It’s not a place many would like to visit because of the stories of carjackings and muggings that have happened here. These were also my objection statements when I was invited to pay a visit by Arune, one of the friends of the forest. In her defence and that of the forest, she told me there’s parts that are completely fenced off ensuring safety for those visiting. Convinced, I called on friends from Onetouch to come along for the ‘myth debunking tour’.

We met at the entrance to Section 1 of the forest, which is the first left of the Northern Bypass just after the Ngong Road butterfly intersection. We were joined by Nicholas Okach from Ngong Road Forest Association who left us in awe of how many birds and tree species he knew.

Our first stop was a dam which was very close to the parking.

The dam is rain-fed and very scenic.

We continued walking along the forest trails, all the while hearing birds in the trees. Onetouch Wildlife Expert Paul Obuna had a field time with Nicholas identifying bird species just by their calls. Me I only know the call of the jogoo that I ate last night.

Section one of the forest which we were visiting is fully encircled with an electric fence to keep everyone safe.

After lunch at Dagoretti Corner, we visited section four, which is next to the Commonwealth War Graves along Ngong Road.

How many attempts did it take you to pronounce this name?

There is new life everywhere you look.

Though not fully fenced, a good part of section four has electric fencing.

Mugumo tree.

At the end of the day, all my fears of visiting the forest had been silenced. It is definitely a place I’ll return to to cycle and even take a brisk walk with my wife.

You can download more details about Ngong Road Forest here and it’s development plans here