Dragon’s Teeth

The Dragon’s Teeth are a line of jagged volcanic towers standing out of the northern moorland of the Aberdare. Kenya Wildlife Service names them among the park’s attractions and describes them as a volcanic rock formation with the rugged look of a set of teeth sitting on a jaw, in the northern moorlands part of the park, south of the equator. That is a fair description and it is also most of what the authority says about them.

What They Are

They are the hard remains of an old volcanic system. The softer material around them weathered away and left the resistant cores standing, which is why they rise abruptly out of flat wet ground rather than sitting on a ridge. Most of the towers are close to vertical. The rock has been described in print as porphyritic quartz trachyte, though that identification comes from a single published account rather than from a geological survey, so it is worth treating as indicative.

Nearby on the same moorland stand the Twin Rocks, also called the Twin Peaks, which Kenya Wildlife Service describes as a pair of outcrops formed by volcanic processes. The two formations are usually seen on the same outing.

Where They Are and How They Are Reached

The Teeth sit on the northern moorland, the high open part of the park that the crossing road serves, well away from the forested Salient where the tree hotels and most of the game viewing are. Reaching them means getting a vehicle onto that moorland, which needs high clearance and four-wheel drive, and then walking.

Accounts from parties who have been put the walk in from the parking area at around two hours, on moorland that is boggy for long stretches. A track now passes closer to the formation than it used to, which has brought more traffic to a side of the park that was previously almost unvisited.

This is high, cold, exposed ground above 3,000 metres where mist closes in without warning and the tussock and bog make walking slower than the distance suggests. Kenya Wildlife Service’s kit list for this park names compass and maps alongside warm clothing and boots. A clear view of the towers is not guaranteed on any given day.

Climbing on the Towers

The Teeth are one of the few places in Kenya offering multi-pitch rock at real altitude, and they have been used by Kenyan climbers as training ground for attempts on Nelion and Batian on Mount Kenya. Climbing here is a self-sufficient undertaking arranged in advance rather than an activity available at the gate, and the weather is part of the point: cold, wind and cloud are what make it useful preparation. The activity itself is covered under rock climbing in Kenya.

Seeing Them as Part of a Day

For most visitors the Teeth are a landmark on a longer moorland outing rather than a destination on their own, and they combine naturally with Satima Peak, which rises from the same ground. Walking parties often use the formation as the waypoint to or from the summit. Others fold it into a moorland driving day with Karuru Falls, though the two are far apart on slow tracks and doing both takes more than one day.

Questions About the Dragon’s Teeth