Mt Longonot Entrance Fee 2026

Mt Longonot Entrance Fee 2026: Complete Guide for Kenyan Visitors (Updated Rates, Hiking Tips & How to Pay)

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Mt Lon­gonot entrance fee in 2026 (effec­tive Octo­ber 1, 2025):

• East African cit­i­zens (Kenyan adults): KES 500 per per­son
• East African cit­i­zens (chil­dren 5–17): KES 215 per per­son
• Chil­dren under 5: FREE
• Kenya res­i­dents with valid work per­mits: KES 675 per per­son
• Non-res­i­dent inter­na­tion­al vis­i­tors: USD 50 per adult, USD 25 per child
• African cit­i­zens (oth­er coun­tries): USD 20 per per­son
• Camp­ing fee: KES 500 per per­son per night

All fees are valid for 24 hours from entry. Pay­ment is cash­less only via KWS­Pay on eCit­i­zen. No cash is accept­ed at the gate.

Introduction

If you have ever looked out across the Great Rift Val­ley from Naivasha and spot­ted that per­fect­ly shaped vol­cano ris­ing from the val­ley floor, you already know why Mount Lon­gonot pulls thou­sands of hik­ers every sin­gle year. It is one of those places that looks dra­mat­ic from a dis­tance and feels even more dra­mat­ic once you are stand­ing on the crater rim, watch­ing zebras move through the bush far below.

Before you lace up your boots and hit the trail, the first ques­tion most vis­i­tors ask is sim­ple: what is the Mt Lon­gonot entrance fee in 2026, and how do you pay it?

The answer mat­ters more than ever right now. The Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice (KWS) rolled out its first major fee revi­sion in near­ly two decades in Octo­ber 2025, and many vis­i­tors are still work­ing from old infor­ma­tion they found online. This guide gives you the cur­rent, accu­rate 2026 fig­ures, walks you through the pay­ment process step by step, and cov­ers every­thing else you need to know before you go — from what to pack to com­mon mis­takes that turn great hikes into dif­fi­cult days.

Ready to com­bine your Lon­gonot hike with a wider Kenya or Zanz­ibar adven­ture? View our top safaris in Kenya and Zanz­ibar — Charm­ing Safariz han­dles all the logis­tics so you can focus on the expe­ri­ence.

What Is the Mt Longonot Entrance Fee?

The Mt Lon­gonot entrance fee is the con­ser­va­tion charge you pay to enter Mount Lon­gonot Nation­al Park, which is man­aged by the Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice. The park cov­ers 52 square kilo­me­tres of vol­canic ter­rain in Naku­ru Coun­ty, about 90 km from Nairo­bi along the Nairobi–Nakuru high­way.

KWS clas­si­fies Mt Lon­gonot as a Scenic Park (Cat­e­go­ry B) under its 2025 fee struc­ture — the same cat­e­go­ry as Hel­l’s Gate, Mount Elgon, and Shim­ba Hills. This clas­si­fi­ca­tion puts it well below the pre­mi­um parks like Amboseli (USD 90) or Lake Naku­ru (USD 90) in terms of cost, mak­ing it one of the most afford­able nation­al parks in Kenya for both locals and inter­na­tion­al vis­i­tors.

The fees went up on Octo­ber 1, 2025, fol­low­ing par­lia­men­tary approval of the Wildlife Con­ser­va­tion and Man­age­ment Reg­u­la­tions 2025. It was the park’s first sig­nif­i­cant price change in almost 20 years.

Mt Longonot Entrance Fee — 2026 Official Rates

All fees are valid for 24 hours from time of entry. Source: Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice

Why Kenyans Need to Know These Updated Fees

The 2025/2026 fee revi­sion caught many reg­u­lar vis­i­tors off guard. If you vis­it­ed Lon­gonot before Octo­ber 2025, you would have paid KES 300 as a Kenyan adult. That rate is now KES 500 — a 67% increase. Here is why this mat­ters for dif­fer­ent groups of Kenyans:

• Day hik­ers from Nairo­bi: The Nairobi–Longonot route is one of the most pop­u­lar week­end escapes in Kenya. Know­ing the updat­ed cost helps you bud­get cor­rect­ly and avoid turn­ing back at the gate.
• School and uni­ver­si­ty trip organ­is­ers: Stu­dents on recog­nised edu­ca­tion­al trips may qual­i­fy for dis­count­ed rates, but only with pri­or KWS approval and an offi­cial let­ter from your insti­tu­tion. Apply ear­ly.
• Cor­po­rate team-build­ing groups: Many Nairo­bi com­pa­nies use Lon­gonot for team hikes. A group of 20 employ­ees now costs KES 10,000 in entry fees alone — worth fac­tor­ing into your quote.
• Trav­el agents and tour oper­a­tors: All safari pack­ages that include Lon­gonot need to be re-priced against the new 2025 rates.
• Bud­get trav­ellers: At KES 500, Lon­gonot remains one of Kenya’s cheap­est nation­al parks. Even with the increase, it costs far less than Amboseli or Tsa­vo.

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Types of Visits to Mt Longonot National Park

Day Hike to the Rim

This is the most com­mon vis­it. From the park gate, the trail ris­es steeply to the crater rim — rough­ly 2 km of ascent that takes most peo­ple between 45 min­utes and 1.5 hours depend­ing on fit­ness. At the rim, you get panoram­ic views of Lake Naivasha and the Rift Val­ley. The sum­mit point stands at 2,776 metres above sea lev­el.

Full Crater Rim Circuit

The full cir­cuit around the crater rim is about 7.2 km and takes between 3 and 5 hours depend­ing on your pace. This is the full expe­ri­ence — tech­ni­cal in sec­tions, with loose vol­canic rock, steep drops on the inner crater wall, and incred­i­ble views the entire way. This is what most seri­ous hik­ers come for.

Wildlife and Bird Watching

The park holds buf­faloes, com­mon zebras, giraffes, Grant’s gazelles, elands, lions, leop­ards, and bush­bucks. It is also excel­lent for rap­tors — augur buz­zards, Ver­reaux’s eagles, and var­i­ous sun­birds nest in the crater for­est. The crater itself holds a dense, impen­e­tra­ble for­est that is one of the unique fea­tures of the park.

Overnight Camping

KWS allows camp­ing near the park gate. Pub­lic camp­sites come with basic ameni­ties — water, toi­lets, and a kitchen area. Spe­cial camp­sites for exclu­sive use must be booked in advance. The camp­ing fee is KES 500 per per­son per night, paid through the same KWS­Pay sys­tem as entry fees.

How to Access Mt Longonot National Park Correctly

Get­ting to the park and pay­ing cor­rect­ly saves you time and stress at the gate.

Get­ting There by Road

Take the Nairobi–Nakuru high­way (A104) toward Mai Mahiu, which is about 75 km from Nairo­bi. From Mai Mahiu town, con­tin­ue for rough­ly 20 min­utes on the B3 road. The park gate turn-off is clear­ly sign­post­ed — fol­low the dirt road for about 3 km to reach the gate.

Get­ting There by Pub­lic Trans­port

Take a matatu from Nairo­bi CBD (Riv­er Road or the Rail­way Sta­tion) bound for Naivasha via Mai Mahiu. Alight at Lon­gonot Junc­tion. From there, hire a motor­bike taxi (boda boda) for KES 100–200 to the gate.

Pay­ing Your Entry Fee

All KWS parks, includ­ing Lon­gonot, are now cash­less. No cash is accept­ed at the gate. You pay through KWS­Pay on eCit­i­zen. Pay­ment options include M‑Pesa, Visa/Mastercard, or your eCit­i­zen wal­let.

Do I Need a Guide?

A guide is not manda­to­ry, but strong­ly rec­om­mend­ed for first-time vis­i­tors. Guides are avail­able at the gate and are employed by KWS. Most charge between KES 2,500 and KES 4,000 for the full rim cir­cuit. They know the trail well, can iden­ti­fy wildlife and plants, and improve the safe­ty of your hike sig­nif­i­cant­ly.

Costs, Requirements, and Timelines for a Longonot Visit

Full Cost Breakdown for a Kenyan Day Hiker (2026)

Comparison: Old vs New Fees (Citizens)

Source: Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice

Even with the increas­es, Lon­gonot remains cheap­er than most pre­mi­um Kenyan parks and com­pa­ra­ble in price to scenic parks in Tan­za­nia and Ugan­da.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Pay the Mt Longonot Entrance Fee

1. Cre­ate or log into your eCit­i­zen account at ecitizen.go.ke. If you do not have an account, reg­is­ter using your nation­al ID num­ber (for Kenyan cit­i­zens) or pass­port.
2. Go to the KWS­Pay por­tal, which is acces­si­ble direct­ly through eCit­i­zen. You can search for “KWS” from your eCit­i­zen dash­board.
3. Select Mount Lon­gonot Nation­al Park as your des­ti­na­tion. Choose the entry date and gate (Lon­gonot Gate).
4. Enter your vis­i­tor details — num­ber of adults, num­ber of chil­dren (with ages), and your nation­al­i­ty or res­i­dent sta­tus.
5. Add any extras — tick the camp­ing option if you plan to stay overnight. Add vehi­cle entry if dri­ving in.
6. Pay using M‑Pesa, Visa/Mastercard, or your eCit­i­zen wal­let. You will receive an M‑Pesa prompt or a card pay­ment page. Com­plete the trans­ac­tion.
7. Down­load your QR-cod­ed receipt. Save it on your phone and car­ry it with you to the gate. The gate rangers will scan it.
8. Present your receipt and ID at the gate. Kenyan cit­i­zens show a nation­al ID. Res­i­dents show a valid work per­mit. Non-res­i­dents show a pass­port. Chil­dren under 5 need no tick­et but must be list­ed on an adult’s book­ing.

Tip: Pay online the evening before your vis­it. If the pay­ment page is slow, wait 2–3 min­utes before refresh­ing rather than click­ing repeat­ed­ly. Nev­er pay cash to any­one at the gate — it is against KWS pol­i­cy and you will not get a valid receipt.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mis­take 1: Arriv­ing with cash and expect­ing to pay at the gate KWS parks are ful­ly cash­less. Arriv­ing with only cash means you can­not enter. Pay online before you leave Nairo­bi.

Solu­tion: Set up your eCit­i­zen account and test KWS­Pay before the day of your vis­it.

Mis­take 2: Book­ing for the wrong date Your entry fee is valid for 24 hours from the time of entry stat­ed on your book­ing. Book­ing for the wrong date means your QR code will be reject­ed.

Solu­tion: Dou­ble-check the date before com­plet­ing pay­ment. Changes require con­tact­ing KWS cus­tomer ser­vice on 0800 597 000 or customerservice@kws.go.ke.

Mis­take 3: Start­ing the hike too late in the day The full crater rim cir­cuit takes 4–7 hours. Start­ing after 10am on a hot day is risky — you may still be on the exposed rim at mid­day, which is uncom­fort­able, or on the trail after dusk.

Solu­tion: Aim to be at the gate by 7:00am–8:00am. The gate opens at sun­rise.

Mis­take 4: Not car­ry­ing enough water There are no water points or food ven­dors inside the park. Many hik­ers under­es­ti­mate how much water they need, espe­cial­ly on warm days.

Solu­tion: Car­ry at least 2–3 litres of water per per­son. Pack light snacks like ener­gy bars, fruits, or sand­wich­es from Mai Mahiu or Naivasha town before enter­ing.

Mis­take 5: Wear­ing inap­pro­pri­ate footwear The trail has loose vol­canic rock, espe­cial­ly on the ascent and the inner crater wall sec­tions. Flat shoes or san­dals increase the risk of slip­ping.

Solu­tion: Wear prop­er hik­ing boots or stur­dy closed-toe shoes with good grip.

Mis­take 6: Skip­ping iden­ti­fi­ca­tion at the gate The gate rangers ver­i­fy your ID against your book­ing. No ID means no entry, even with a valid receipt.

Solu­tion: Always car­ry your nation­al ID or pass­port on your per­son, not just in your vehi­cle.

Future Updates and Trends

Digital Payment is Now Permanent

KWS has ful­ly com­mit­ted to cash­less entry across all its parks. The KWS­Pay sys­tem is being improved to han­dle high­er traf­fic vol­umes and reduce pay­ment delays. If you had prob­lems with the plat­form in late 2025, the sys­tem should be more sta­ble in 2026. You can also con­tact KWS cus­tomer ser­vice if you expe­ri­ence pay­ment issues.

Annual Passes Are Now Available

KWS intro­duced an annu­al pass option in the 2025 reg­u­la­tion review. An adult annu­al pass costs KES 45,000 and cov­ers unlim­it­ed entries to KWS-man­aged parks for one year. If you vis­it mul­ti­ple KWS parks reg­u­lar­ly — Lon­gonot, Hel­l’s Gate, Lake Naku­ru, and oth­ers — this can work out sig­nif­i­cant­ly cheap­er than pay­ing indi­vid­ual entry fees each time.

Conservation Investment in the Park

Part of the increased fees are direct­ed toward trail reha­bil­i­ta­tion on the crater rim, vol­canic ecosys­tem restora­tion, and improved vis­i­tor safe­ty infra­struc­ture. KWS has indi­cat­ed that improve­ments to the Lon­gonot trail sur­face and gate facil­i­ties are planned for 2026.

Tourism Numbers Are Growing

Kenya’s over­all tourism num­bers have been recov­er­ing strong­ly. Accord­ing to the World Trav­el and Tourism Coun­cil, East Africa remains one of the fastest-grow­ing safari tourism regions glob­al­ly. This means Lon­gonot is like­ly to see high­er vis­i­tor num­bers in 2026, par­tic­u­lar­ly on week­ends. Arriv­ing ear­ly is becom­ing more impor­tant than ever.

Quick Poll: How do you plan to vis­it Mt Lon­gonot in 2026?

• A) Day hike with a self-guid­ed trail
• B) Day hike with a KWS-employed guide
• C) Full rim cir­cuit — stay­ing overnight at the camp­site
• D) As part of a guid­ed tour pack­age

Share your answer in the com­ments below!

Poll Answer Guide:

• Option A works best for expe­ri­enced hik­ers who have vis­it­ed before.
• Option B is the best choice for first-time vis­i­tors.
• Option C gives you a sun­rise view from the rim that very few peo­ple get to expe­ri­ence.
• Option D is the eas­i­est and most seam­less option, espe­cial­ly if you want to com­bine Lon­gonot with oth­er parks.

FAQ

What is the Mt Lon­gonot entrance fee for Kenyan cit­i­zens in 2026? Kenyan adult cit­i­zens pay KES 500 per per­son. Chil­dren aged 5 to 17 pay KES 215. Chil­dren under 5 enter free. All fees are valid for 24 hours from the time of entry and must be paid dig­i­tal­ly through KWS­Pay on eCit­i­zen.

Can I pay cash at the Mt Lon­gonot gate? No. The Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice does not accept cash at any of its park gates, includ­ing Lon­gonot. You must pay online through the KWS­Pay plat­form using M‑Pesa, Visa/Mastercard, or your eCit­i­zen wal­let before your vis­it.

How long does the Mt Lon­gonot hike take? The hike to the rim takes rough­ly 45 min­utes to 1.5 hours from the gate, depend­ing on your fit­ness lev­el. The full crater rim cir­cuit adds anoth­er 3 to 5 hours. Plan for a total of 5 to 7 hours if you are doing the com­plete cir­cuit, includ­ing rest stops and time to take in the views.

Is Mt Lon­gonot suit­able for chil­dren? Yes, but with prepa­ra­tion. The ascent is steep and involves loose vol­canic rock. Chil­dren aged 10 and above who are rea­son­ably fit can han­dle the trail to the rim with adult super­vi­sion. The full crater cir­cuit is more demand­ing and bet­ter suit­ed to teenagers and adults. Car­ry plen­ty of water and snacks, and start ear­ly to avoid mid­day heat.

Do I need a guide to hike Mt Lon­gonot? A guide is not manda­to­ry, but it is strong­ly rec­om­mend­ed, espe­cial­ly for first-timers. KWS-employed guides are avail­able at the gate and pro­vide real val­ue — they know the trail, the wildlife, the vol­canic his­to­ry of the park, and can ensure your group stays safe on the more tech­ni­cal sec­tions of the rim cir­cuit. Costs range from KES 2,500 to KES 4,000.

What is the best time of year to vis­it Mt Lon­gonot? The best hik­ing con­di­tions fall dur­ing the dry sea­sons: Jan­u­ary to March and July to Octo­ber. The long rains run from April to May and the short rains from Novem­ber to ear­ly Decem­ber — dur­ing these peri­ods the trail can become slip­pery and vis­i­bil­i­ty drops. Tem­per­a­tures on the moun­tain range between 18°C and 26°C dur­ing the day, but can drop below 10°C in the ear­ly morn­ing.

My Experience

I have hiked Lon­gonot three times over the past five years, and each vis­it has been com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent. The first time, I went as part of a large group from Nairo­bi — about 15 of us on a team-build­ing week­end. We start­ed late (around 10am) and by the time we reached the rim the sun was pun­ish­ing. We also showed up with­out pay­ing online because we thought we could pay at the gate. We could not. Two mem­bers of the group had to rush back to Mai Mahiu town to find a spot with phone sig­nal strong enough to com­plete the KWS­Pay trans­ac­tion. That cost us near­ly an hour.

The sec­ond vis­it I did cor­rect­ly. Paid the night before, left Nairo­bi by 6am, at the gate by 7:30am. We hired a guide named Stephen at the gate — it was the best deci­sion we made. He point­ed out a pair of augur buz­zards nest­ing just off the trail that we nev­er would have noticed, and he knew exact­ly where to stop on the rim to get the clear­est view of the crater for­est below.

The third vis­it was a solo camp­ing trip. Wak­ing up at 5am and watch­ing the sun­rise from near the rim, with Lake Naivasha turn­ing pink in the dis­tance and zebras vis­i­ble on the plains below — that is some­thing that will stay with me for a long time.

The new KES 500 fee is high­er than before, but hon­est­ly, for what you get — a world-class vol­canic hike with­in 90 min­utes of Nairo­bi — it is still out­stand­ing val­ue. The key is to plan ahead, pay cor­rect­ly, and start ear­ly.

Key Takeaways

• The Mt Lon­gonot entrance fee for East African cit­i­zens in 2026 is KES 500 for adults and KES 215 for chil­dren aged 5–17.
• Chil­dren under 5 enter free of charge.
• Inter­na­tion­al non-res­i­dents pay USD 50 per adult; res­i­dents with valid per­mits pay KES 675.
• Fees increased in Octo­ber 2025 under new KWS Con­ser­va­tion Fee Reg­u­la­tions — make sure you are not using old infor­ma­tion.
• All pay­ment is cash­less. Use KWS­Pay via eCit­i­zen before your vis­it.
• The full crater rim cir­cuit takes 5–7 hours total — start ear­ly (ide­al­ly by 7–8am).
• A guide is not com­pul­so­ry but is strong­ly rec­om­mend­ed for first-time vis­i­tors.
• Car­ry 2–3 litres of water and food — there are no ven­dors inside the park.
• An annu­al KWS pass (KES 45,000) is now avail­able if you vis­it mul­ti­ple parks reg­u­lar­ly.
• Camp­ing is per­mit­ted near the gate at KES 500 per per­son per night.
• Mt Lon­gonot remains one of the most afford­able and reward­ing day hikes near Nairo­bi.

Conclusion

Mount Lon­gonot is not just anoth­er hike. It is one of those rare expe­ri­ences in Kenya that com­bines dra­mat­ic scenery, gen­uine wildlife encoun­ters, and a phys­i­cal chal­lenge that feels gen­uine­ly earned. Whether you are a Nairo­bi res­i­dent look­ing for a week­end escape, a stu­dent on a field trip, or an inter­na­tion­al vis­i­tor want­i­ng to see Kenya beyond the tra­di­tion­al safari cir­cuit, Lon­gonot belongs on your list.

The updat­ed 2026 fees are fair. At KES 500 for a Kenyan adult, you are still get­ting access to a spec­tac­u­lar nation­al park at a price that most peo­ple can man­age. The key is to pay cor­rect­ly, plan care­ful­ly, and give your­self enough time on the trail.

If you want the full Lon­gonot expe­ri­ence with­out the logis­tics headache, Charm­ing Safariz — Kenya’s best tour and trav­el com­pa­ny for safaris and tick­et­ing — han­dles every­thing from Nairo­bi pick-up to gate pay­ment and guid­ed hik­ing. We also pack­age Lon­gonot with Hel­l’s Gate, Lake Naivasha, and wider Kenya and Zanz­ibar safari itin­er­aries.

Have ques­tions about the Mt Lon­gonot entrance fee or plan­ning your hike? Drop them in the com­ments below. We read every mes­sage and respond per­son­al­ly. Your own expe­ri­ence on the trail is also wel­come — let oth­er read­ers know what to expect.

Book Your Longonot Visit or Kenya Safari with Charming Safariz

Charm­ing Safariz is the best tour and trav­el com­pa­ny in Kenya for safari book­ings and park tick­et­ing. We han­dle Mt Lon­gonot day trips, mul­ti-park safari pack­ages, and Kenya-Zanz­ibar com­bined itin­er­aries. Our Naku­ru-based team knows the parks inside out.

Con­tact us today for a free, no-oblig­a­tion quote and a cus­tomised itin­er­ary.

• What­sApp: +254 714 236 664
• Email: enquiry@charmingsafariz.com
• Office: Naku­ru, Kenya

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Sources and References

• Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice — Mount Lon­gonot Nation­al Park
• Kenya Wildlife Ser­vice — 2025 Con­ser­va­tion Fee Reg­u­la­tions (Offi­cial PDF)
• eCit­i­zen Kenya — KWS­Pay Offi­cial Pay­ment Por­tal
• Mag­i­cal Kenya — Offi­cial Kenya Tourism Por­tal
• World Trav­el and Tourism Coun­cil — East Africa Tourism Data
• Tri­pAd­vi­sor — Mount Lon­gonot Nation­al Park Vis­i­tor Reviews
• UNESCO World Her­itage Cen­tre — Rift Val­ley Ecosys­tems
• Nation Africa — Kenya Tourism and Con­ser­va­tion Updates