Amory Macleod and Karina Jessop were both born and raised in Kenya, and they host Koros Camp with the ease of people showing friends around home. The camp sits deep in the South Horr Valley of Marsabit County, on the red earth of Northern Kenya, roughly 60 kilometres from the southern shores of Lake Turkana. Six thatched rooms, a pool and an open-air mess make it a base for country most safaris never reach.
The landscape here is extinct volcanoes, sandy riverbeds and desert plains.
The landscape here is extinct volcanoes, sandy riverbeds and desert plains. This is not classic game-drive country. The pull is space, silence and the sheer scale of the terrain, explored on foot, by quad bike, by boat on Lake Turkana, or by helicopter over the Suguta Valley and the lake’s volcanic islands.
The original camp took shape under Nick and Angie Taylor. Tropic Air took over its management in July 2021, and the camp was relaunched in 2023. Sadar airstrip lies about twenty minutes away by road, and the camp keeps its own helipads for Tropic Air’s helicopters.
The low light of the far north opens up a dense field of stars above the campfire
Days run hot and dry, around 28 to 30 degrees, and the pool becomes a welcome retreat through the long afternoon. Nights cool quickly. The low light of the far north opens up a dense field of stars above the campfire, and the soundscape is wind, distant camel and goat herds, birds, and little else. Most of the staff come from the neighbouring village, and the hospitality shows it.
The South Horr Valley belongs to the Samburu and Rendille peoples, and much of what happens at Koros Camp turns on that connection. Cultural visits reach remote homesteads by 4×4 or quad bike, often at the golden end of the day when the light runs long across the red earth. A Samburu women’s group produces beaded work and light shades sold through the camp, and the visits themselves put income directly into the hands of local performers, so the relationship runs both ways.
The activity list runs wider than most bases in the far north. Guided walks follow dry riverbeds and climb rocky kopjes, quad bikes cross the sandy country between communities, and an aluminium boat carries guests onto Lake Turkana for Nile perch fishing and for the crocodiles and birdlife that gather along the shore. Fly camping under the stars extends the reach further still, into the desert or towards the lake itself.
an aluminium boat carries guests onto Lake Turkana for Nile perch fishing
Helicopter safaris are the signature. Flights cross Lake Turkana and its islands, touch down on sand dunes, and take in flamingos on Lake Logipi and the volcanic expanse of the Suguta Valley, ground that would otherwise swallow days of driving. With its own helipads and Tropic Air’s aircraft on hand, the north’s most remote corners fold into an afternoon’s flying, days from anywhere by road yet minutes away in the air.
Dining is honest and generous rather than formal. Nile perch comes cooked fresh, alongside curries, kebabs, pizza served on blankets under the stars, and chicken pies eaten on a Lake Turkana beach. Meals move around the camp with the day, in the open-air mess under thatch, beside the pool, or around the fire. With only six rooms, usually taken on an exclusive-use basis, the rhythm bends to the group rather than a schedule, and the whole place feels like a house in the desert.
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accommodation
Six thatched rooms sleep up to twelve, all en suite with flush toilets and safari-style bucket showers. The rooms can be arranged to suit the group. Wooden frameworks, mud walls and thatch keep the interiors cool, and mosquito-netted open windows frame the shrub-covered hills beyond.
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activities
Guided desert walks, quad biking across sandy riverbeds, and boat trips on Lake Turkana for Nile perch fishing and crocodile and birdlife sightings. Cultural visits reach Samburu and Rendille homesteads. Helicopter safaris cross the Suguta Valley and Lake Logipi. Fly camping runs on community and private land.
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conservation
Guest conservation fees and land rent support a local conservancy initiative. All nine staff come from the neighbouring village. A Samburu women's group produces beadwork sold through the camp, cultural visits provide income for local performers, and the camp backs nearby schools, mobile eye clinics and improved water access.
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.
There are no scheduled flights this far north, so you fly by private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, to the Sadar airstrip and drive the short distance in, or come by helicopter and land at the camp itself. We plan either as part of the trip, and the flying up the Rift is a spectacle in its own right.
Soft bags only for the aircraft, around fifteen kilograms per person. The overland route runs about seven hours from Nanyuki through Isiolo and Laisamis, the last stretch on rough murram, and it is an adventure rather than a transfer.
Yes. Koros is taken by one group at a time, up to twelve guests across the six rooms, so when you book it the staff, the vehicles, the quad bikes and the schedule are yours alone, and meals and departures shift entirely around your party.
That format suits a family gathering or a group of friends who want the far north to themselves, and it means the whole trip can be built around one shared ambition, whether that is Lake Turkana, the Suguta Valley or simply the space.
Treat the far north as one. The South Horr Valley is hot, low-lying country, well beneath the 2,500-metre altitude at which the CDC and the UK's official travel health advice consider malaria risk to ease in Kenya, and the dry desert air holds mosquito numbers down without removing the risk, so tablets are usually advised.
Check the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before travelling, and keep up the usual defences against bites in the evenings.
Pack for sun above everything: light, breathable clothing, a wide hat, high-factor sun cream and neutral colours for the dust. Sturdy closed shoes carry you up the kopjes and along the riverbeds, and swimwear earns its place by mid-afternoon.
Bring a warm layer for after dark, and keep it all in a soft bag for the charter flight. The rains, mostly around November and from March to May, can make the murram approach slow going.
There is, which surprises most people this deep into the north. Treat it as enough for messages and email rather than video calls, and treat the trip itself as a rare chance to let the phone go quiet.
If being reachable matters, for work or for family, tell us when we plan and we will confirm the current setup before you commit.
The dry months, June to October and December to March, give the surest going for the quad bikes, the drives and the flying, with Lake Turkana at its most reachable. Heat is a constant in every season, and the pool and the shape of the days are built around it.
The rains around November and from March to May green the valley and can slow the roads, so we plan around them rather than through them. The lake and the space are there the year round.
rated five stars by our clients
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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.
