• Distance from Nairobi: About 60 Km
• Starting point: Carbacid Forest Gate
• Ending Point: Carbacid Forest Gate
• Walking Duration: 6 Hours
• Terrain: Animal Trails Through an indigenous forest

 

The Kereita Forest at the southern end of Aberdare ridges has indeed very interesting hiking trails and natural features like Water falls and Caves.

 

The trails were established by Kijabe environment volunteers, a local community based organization that works to save this rich biodiversity.

 

One of these trails, the Carbacid trails leads to Kereita waterfalls in Gatamaiyu river and the adjacent cave which is the preferred home to a colony of small bats.

 

Kereita forest bears the memory of being the mass grave of over 5,000 victims of revenge attack of the local population by the British colonial administration.

 

These reprisal were triggered by the so called Larri Massacres in March 1953, after Mau Mau combatants attacks and killed about 100 loyalists in this area, including the local colonial chief - Kahangari.

 

The Walk trough Kereita Forest stars at the Carbacid gate. This whole area sits on the ground a top natural carbon dioxide gas reservoir currently mined by Carbacid Ltd company for commercial and industrial use.

 

As it starts with the first one hour, you will pass through an exotic forest interspersed with vast cleared areas created by the shamba system introduced during Nyayo era Regime.

 

On moving further ahead into the forest then descends into the first river valley. The clearings gives way to an indigenous forest, the undergrowth gets thicker, varied and indeed more interesting. The jungle comes into life with the calls and sounds of monkeys and mimicking melodies of birds.

 

Normally, the trails are not quite notable due to low visitation. This therefore necessitate us to follow the animals trails as they head towards the water fall. Its after 2 hours walking past 2 steep river valleys when we get to a large water body of elephant pool where they normally come to floric.

 

A further one hour is only when we get to the Kereita water fall on Gatamaiyu river dropping 60 Feet below.

 

To the right side of the water fall is a cave with a small bat population.

 

The whole round trip takes about 5 Hrs.

 

From Nairobi head straight to Kimende about 47 Km journey.

 

From here you will get the guides who will accompany you for the remaining 10 Km to the Carbacid gate.

 

Kereita forest is 60 km away from Nairobi.

 

The forest has interesting hiking trails and natural feature like caves and water falls.