Modern day Mount Kenya was originally referred to as "Mt. Kirinyaga" by the indigenous people. "Kirinyaga or Kerenyaga, meaning ‘mountain of whiteness’ because of its snow capped peak"; The name was subsequently changed to Mt. Kenya due to the inability of the British to pronounce "Kirinyaga" correctly.[6]
Kenya has a warm and humid climate along its coastline on the Indian Ocean, which changes to wildlife-rich savannah grasslands moving inland towards the capital. Nairobi has a cool climate that gets colder approaching Mount Kenya, which has three permanently snow-capped peaks. The warm and humid tropical climate reappears further inland towards lake Victoria, before giving way to temperate forested and hilly areas in the western region.