This is Mount Longonot, one of several old volcanoes in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. The caldera was formed in a series of huge explosions around 20,000 years ago. Can you imagine it? Any humans standing on the Great Rift escarpment, where I was standing to take this photo, would have had an absolutely astonishing view. And indeed, there would have been people around then – East Africa’s indigenous hunter-gatherers, small statured, fine-boned people whose presence long preceded the 16-17th century arrival of Bantu farmers and the Nilotic cattle herders.
The volcano is officially ‘extinct’ though Maasai traditions make report of fresh lava sometime around the 1860s.There are also active steam vents which Kenya is hoping to exploit to produce clean geothermal energy. You can see more about this HERE with some excellent photos of Longonot. (The smoke on my photo is most likely from stubble burning).
As I mentioned in an recent post about the Maasai Mara, until the arrival of British colonial settlers in the early 20th century, the entire Rift Valley was Maasai grazing territory and the landmarks thus have Maasai names. Longonot derives from oloonong’ot meaning ‘steep ridges’ in Ki-Maa. A fitting description.
But to my mind (and in true Conan Doyle The Lost World style) the most magical thing about Longonot is the hidden forest on the crater floor where zebra, giraffe, buffalo, hartebeest, lion and gazelle may roam. There is a path to the top, but it is quite a hike, nearly 2 miles to reach the rim and a good 4 miles around it. Back in our day you also needed to enlist the services of a Kenya Wildlife Service ranger to go with you, which didn’t always work out. It’s a big regret that we never did do this climb.
Here’s another view of it showing the oloonong’ot .
And the highest point of the cone seen from Lake Naivasha (2,776 metres; 9,108 ft): a seine fisherman and papyrus beds (where hippos may lurk) in the foreground.
Tish Farrell 
I never knew about the hidden forest on the crater floor. I flew over it in a light plane en route to Nairobi from Southern Sudan 40 years ago but can’t recall seeing vegetation at the base.
The trees are apparently low-growing. There’s a pic at the foot of this page: https://www.mountkenyaclimbing.com/mountlongonothiking.html
What a sight!
Absolutely!
😊😊
Oh, I would have loved it if you’d done that walk, Tish! What a share that would make 🙂 🙂 Meantime thank you for the beautiful photos. I find I’m blowing my top a bit these days. Not natural, all this confinement! 🙂 🙂 Happy gardening!
Yep, the confinement is tending towards the top blowing for more reasons than one. Hope to plant out some climbing peas today, an august and old variety called Lord Leicester. Onwards and upwards – with only small explosions 🙂
Explosions of peas is permissable 🤣🤣
what lovely pictures, and what a walk that would have been. Hard work though I suspect! Did you know a volcano has to have no magma supply and not have erupted for more 10,000 years to be extinct. That’s a long time to wait!!
10,000 years. That is a long time to wait. So is Longonot done, or is it biding its time…
Hopefully done!
I love the idea of the hidden forest on the crater floor where wild animals roam. I bet that would have been an amazing hike!
It would, Cathy.
This is my favuorite place to hike and test how fit i am. There was a time I hiked here every two weeks.
Your pics are great, Tish
I wish I could come with you when you next go 🙂
Come, we can go when the curfew is lifted
Ah, now there’s an objective to raise the spirits!
We can include Ol Donyo sabuk & other interesting places to go hike. Then you can tell me stories under a moonlit night of your stay here. Now this would be great!
Oh this sounds so good, Mak.
A wonderful view and a great top!
Thank you, Jude.
Wow. Just wow.
The hidden forest sounds fascinating, Tish.
janet
Oooooh I would love to go hiking into that crater floor! That would be magical – as long as I had a good guide. Another great visit to Africa!
Alison
Oh yes. I can see you doing this hike, Alison. And I can imagine all your fabulous photos.
Love the shots of the volcano. There is something exciting about a volcano even when it is extinct. Great post.
Thanks, Geri. I agree: even an extinct volcano gives one a buzz.
A great post about the volcanic Longonot. There is a crater rim affording excellent views of the nearby areas including the Great Rift Valley.