Serena Mountain Lodge

Sailing like an ark amid the primeval forests of Kenya's highest mountain, Mount Kenya, this timbered tree hotel offers clear mountain air, sweeping views across the tree canopies, sparkling trout streams and gentle forest walks.

Raised on stilts above the forest canopy, a timbered drawbridge leads from the forest and up onto the wooden decks of the lodge. Inside, the impression of having boarded a ship is perpetuated by a combination of log panelled walls, timbered game viewing decks and winding stairs leading to a selection of 42 comfortable cabin-style rooms. There are 20 Double Rooms, 19 Twin Rooms and three Triple Rooms. Activities include guided walks through the forest, trout fishing in the clear mountain streams, trips to the high moorlands of the mountain, and five-day luxury climbs up the mountain.

Located 2134 m above sea level and on the lower slopes of the mountain, the lodge is cool, tranquil and hushed for optimum game sightings. The open-air viewing deck looks down onto its own waterhole and salt lick which attracts numerous herds of elephant and buffalo. There is also a tunnel leading to a photo hide which offers spectacular viewing and photographic opportunities just metres away from the wildlife at the waterhole.

Mount Kenya is Kenya's highest mountain and is a national icon, a climbers' Mecca, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site and a wildlife stronghold. Being one of the world's highest national parks, it is also an extinct volcano some three and a half million years old and the sacred home of Ngai - god of the Kikuyu people.