On the northern plains of Kenya’s Maasai Mara, Kicheche Mara Camp sits in Acacia Valley, tucked into a grove of wild olive and croton above the seasonal Olare Orok stream. This is the Mara North Conservancy, and the valley belongs as much to its wildlife as to the camp. Zebra and antelope graze within sight of the tents, and after dark the calls of hyena, and sometimes lion, carry through the grove.
No more than five vehicles may gather at any single sighting
Mara North works to a low-density model, and it shows in the viewing. No more than five vehicles may gather at any single sighting, and bed numbers across the conservancy are kept deliberately low against the land available. The result is quiet, uncrowded predator viewing on the very border of the national reserve. You watch a hunt unfold with the land to yourself, without the crowds the reserve itself can draw.
Greg Monson and Paul Goldstein bought their first small camp a quarter of a century ago. Today they run four camps across Kenya’s private conservancies, still independent rather than part of a corporate group. Monson chairs the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and was a founding member of three of the Mara’s community conservancies. Goldstein is a wildlife photographer, and it is his eye that has taught the guides how to read light and place a vehicle.
Mara North carries strong predator numbers the year round
That schooling shows in the guiding. Every guide here holds a Silver-level rating, with a deep knowledge of the local ecosystem and a habitual eye for where the light falls. The ground rewards them, for Mara North carries strong predator numbers the year round. During the migration season, roughly July to October, wildebeest and zebra pour across the plains around camp, and the predators follow them in.
The conservancy setting opens up what the national reserve does not allow. Game drives run in customised 4x4s morning and afternoon, and off-road driving is permitted to reach a sighting others cannot. On foot, guided bush walks led by an armed ranger and a Kicheche guide turn to the smaller workings of the savanna, the tracks and the insects and the birdsong the vehicles pass by. For those who want to go further out, fly-camping adds a night under canvas in the bush, with dinner beneath the stars and a walk back to camp the following morning.
Some of the best hours come early. Hot-air balloon flights launch at sunrise, followed by breakfast out on the plains. Children are genuinely welcomed here, and younger guests can learn to track prints, try their hand at Maasai beading, or make fire without matches. The tents run from doubles and twins to triples, quads and a two-bedroom family suite, leaving families and small groups room to spread out. Meals lean on fresh ingredients, some grown in the camp’s own garden, and are served by candlelight in the open-sided dining tent or outside beneath the stars.
Hot-air balloon flights launch at sunrise, followed by breakfast out on the plains
None of this stands apart from the land it sits on. Kicheche was a founding member of Mara North, one of three Mara conservancies the company helped establish, and the conservancy leases its ground directly from more than 800 Maasai landowners. They are paid in return, with a share of the camp’s turnover going back to fund the conservancies and the communities within them. Set up in 2004, the Kicheche Community Trust works across education, healthcare and community empowerment, building classrooms, providing bursaries and supporting the Aitong Health Clinic.
The work extends well beyond the camp gates. In partnership with the Mara Elephant Project, Kicheche takes on human-elephant conflict and anti-poaching, and guests can visit its headquarters to see how collared elephants are tracked by GPS. Cheetah research with the Kenya Wildlife Trust and the Mara Predator Conservation Project rounds out the effort. A Gold-level Eco-rating from Ecotourism Kenya, audited every two years, and membership of The Long Run reflect the standards the camp holds to. The canvas tents themselves sit on wooden decking, lit by solar power and warmed within by wooden furniture, patterned rugs and cushions.
accommodation
Ten units: nine standard canvas tents plus a two-bedroom family suite. Standard tents configure as double, twin or triple, with quads available for families. Each has an en-suite bathroom with hot bucket shower, solar lighting and a private veranda over the stream or plains. The family suite links two en-suite bedrooms via a private lounge, sleeping up to five.
activities
Game drives run morning and afternoon in open 4x4s, with off-road driving permitted under Mara North Conservancy rules. Guided bush walks with an armed ranger. Fly-camping, sunrise ballooning, family bush-skills sessions and visits to a Maasai village and Trust-supported schools are also offered.
conservation
Kicheche was a founding member of Mara North Conservancy, leasing land from more than 800 Maasai landowners, and directs a share of turnover into conservation. The Kicheche Community Trust, founded in 2004, funds classrooms, bursaries and the Aitong Health Clinic. Partnerships include the Mara Elephant Project, Kenya Wildlife Trust cheetah research and the Mara Predator Conservation Project.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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You fly from Nairobi's Wilson airport to an airstrip in the Mara North Conservancy, about forty-five minutes to an hour by light aircraft, and the camp meets you for the short drive to Acacia Valley. We build the flights into your itinerary. If you would rather fly privately, we can arrange a charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, direct to the conservancy airstrip at a time that suits you.
The bush planes take soft bags of around fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, so pack a duffel. Nairobi is five to six hours away by road if you would rather drive.
The Maasai Mara sits at around 1,500 to 1,800 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 lower than on the hot, humid coast but it is real, and it rises after the rains.
Because this is a health matter and guidance is reviewed regularly, please confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and take the usual care against bites once the sun is down.
Days are warm and the mornings and evenings cool, so open-vehicle game drives at dawn can feel cold. The long rains fall roughly March to May and shorter rains around November, greening the plains; the dry months in between are clear and dusty.
Pack neutral colours, a warm fleece and a windproof layer for early drives, sun protection and a hat for the day, and a light waterproof in the green season. Closed shoes for any walking, and binoculars are worth bringing.
July to October is the migration window and the busiest at the crossings, while the green months around November and from March to May bring lush plains, calving and far fewer vehicles. Mara North carries strong predator numbers the year round.
The conservancy works to a low-density model, so even in the busy migration months the sightings stay uncrowded, which makes the quieter green season an especially rewarding time here.
Mara North works to a deliberate low-density model. No more than five vehicles may gather at any single sighting, and the number of beds across the conservancy is kept low against the land available, so predator viewing is quiet and uncrowded right on the border of the national reserve.
Off-road driving is permitted under the conservancy's rules, and every guide holds a silver-level rating, so a leopard in the grass is watched properly by a handful of vehicles rather than a queue. That low density is the reason to base in Mara North.
Yes. Among the ten tents is a two-bedroom family suite linking two en-suite bedrooms via a private lounge and sleeping up to five, and family bush-skills sessions are laid on for children. Standard tents can also be configured as triples and quads for families.
Guided bush walks go out with an armed ranger and carry an age limit, so tell us your children's ages and we will plan the drives and activities to suit them, arranging a private vehicle where that helps.
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our approach
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.
