If you live in Nairobi, Mount Suswa is a remarkably close adventure. Just over an hour off the Mai Mahiu road, the gravel track winds up past the goats and the dust until you hit the outer crater rim — and a whole lava-tube cave network underneath your feet.
The Suswa caves were carved by lava tubes during the volcano's active period. Some passages run for kilometers, others end in collapsed skylights you can scramble out of. The Mau Mau used the caves as hideouts during the 1950s — the bats are the obvious current residents, but you'll also see baboon prints, sometimes a honey badger track.
We always camp on the outer rim with the Maasai community we partner with. They charge a community fee that goes to schools and rangers. Dinner is around the fire, then headlamps on for the cave walk after dark. Some hikers crawl through the squeeze passages, others stay near the entrances — the choice is yours.
The next morning, we walk the rim of the outer crater and look down into the 'lost world' — an inner crater with a forested island in the middle of it. There's a steep trail down if you want to walk across, but most groups stay on the rim and shoot photos. Lunch, then drive back to Nairobi by mid-afternoon.
WM
Wanjiru Mwangi
Tai Trails guide team
