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Where wildlife lives on ranches
The Laikipia Highlands stretch across a high, semi-arid plateau north and west of Mount Kenya. Rolling savannah, acacia woodland and rocky outcrops run towards the edge of the Rift Valley. Here the wildlife lives not in a park but on privately owned ranches and community-run conservancies.
The plateau holds both black and white rhino, alongside Grevy’s zebra
Because conservancy rules replace park regulations, guides can drive off-road, run night drives, lead walks through big-game country and put guests on horseback or camelback. The plateau holds both black and white rhino, alongside Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe and African wild dog. These are the dry-country species that draw people north, past the classic parks and into wilder ground.
Much of this land was once colonial-era cattle ranches. It is now managed for wildlife and livestock together, with grazing controlled to keep the grass productive for both. Lewa, Borana, Ol Pejeta and Loisaba sit within open game corridors that link Mount Kenya to the northern frontier, so the animals move freely across the plateau rather than gathering for one dramatic event.
Much of this land was once colonial-era cattle ranches
Wildlife densities here are spoken of in the same breath as the Maasai Mara, only spread across open, uncrowded country at altitude. Rivers and streams fed from the Mount Kenya and Aberdare catchments cut valleys across the plateau. In the dry months they concentrate game along their banks, and when the rains arrive they turn the whole landscape green.
Laikipia is ethnically mixed country. Samburu and Maasai communities live on community land and run their own conservancies, herding cattle on rangelands now shared with wildlife. Guests can spend time in homesteads and walk out with the herders, and the cooler highland air at roughly 1,800 metres makes long walking and riding days comfortable. The history is not a simple one. These were ranches carved from land the Maasai were displaced from during the colonial period, and questions of land tenure still run through the region today.
The Laikipia Conservancies Association coordinates conservation across its members, drawing wildlife protection, livestock and tourism into a single working model. This is one of the few parts of Kenya holding both black and white rhino, and a stronghold for the Grevy’s zebra. Lewa is a recognised rhino sanctuary and Ol Pejeta a major refuge. Borana works alongside Lewa across a shared landscape, while Solio is a long-established breeding area. Anti-poaching teams and community programmes underpin all of it.
the nights belong to the genet, bushbaby, aardvark and porcupine
What sets the experience apart is the sheer range of activity. Day game drives are the staple, but the nights belong to the genet, bushbaby, aardvark and porcupine. Walking safaris run for an afternoon or several days, and camel and horseback journeys cross the country at the animals’ own pace. Some conservancies invite guests to track rhino on foot or join field conservation work. Sleep-outs under the stars stretch a multi-day walk into something slower and more immersive.
The plateau also opens the door north. Itineraries push on to the Mathews Range for forest hiking, to Samburu, Shaba and Buffalo Springs for their dry-country species, and to the Sarara Singing Wells, where Samburu pastoralists sing to their cattle at traditional water points. Helicopter transfers fold these scattered places into a single trip, lifting guests over the rangelands and setting them down at remote forest camps and wells that no road reaches comfortably.
The best time to visit Laikipia Highlands
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Recommended
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Challenging conditions
The dry seasons, July to September and late December to February, bring the strongest viewing as animals gather along rivers and dams and clear skies suit night drives, walking and sleep-outs. The altitude keeps days warm and nights cold year-round. The long and short rains green the plateau and disperse the game, with fine birding and quieter conservancies as the trade-off.
accommodation in laikipia highlands
Laikipia's lodging runs from small stone and timber lodges built into the landscape to classic canvas tented camps, often used as bases for walking and camelback safaris. Several conservancies offer fully staffed private houses with their own guides and vehicles, suited to families and small groups taking a whole place to themselves. Lightweight mobile and fly-camps support multi-day journeys on foot or by camel, pitched in remote corners under conservancy management. Most are intimate, low-density and closely tied to conservation work.
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activities
Walking, riding and rhino tracking
Conservancy rules allow what national parks do not: night drives, off-road driving, guided walks in big-game country, and horseback and camelback safaris. Day game drives are universal. Several conservancies offer rhino tracking on foot and field conservation work, while sleep-outs under the stars extend multi-day walking and camel journeys.
conservation
Rhino strongholds and shared corridors
The Laikipia Conservancies Association coordinates wildlife, livestock and tourism across its members. Lewa is a recognised rhino sanctuary, Ol Pejeta a major rhino refuge, and Borana works alongside Lewa across a shared landscape. Solio is a long-established rhino breeding area. Anti-poaching teams and community programmes protect both black and white rhino and Grevy's zebra.
getting around
Light aircraft from Wilson Airport
Access is by light aircraft from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to conservancy airstrips, on scheduled and charter services. Many conservancies have their own strip, and charters suit multi-stop itineraries combining Laikipia with the Mara or the coast. Helicopters reach remote forest and northern frontier locations beyond the airstrip network.
other areas in kenya
Laikipia pairs naturally with the Maasai Mara for the wildebeest migration and high big-cat densities, a contrast to its conservancy-based activities. Just north, Samburu, Shaba and Buffalo Springs share its dry-country species in a reserve setting, while the Mathews Range adds mountain forest and Samburu culture. Mount Kenya, immediately to the south, offers montane forest and alpine trekking. The Kenyan coast, reached by air, rounds out a bush itinerary with Indian Ocean beaches and marine parks.
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frequently asked questions
By light aircraft from Nairobi's Wilson airport, in about an hour.
The scheduled services serve several strips across the plateau, including Kamok inside Ol Pejeta, and the camps meet the aircraft for a short transfer. AirKenya's morning flight leaves Wilson at 9.45 for Kamok, and several camps include that transfer in the rate.
A private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, lands on a conservancy's own strip at a time that suits you.
The road from Nairobi is possible and long. We fly clients unless there is a reason not to.
Almost everything a park forbids, because this is private and community land.
- Walk, with an armed guide and often a Samburu or Maasai tracker
- Drive after dark, which is when the aardvark and the striped hyena appear
- Ride, on horseback or a camel, for an hour or for a day
- Sleep out on a deck or a rock, with the beds carried up
Mountain biking, fishing and flying are on offer at some of the houses too.
It is the reason we send families and returning clients here: a Laikipia day looks nothing like a game drive circuit.
Lower risk than the lowlands rather than malaria-free, and the altitude is why.
Much of Laikipia sits around 1,800 to 2,000 metres, close to the height at which the risk falls away, so the conservancies are treated as lower-risk areas. Low risk is not the same as no risk, and both TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, and the CDC still recommend cover for Kenya below 2,500 metres.
We do not make medical recommendations. Which tablets suit you, and what is right for a child, are questions for your own doctor or a travel clinic.
On the practical part, cover up at dusk and carry repellent.
It is the best place in Kenya for them, and that is not a marketing line.
The conservancies here protect a large share of the country's black rhino and all of its remaining northern white rhino, at Ol Pejeta. Tracking rhino on foot with the people who protect them is a Laikipia speciality.
Ol Pejeta's chimpanzee sanctuary is covered by the conservancy fee, with a behind-the-scenes feeding visit at midday charged separately, in groups of no more than six.
Tell us if the conservation story is what draws you: it changes which conservancy we choose.
Better than almost anywhere else in Kenya.
The private houses take families whole, the days can run to riding, swimming, fishing and tracking rather than four hours in a vehicle, and a private guide means the timetable is yours.
The thing to get right is dosage: a four-year-old on a camel until lunch is a memory for the parents and an ordeal for the child. Walking and night drives carry age limits that vary by conservancy.
Tell us their ages and we will build days they will actually enjoy.
Three at least, and four if you take a house.
Laikipia is not a tick-list destination. The point is the range of things to do and the space to do them slowly, and that needs more than a single full day.
At around 2,000 metres the mornings and nights are cold all year, so a fire in the evening is part of the appeal.
It pairs naturally with Samburu, with the Maasai Mara, or as a first stop to acclimatise before the heat of the north.
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our approach
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Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.