. Visit our website at www.yourdrivekenya.com for our car prices, reservations and other important information on your travel plan to Hells Gate National Park.

In conclusion, Hells Gate National Park is a must stop for all the wildlife enthusiasts across the globe. Await an exploration of wildlife in abundance at this exquisite wildlife game reserve.