Timau: Highland and changing landscapes

Timau lies 2,134 metres above sea level. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay in Timau, it helps to consider the town itself and the nearby Timau Route as distinct points of reference. The route’s roadhead is north of Timau at an altitude of 2,700 metres. This gives you both a specific elevation for the town and a starting point for a hike in the surrounding area to consider when planning your trip.

High elevation and landscape

From Timau, the land drops steeply towards the semi-deserts to the north. The elevation describes the town’s location; the change in landscape indicates a direction. Together, these features convey two distinct aspects of the destination: the altitude at which Timau lies and the marked drop in the land to the north. If you would also like to take the landscape into account when choosing where to stay, this change is a distinctive part of getting your bearings around Timau.

Hiking the Timau Route

The Timau Route is in the surrounding area. Its roadhead lies north of Timau at an altitude of 2,700 metres; the hike begins at the edge of the moorland zone and passes through areas of bamboo and heather. These specific landscape features help you understand the route: it starts at the moorland zone, with bamboo and heather along the way. The elevations also put the roadhead in relation to the town: the roadhead is 566 metres higher than Timau, which lies at 2,134 metres. The roadhead is therefore higher than the town and outside its built-up area. If you are interested in the hike, these details can help you distinguish the starting point and the landscapes described when planning your trip.

Transfer as part of the tour

For the Timau Route tour described, participants are taken from Nanyuki Airstrip, on the outskirts of Nanyuki, to the roadhead north of Timau. Both the starting point in Nanyuki and the destination outside the town are therefore relevant to this tour. The transfer takes participants to the route’s roadhead; the tour description thus specifies a direct link between Nanyuki and the start of the hike. If you are considering this hike as a reason for your trip, take the starting point and destination into account rather than treating the roadhead as if it were within Timau itself.

Conservation history in the wider Meru destination

In the wider destination of Meru, Meru National Park is associated with the conservation work of George and Joy Adamson and the lioness Elsa. George and Joy Adamson rescued Elsa, raised her and successfully returned her to the wild. This story adds a distinct regional dimension: it is connected to Meru National Park and complements the landscape and hiking themes around Timau with a link to conservation history. If you also take regional themes into account when choosing a destination, you can distinguish the local focus on Timau from this wider context.

Which focus suits your stay?

When looking for a hotel in Timau, you can first consider what you would like to focus on during your stay. The high elevation and changing landscape describe the town itself. The hike is to the north and has its own reference point at the roadhead, 2,700 metres above sea level; the tour described also includes a transfer from Nanyuki Airstrip. The story of Elsa and the Adamsons belongs to the wider destination of Meru. These distinctions can help you choose the focus of your trip without conflating the town, the hike and the regional context.

Discover more destinations: Kanyekine, Meru, Maua, Kianjai.

Return to the wider travel overview: Meru.