Tag: taita hills

Vuria

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Searching for the skulls caves in Taita Hills

Published: 12 May 2018 Saturday Nation magazine Nation newspaper, Kenya

Above: Taita Hills – the magical mist mountains – copyright Rupi Mangat

Moss and lichens on Vuria in Taita Hills – copyright Rupi Mangat
Wild plants of Vuria in Taita Hills – copyright Rupi Mangat
Wild flowers on Vuria in Taita Hills – copyright Rupi Mangat

The plan is to enjoy the indigenous forest of Vuria. I have no intention of puffing up to the peak which is the highest of the Taita Hills and the highest point at the coast reaching 2,228 metres (7,310 ft). But we lose the group in the forest. Trying to find it, we’re on the peak a few hours later, looking at the plains below. The mission was to search for the legendary skull caves of the Taita people.

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Second peak of Iyale beyond the first copyright Rupi Mangat

Scaling Iyale

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Published 7 April 2018 Saturday Nation magazine

In the Taita Hills

Iyale bare crystalline peak - copyright Rupi Mangat
Iyale bare crystalline peak – copyright Rupi Mangat

I’m back with a mission. Staring at the gigantic bare rock face of Iyale, one of the high peaks of the Taita Hills, l’m sizing it up to summit it.

The Taita Hills is the amazing chain of massifs that make the Eastern Arc Mountains made of 13 mountain blocks. The Taita Hills in Kenya is the extreme northern end with the rest in Tanzania. These amazing and ancient forest-capped crystalline mountains are the first massifs to catch the wind-swept ocean breeze off the Indian Ocean.

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Grounds of Voyager Ziwani on the edge of Tsavo West Copyright Rupi Mangat

On the Plains of Voyager Ziwani

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Amongst local wild residents

Above: Grounds of Voyager Ziwani on the edge of Tsavo West
Copyright Rupi Mangat

Published Saturday magazine, Nation newspaper 27 January 2018

It’s the last days of 2017 in December. Centuries-old gigantic baobab trees are cloaked in thick green leaves. At most times, the tree stands with bare branches in the arid plains that see rain so rarely.

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The peak of IYale - second highest of Taita Hills Copyright Rupi Mangat

More Hikes on Taita Hills

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Part 2 of 2

Published Saturday magazine Nation media 20 January 2018

Above: The peak of IYale – second highest of Taita Hills
Copyright Rupi Mangat

Older than the age of dinosaurs these hills continue to fascinate nature lovers

Critically endangered bird Taita apalis adult. Copyright Luca Borghesio
Critically endangered bird Taita apalis adult. Copyright Luca Borghesio

With a few more days in the hills with a mission to spot Taita apalis, our next stop is to Ngangao the largest forest block, Vuria the highest peak, followed by Msindunyi a tiny forest block where Dr Luca Borghesio and research assistant Lawrence Wagura – both associates of the National Museum of Kenya – discovered an undocumented population of Taita apalis in 2012. In total, the indigenous forests measure less than five square kilometres.

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Critically endangered bird Taita apalis adult. Copyright Luca Borghesio

Hiking in the Hills of Taita

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Part 1 of 2

An ancient massif of endemic plants and animals

Published: Saturday magazine, Nation newspaper 13 January 2018

Above: Taita apalis – criticaly endangered – fewer than 200 survive today in fragmented forests of the Taita Hills in an area of five square kilometers (copyright Luca Borghesio)

The mist swirls and whirls, white and dense, hiding and revealing the valleys and peaks of the hills. We’re on a climb to reach the top of the ancient bare rock that tops the forest of Yale in the Taita Hills.

Indigenous plant of the mountains - Lobelia gibberoa on Yale hilltop that is part of Taita Hills. Copyright Rupi Mangat
Indigenous plant of the mountains – Lobelia gibberoa on Yale hilltop that is part of Taita Hills. Copyright Rupi Mangat

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