Tortilis Camp

You fly in from Nairobi. A light aircraft leaves Wilson airport, the city's small domestic terminal, and reaches the Amboseli airstrip in about forty-five minutes, where the camp collects you for the short drive up to the hilltop in the Kitirua Conservancy. We build these flights into your itinerary and confirm the timings. If you would prefer to fly on your own schedule, we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your international arrival in Nairobi.

The bush planes take soft bags only, with a limit of around fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, so a duffel rather than a hard suitcase. You can also drive down from Nairobi in roughly four to five hours if you would rather see the country on the way.

Yes. Amboseli sits at around 1,150 metres, below the altitude at which malaria risk falls away, so both the CDC and TravelHealthPro treat it as a malaria area and antimalarial tablets are usually advised. The risk is present year round and rises a little after the rains.

Guidance changes from time to time, so we always suggest confirming the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and taking the usual care against bites once the sun is down.

Days are warm and often dusty, with the mornings and evenings cool enough to want a layer, especially up in the higher Chyulu Hills. Kilimanjaro tends to clear early and late in the day, so the best views come at dawn and dusk. The rains, around November and again from March to May, green the plains and lift the birdlife while softening some of the tracks.

Pack in neutral colours for the dust, a warm fleece for early game drives, sun protection and a hat for the middle of the day, and closed shoes for the walks and camel outings on the conservancy. Binoculars are worth their weight here.

The dry months, June to October and January to February, give the most reliable game viewing, with animals gathered on Amboseli's permanent swamps and Kilimanjaro at its clearest. These are also the best weeks for walking, riding and scenic flights in the Chyulus.

The green season after the rains is quieter and photogenic, with strong birding and newborn animals, though a few roads soften underfoot. There is good wildlife to be seen the whole year.

Yes, and it is the main reason to base here. Tortilis sits on the private Kitirua Conservancy rather than inside the park, so it can run walking safaris with Maasai guides, bush breakfasts and sundowners out in the bush, none of which the national park permits. A single morning can move from the conservancy into Amboseli itself for the classic elephant and Kilimanjaro views.

Inside the national park the rules are stricter: daytime game drives only, no walking and no leaving the road. The conservancy is what widens the day beyond that.

It is. Alongside the standard tents there is a two-bedroom family tent and a separate private house sharing their own hilltop pool, which suits families and small groups who want a little more room and privacy. The waterhole below the bar means there is wildlife to watch without anyone having to sit still in a vehicle for long.

Walking and the more active outings tend to have a minimum age, so tell us how old your children are and we will match the camp and the activities to them, and arrange a private vehicle if that makes the drives easier.