With its layered craters, lava caves, steaming vents, wild landscapes, and dramatic light, Mount Suswa is a dream location for photographers. Whether you’re chasing golden-hour sunrises, framing a baboon silhouetted at a cave entrance, or shooting from a drone above the volcanic rim, Suswa offers raw, untouched beauty you won’t find anywhere else in Kenya.
Let’s break it down:
🌄 Best Sunrise Photography Spots in Suswa
Sunrise at Mount Suswa is an event — with golden light cascading across the crater, highlighting steam vents and distant escarpments. The key is to be in position before 6:00 AM.
📍 Top Sunrise Locations:
- East Crater Rim Viewpoint
- Faces into the inner crater
- Catch the sun rising behind the volcanic plug
- Shadows and light play across forested slopes
- Steam Vent Plateau
- Morning fog + geothermal steam = surreal misty shots
- Works well for wide-angle atmospheric photography
- Northern Crater Ledge
- View of both inner and outer caldera
- Ideal for time-lapse or drone take-offs at dawn
💡 Pro Tip: Bring a tripod, shoot in RAW, and use bracketing for exposure blending.
📷 Photo Tips for Mount Suswa Adventures
Shooting at Suswa isn’t like photographing in the Mara. The terrain is rough, lighting is dynamic, and subjects vary from vast landscapes to dark caves. Here’s how to get the best results:
🔧 Essential Tips:
- Golden Hour Rules: Early morning and late afternoon give the best light — avoid midday haze
- Wide-Angle Lens: Perfect for capturing the vast double crater and dramatic skies
- Prime or Zoom: Ideal for wildlife, especially baboons, eagles, or klipspringers
- Tripod: Crucial for low-light cave shots and time-lapse sunrise/sunset
- Headlamp with red light: Essential for navigating lava tubes without disrupting bats or wildlife
- Use leading lines: Lava ridges, paths, and crater walls make natural compositional tools
🎒 Carry gear in a dustproof bag. Volcanic dust is fine and clingy!
🚁 Can You Use a Drone in Suswa?
Yes — but with responsibility and respect. There are no formal government restrictions in Mount Suswa (as it’s not a national park), but the area is Maasai community-managed, and there are important cultural and wildlife considerations.
✅ Do:
- Ask your guide and local leaders for permission
- Fly during non-disruptive hours (not at dusk when baboons settle)
- Keep altitude moderate — below 100m
- Avoid boma areas, livestock, and near nesting birds or steam vents
❌ Don’t:
- Fly inside lava caves or close to bat colonies
- Disturb baboon troops, especially near the Baboon Parliament
- Fly near Maasai ceremonies or manyattas without explicit consent
💡 Best drone locations include the north rim, plug overview, steam fields, and the inner forest from above.
🦅 Best Wildlife Photography Spots in Suswa
Mount Suswa doesn’t offer massive herds, but it’s home to rare and behaviorally fascinating species, especially around specific zones.
🐾 Top Wildlife Photo Locations:
- Baboon Parliament Cave
- Catch dramatic troop silhouettes at sunrise or dusk
- Use long lenses for candid grooming, play, and hierarchy shots
- Inner Crater Forest
- Best for birds (hornbills, turacos), hyraxes, and klipspringers
- Diffused light and layered foliage for painterly compositions
- Steam Vent Zones
- Raptors like Verreaux’s Eagles soaring in thermals
- Great backdrop for wildlife against rising steam and sunlight
- Night near Camp
- Capture starry skies with animal silhouettes, or hyenas from a distance
- Bring a silent trail camera or long-lens with night sensitivity
📸 Always shoot wildlife with patience and respect. Don’t chase or bait animals.
🏆 Enter the Suswa Photo Contest
As part of community engagement and eco-tourism promotion, the Mount Suswa Conservancy occasionally runs seasonal photo contests open to travelers, photographers, and students.
How It Works:
- Categories: Landscape, Wildlife, Cultural, Adventure
- Submit: Up to 5 photos per person via email or form (check MtSuswa.org for dates)
- Prizes: Camping vouchers, local crafts, feature on @mt.suswa social pages
- Entries must reflect ethical photography standards and include descriptions
🎯 Want to boost your odds? Include shots that showcase the relationship between people and nature.
📍 10 Most Instagrammable Spots in Suswa
Mount Suswa is full of raw, dramatic, and highly photogenic locations. If you’re looking to fill your feed with jaw-dropping shots, try these:
- Rim Viewpoint with Crater Below – perfect sunrise backdrop
- Baboon Parliament Skylight – soft beams of light cut through the cave dust
- Steam Vents at Golden Hour – surreal and moody shots
- Tree Growing from Lava Crack – nature’s resilience
- Inner Crater Forest Trail – misty and magical in the morning
- Crater Edge Cliff with Camp in Foreground – stargazing setup
- Boma Visit with Local Maasai – colorful, respectful portraits
- Plug Summit Hike – epic selfie location overlooking the inner crater
- Lava Tunnel Crawl – torch-lit portrait crawling into the underworld
- Night Sky over Tent – frame with crater rim in silhouette
💡 Shoot vertical (9:16) for reels/stories and wide (16:9) for cinematic landscapes.
🎒 What to Pack for a Photo Trip in Suswa
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| DSLR or mirrorless | Interchangeable lenses for flexibility |
| Wide-angle lens (10–24mm) | For craters, skies, steam vents |
| Zoom/telephoto lens | Wildlife, portraits, compression shots |
| Tripod & remote shutter | Long exposures, stable cave/sky shots |
| Headlamp & extra batteries | Caves and nighttime photography |
| Drone (with permission) | Epic aerials, crater shots |
| Lens cloths & dust covers | Volcanic dust is fine and pervasive |
| Notebook or phone app | Log locations, light changes, ideas |
✅ Final Word: Suswa Through the Lens
Mount Suswa is not overrun with tourists or photo hotspots. That’s its power. Every sunrise, every shadow in a cave, every steam vent you frame — it’s yours.
So whether you’re posting reels, publishing a photo essay, or just capturing memories on your phone, Suswa rewards the curious, the patient, and the passionate.
Go slow. Wait for the light. Respect the land. And capture it in a way that keeps it wild.