Dragon Teeth Hike and The Twin Rocks, Aberdares

I heard of dragon teeth about a month before and I was curious to see what it was all about. It’s one of the routes with the least foot traffic in the Aberdare ranges. At least for now.

We left Nairobi around 5 am and the journey up to the gate took 5 hours with 2 stopovers. I’d advise leaving earlier than 5 am for better time management.

There are two access gates, Shamata and Rhino gates. Rhino gate is on Muiga side accessed via Nyeri.

We got to the KWS gates around 11 am. It took a while to pay the park fee on Shamata gate.

There’s another drive around 5kms from the gate to the starting point. The road is good but an offroad vehicle is advisable.

By the time we started the hike, it was around 12 pm, the latest I’ve ever started a hike in the Aberdares. It’s not advisable as the terrain is unforgiving and I couldn’t imagine hiking in the dark.

The scenery is breathtaking. There are Very big rocks and only when you’re near can you appreciate the height and beauty.

Be prepared to dodge pools of water and be careful of unseen holes deep enough to get your boots soaked. The tall grass made it hard to walk and it posed a danger for twisting your ankle. The paths in several areas were more like streams and our boots got wet.

The last point is where there are tall and sharp stones that resemble dragon teeth. It’s breathtaking scenery.

The terrain is moderately steep so the altitude gain wasn’t bad. On the way there are the twin rocks, it’s simply two rocks that resemble a woman’s breasts so its fun to look out for that if you can figure out which rocks.

After the dragon teeth, some of us proceeded to go to Mount Satima.

Overall the hike was interesting and the scenery is different from other hikes in the Aberdares.

THINGS TO NOTE:

• Wear good boots with ankle support are recommended

• Hiking boots will most likely get wet so carry a change of shoes for your trip back to your destination.

• Carry warm clothes even though the forecast is clear.

• Have a raincoat and expect rain at any moment. (Ant time at the Aberdares)

• Enough water to hydrate and snacks.