Mount Kenya's terrain is more rugged and its landscapes more challenging, making a summit bid more difficult; the success rate for hikers to summit Mount Kilimanjaro is around 70 – 80% compared to about 60% for Mount Kenya.

At 5,199 m, Mount Kenya is the second highest peak in Africa and is an ancient extinct volcano. There are 12 remnant glaciers on the mountain, all receding rapidly, and four secondary peaks that sit at the head of the U-shaped glacial valleys.

The temperatures on Mount Kenya fluctuate greatly. This fluctuation is largest on the lower slopes of the moorland zone. At an altitude of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) there is an 11.5 °C mean range in daily temperature, this goes down to 7.5 °C at 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) and 4 °C at 4,800 metres (15,700 ft).

Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya, and the second highest (after Mount Kilimanjaro in neighbouring Tanzania) in Africa. Standing at 4,985 metres, it dominates the central Kenyan landscape, and is about 150 km south of the equator.