A Quiet Christmas Pilgrimage on Sergoit Hill Faces Pressure from Development



Every Christmas Day and on December 26, thousands of children and young people converge on a cluster of rocky hills in Kenya’s North Rift, about 20 kilometres northeast of Eldoret along the Moiben road. There are no posters, no social media campaigns, and no official organisers. Yet for more than four decades, the annual climb to Sergoit Hill has continued—an unspoken tradition passed from generation to generation.

Locals describe it as an annual ritual, even a pilgrimage, though it carries no formal religious or cultural meaning. What sustains it is memory, habit, and the simple pull of the hill itself.
“It was like a must-do thing,” recalls Sammy Bungei, who participated frequently in the late 1970s and 1980s. “Every Christmas we would walk from Kuinet, nearly 20 kilometres, to climb the hill with other children.”
Roots in a Simpler Time
The tradition is believed to have begun in the early 1970s, when entertainment options in rural Uasin Gishu were limited. With no television, video games, or organised leisure activities, children sought adventure outdoors—especially during the Christmas holiday.
Sergoit Hill, a tree-covered rocky outcrop made up of five small hills spread across about 500 acres, became a natural attraction. Hill climbing, exploration, and communal gatherings offered excitement and a sense of freedom. Over time, the practice took root, drawing participants from neighbouring villages and surrounding areas.
Today, many still walk distances of up to 20 kilometres to take part.
At the top, climbers are met with sweeping views of the plains below, giant rock formations, cool mountain winds and sightings of wildlife such as hyraxes, antelopes and birds. On clear days, Mount Kenya is visible to the east, Mount Elgon to the west, the Nandi Hills to the south and the Cherang’any Hills to the north.
Access Shrinks as Land Use Changes
Originally, the pilgrims ascended the main Sergoit Hill, the tallest and most prominent of the five. That changed around 2000, when the land was converted into a protected wildlife sanctuary and golf resort by the Kruger family, restricting public access.
The property, now known as Sergoit Golf and Wildlife Resort, hosts the endangered Rothschild giraffe alongside antelopes, duikers and a wide variety of birds. While the main hill remains off-limits, four smaller adjacent hills are still accessible and now carry the bulk of the Christmas tradition.
“We used to climb the higher hill—that was the main attraction,” says Bungei, who returns every year. “But people still come. The spirit has not gone.”


Spiritual Experience Without Doctrine
Although the climb has no formal spiritual foundation, many participants describe it as uplifting. Standing above the plains, feeling the wind and surveying the farmland below creates a moment of reflection and gratitude.
Some liken the gathering to a biblical assembly—large crowds united without organisation or instruction. There is no preaching, no ceremony. The meaning, participants say, is personal.
Development Threatens a Living Tradition
As the tradition nears 60 years, its survival is increasingly uncertain.
Large farms that once defined the area have been subdivided. Urban expansion from Eldoret and Iten, increased settlement, rock mining and agricultural intensification are steadily transforming the landscape.
Environmentalists warn that habitat destruction are accelerating biodiversity loss on and around the hills. Meanwhile, commercial developments such as golf courses, wildlife sanctuaries and elite athletic training camps are attracting international interest but risk excluding local communities.
Calls for Recognition
Community members and conservation advocates argue that the Sergoit Annual Pilgrimage represents a rare form of living heritage—one that has survived without institutional support or commercial backing.
They are calling on Sergoit Golf and Wildlife Resort and Kruger family to allow controlled public access at least once a year on December 25 and 26, and on the Uasin Gishu County Government to formally recognise and protect the tradition as part of the region’s cultural heritage.
For now, the climb continues quietly.
This Christmas, children and youth will once again make their way up the hills of Sergoit, retracing paths worn not by policy or profit, but by memory—one step at a time.




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