Gatamaiyu forest is part of Kereita forest on the west of Aberdares and is 55km from Nairobi. It is 8km from Kimende off the Nairobi Naivasha highway.

The main activity was hiking, waterfall and bird watching.

Our hike starts at the Gatamaiyu Forest Gate, past the Fisheries office, and descend into a valley before taking the Gatamaiyu river course trail.

The easy trail is along the river, under canopy of indigenous forest that provides the cool misty atmosphere. Having rained three days’ prior, the trail was a bit muddy. Fallen logs from old trees lie undisturbed along the trail creating hurdles for the hikers.

There is chirping of the birds all through the trail since the forest is a habitat to many species. We spot some wading and swimming in the rivers and others on the trees.

Occasionally there is squeaking of the squirrels as they jump from one tree to the next.

We’re soon met by the forest undergrowth along the riverbanks. You are likely to spot Colombus monkeys and various species of birds in the forest right from the gate. The calmness in this forest is magical and will make you appreciate nature even more and bring out your inner peace, it’s the reason we go out into the woods after all. The trail is under KFS guards, ideal for intermediate hikers.

The trail leads us to the scenic, magnificent 18ft waterfall upstream after about 2hrs of trekking.

Due to the thick forest cover the soil is so fertile because of the humus, such that on the steeper declines you automatically skid. The sliding, skidding and falls were many, making the experience more fun!

Though we walk along the Gatamaiyu river, it is so still that without the guides, you wouldn’t know it exist signaling the depth of the waters. The trail is along the river on a declining terrain.

There are old mature trees that have fallen on the footpaths, some so large that we needed a helping hand to get over them

For those of us who love the sound of falling water, we capture the best sound as we rest, take photos and have a snack. The water was too cold for swimming.

We encounter 2 more other water falls before we finish the hike and return to Nairobi. The return is by climbing from the valley through a dirt road for about 45 min to get back to the gate.