The Aberdare Range is a 160 km long mountain range of upland, north of Kenya's capital Nairobi with an average elevation of 4,001 metres. It straddles across the counties of Nyandarua, Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu and Laikipia. The mountain range is called Nyandarua among the Agikuyu people in whose territory this forest and mountain range is located. The Aberdare Range forms a section of the eastern rim of the Great Rift Valley running roughly north to south. On the west, the range falls off steeply into the Kinangop Plateau and then into the Great Rift Valley. On the east, the range slopes more gently. Lake Naivasha and the distant Mau Escarpment can be seen from peaks in the range. The main ecosystems within the mountain range are rainforest giving way to dense bamboo forests and then moorland. The steep western edges of the hillside are sparsely inhabited by wildlife compared to the forested gentle slopes to the east, which are home to a wide variety of wildlife. There are multitudes of elephant, buffalo, giant forest hog, hyena as well as the endangered black rhino and bongo. A variety of cats including leopards, servals, civet, genet and the rare African golden cat. Other threatened species including the Jackson mongoose, the black and white colobus monkey and Sykes' monkey are plentiful, as are waterbuck, reedbuck, duikers, and bushbuck.
