Mount Kenya National Park surrounds the mountain from about 3,200 metres upwards and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognised both for its geological significance and for the unusual flora and fauna that live on the upper slopes. The lower forests are home to elephant, buffalo, leopard, and the rare bongo antelope; on the moorland and in the alpine zone you find rock hyrax, occasional duiker, and a startling variety of birds.
Vegetation changes dramatically with altitude. The lower slopes are dense forest of cedar and podo, giving way to bamboo, then montane heath dotted with the giant lobelia and giant groundsel — strange tree-sized plants found only on a handful of East African mountains. Above 4,500 metres there is little plant life, just rock, scree, and the small glaciers that still cling to the summit massif.