Hell’s Gate is one of our favorite parks in Kenya. It’s only a two hour drive from Nairobi and it does not disappoint. Where else can you bicycle or walk past animals, rock climb, shower in the devil’s bathtub, hear an echo and risk your life going through the gorge? And if that’s not enough, see inspiration for the Lion King! This park has it all…and more.

After much research and debate over whether we really needed a guide, I contacted Robert (WhatsApp +254 725 894994) -he was mentioned many times on trip advisor and google as being knowledgable and helpful so I decided to message him. He organized a day at the park and a one-hour boat ride on Lake Naivasha for us. While he was my direct contact and met up with us, he was not feeling well that day and left us in the fully capable hands of Ruth. We got sized for bicycles, they hauled them to the gate of the park for us and Ruth got us all checked in. At $26 for a non-citizen, it’s a great deal compared to the other parks.

Our first stop was Fischer’s Tower – seen on the left in the picture above. My daughter has done some rock climbing in the US and jumped at the chance to do a little in Kenya. We took the easiest side and route as several wanted to climb and we didn’t want to take a long time there. Ruth got everyone hooked up and served as our belay.

Back on the bicycles and we randomly stopped in the middle of the road. Ruth had us dismount and face the cliffs. We yelled at the cliffs, taking turns with our names, only to hear a very distinct and clear echo return to us. Back on our bikes…. Along the way to the gorge, we saw giraffes, zebras, monkey, buffalo, and eland-I wish I would have taken a picture of more of the animals.

When we reached the area for the gorge, we met Samuel-our Maasai guide who took us down in the depths. If there are heavy rains in the area, the gorge is closed as flash flooding will sweep you away. There are a few exit ladders and stairs along the way, but I wouldn’t want to gamble my life. We kept climbing further down, a little treacherous descents at times. When we reached the bottom, we negotiated the path and came to the devil’s bathtub. So many natural springs and small waterfalls to play in-and differing temperatures. The devil’s bedroom was still closed for renovations and the devil’s kitchen was a hike we had not planned for that day, but you can boil an egg in the water there.

We traversed the terrain out of the gorge and back up to the top. We saw the inspiration for pride rock in the Lion King-the brave ventured out to the edge.

Of course any tour through a park in Kenya is not complete without a “complementary” stop at a Maasai market. We did not dwell there long, we thanked Samuel for his services, and decided to ride in our van back to the entrance instead of biking. Ruth jumped in with us-she was now a part of our family; she fit right in with our group and matched our energy perfectly. When we got back to the meeting spot for Robert, he was feeling better and joined us for the boat ride on the lake.

A 10-minute drive down the road and we were at the boat launch and ready to hit the water. We rode past hippos, fishermen, and cruised around Crescent Island (I would recommend looking in to this as you are walking a small island with lots of different animals on it). Robert lived up to all the reviews-helpful and informative. He taught us about the different birds on the lake and the history of the region.

This was one of the best days we’ve experienced in Kenya. If you go, take sunscreen, water and snacks/food. There are some nicer restaurants in the area for the end of your day, but we chose to return to Nairobi. Give Robert a text through WhatsApp, he can arrange itineraries for Hell’s Gate and many other parts of Kenya!