Buyangu Hill is the rocky outcrop above the Kenya Wildlife Service entry station on the northern side of the Kakamega Forest reserve. The walk to the top takes about an hour from the gate, on a gentle path that climbs through forest before emerging on a bare granite shelf. The reward is the only proper above-canopy view of the forest you can easily get — a deep green undulating sea of treetops, broken by emergent mahogany and croton trees that rise above the general level.
The hill is the best place to be at first light. Mist sits in the valleys, the canopy emerges grey-green and gradually turns colour, and the dawn chorus is the kind of sustained collective noise you do not forget. Guides at the KWS station can arrange a pre-dawn walk if you book the day before. Bring a torch, water, and a fleece — the air at altitude before sunrise is sharp, even at the equator.