Masai tribespeople live on the reserve's fringes. They are often keen to sell traditional bead necklaces and decorated gourds to tourists, or to pose for tourist cameras in return for a small fee. Doum palms can be found on the banks of some of the 13 rivers which bisect the park's wild expanse. The ascent is very beautiful and may be climbed without special equipment, but it is advisable to take time so as to avoid altitude sickness. Climbers should be accompanied by a guide.
Porters are also available and there are huts to stay in along the way.
Plenty of warm clothes are required as well as one's own food supplies. The mountain is one of the last haunts of the black leopard and the black and white colobus monkey. Lord Baden-Powell is buried nearby in Nyeri. Ostriches and elephants are easily spotted in this open habitat. There are two lodges, Samburu Lodge and River Lodge , both of which hang out bait to attract leopards for the guests to study whilst sitting at the bar.