By Sam – Nairobi-based expat, wanderer, and reluctant morning person
When I checked into Kambu Mara Camp near the Masai Mara, I was expecting lions, sunsets, and maybe a few elephants. What I didn’t expect was a conversation around the bonfire that would send me straight into the heart of a volcano.
Over beers and smoky nyama choma, one of the guides told me about this “untouched mountain” called Suswa — just a few hours from Nairobi, with lava caves, Maasai villages, and something called a double crater. I was hooked. “If you like adventure,” he said, “Suswa will make you forget everything else.”
He was right.
🚙 From City Streets to Crater Rims
The following weekend, I packed my gear, roped in two friends, and hit the road out of Nairobi. The drive through Mai Mahiu was pure Rift Valley beauty — steep escarpments, open skies, and the kind of silence that makes you want to switch off your phone permanently.
About two hours in, we passed Suswa Town — a sleepy roadside hub — and met up with our local guide Daniel, decked out in full red shuka with a Maasai rungu slung casually over his shoulder.
The last 14km to the mountain? Let’s just say you need a sense of humor and a 4×4 with decent clearance. Rocky, muddy, and at times non-existent, the track took us through wide scrubland dotted with acacia trees and curious herders. It was bumpy, dusty, glorious.
🏕️ Camping on the Edge of the World
We reached the outer crater rim by midday and set up camp. The view? Unreal. Imagine standing on the edge of a massive bowl, inside of which lies a second bowl — forested, hidden, mysterious — like nature pressed Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and then turned up the contrast.
We pitched our tents with the crater forest below and Mount Longonot shimmering in the distance. The silence was profound. No engines. No fences. Just wind, birds, and our own laughter echoing through volcanic air.
🕳️ Into the Lava Caves
After lunch, Daniel led us down to the lava caves, which were even more otherworldly than I imagined. Twisting tunnels, natural bridges, and the famous Baboon Parliament, a cavern so perfectly shaped you’d swear it was sculpted.
The stench of bat guano was… impressive. Bring a buff. But when a thousand bats flutter past your torchlight in total darkness, you don’t care. You’re in the belly of the Earth, and it’s thrilling.
One cave opens to the sky where sunlight cuts through the dust in golden shafts. My friend whispered, “This looks like Tomb Raider,” and for once, she wasn’t exaggerating.
🌄 Sunset Above a Volcano
We scrambled up just in time for sunset on the western rim, where the light lit the crater walls like fire. Below us, baboons were heading to their cave roosts, steam vents hissed from the earth, and the clouds turned every shade of orange and violet.
Dinner was simple — noodles, sausages, and a few too-warm beers. But with that view and a fire crackling beside us? It felt like a feast.
🌌 Sleep, Stars, and Silence
That night, I lay outside my tent and stared into a Milky Way so clear it felt fake. No light pollution. No cars. Just the occasional howl of a hyena in the distance and the rustle of the wind through dry grass.
It’s humbling to sleep on the rim of a volcano. You feel tiny. And free.
🌅 Sunrise, Steam Vents & a Trail Runner in a Shuka
The next morning, we were up at dawn. While I sipped my coffee, Daniel — still in full Maasai gear — casually stretched and told us he’d be running the crater rim. I thought he was joking.
He wasn’t.
By 7:00 AM, he was gone — sword and all — trotting the 20 km loop like it was no big deal. We opted for a slower pace, hiking up to the summit at 2,355 meters, then tracing part of the rim, stopping for photos, silence, and goat tracks.
The trail is rough, rocky in parts, but then it flattens into wide plains where steam vents hiss from the earth and cows graze like it’s perfectly normal to live on a volcano. There’s no formal path — just animal trails, intuition, and your guide’s memory.
🎒 What You Need to Know Before You Go
- 4×4 is a must. Don’t even try with a saloon car.
- Bring all your water. There’s none on the mountain.
- Hire a local guide. They’re not just helpful — they make the trip.
- Dress for everything. It’s hot, cold, windy, and dusty — often all in the same hour.
- Respect the land. This is Maasai territory and a sacred landscape. Treat it as such.
💸 Costs (As of 2025)
- Entry: KES 500 (Citizen), $30 (Non-resident)
- Camping: KES 1,000 per night
- Firewood: KES 1,000 (optional)
- Guide: ~KES 2,000–3,000 per group per day
- Manyatta stay with meals: KES 4,500 per person/night
✨ Final Thoughts
I’ve hiked in the Scottish Highlands. I’ve trekked in Nepal. But Mount Suswa hit differently — raw, quiet, cinematic. It’s the kind of place that hasn’t been packaged for tourism yet, and I hope it never is.
If you’re in Kenya, skip the polished lodges for a weekend, grab your tent, and let the mountain show you something real.
And if you see a guy in a red shuka outrunning you on the crater rim, tell Daniel I said hi.