Hell’s Gate National Park covers an area of 68.25 square km and is situated in the environs of Lake Naivasha about 90 km from Nairobi. The park is 14 km after the turnoff from the old Nairobi-Naivasha highway.
It is characterized by diverse topography and geological scenery. It is an important home of the lammergeyer (The Bearded Vulture).Hell’s Gate has two gates that are used by visitors – the main Elsa Gate and the Olkaria Gate. The latter also serves the Olkaria Geothermal Station that is located inside the National Park.
The gorge that runs through the heart of the park is a wide, deep valley hemmed in by sheer, rusty-hued rock walls. Marking its eastern entrance is Fischer’s Tower, a 25m-high volcanic column named after Gustav Fischer, a German explorer who reached the gorge in 1882. Commissioned to find a route from Mombasa to Lake Victoria, Fischer was stopped by territorial Maasai, who slaughtered almost his entire party.
The park was named after a narrow break in the cliffs which was at one time a prehistoric lake believed to have fed early humans in the Rift Valley.The park’s captivating features and historical connections to ancient man is one of the major attractions to the park which was established in 1984. The park was named after a narrow break in the cliffs which was at one time a prehistoric lake believed to have fed early humans in the Rift Valley.
Within the park there is the Hell’s Gate Gorge lined with red cliffs which contain two volcanic plugs: Fischer’s Tower and Central Tower. Off of Central Tower is a smaller gorge which extends to the south and off of which there is a path descending into the hot springs. The park boasts an extensive Savannah grassland and a wide variety of wildlife and birds.
