Saruni Samburu sits high on a rocky outcrop in the community-owned Kalama Wildlife Conservancy, in Kenya’s arid north, and it makes the most of its perch. The six villas back into the rock face and open to a long view across the plains. The snow-capped peak of Mount Kenya sits on the southern horizon, elephant herds move on the ground below, and Samburu Reserve waits a short drive away.
You look down on a waterhole where reticulated giraffe
The drive up sets the tone before you have even arrived. Guests describe it as rock-climbing in a Land Rover, and once at the top, the elevation does the rest. You look down on a waterhole where reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx and Grevy’s zebra gather, and out across Kalama towards the Mathews Range in the north. Very little else interrupts the view.
A stay here draws on two very different wildlife areas. The private Kalama Conservancy opens the door to night drives and guided walks with Samburu guides, neither of them permitted inside Samburu Reserve. The reserve itself is given over to day drives along the Ewaso Nyiro River, where the dry heat draws the wildlife thick along the water.
Nothing is staged here, and no route ever feels crowded
As the first lodge built in Kalama, Saruni Samburu shares its game drives with few other vehicles. The guiding comes from local Samburu who read the land and its wildlife with the ease of people who grew up on it. Nothing is staged here, and no route ever feels crowded. The exclusivity comes from remoteness rather than restriction, and it shows in every drive.
Saruni Samburu opened in 2008, the first lodge in the Kalama Wildlife Conservancy and an early model for community-centred tourism in northern Kenya. It is built into a giant rock outcrop from stone, wood and locally sourced materials, its structures set so tightly against the natural rock that the stone itself becomes part of the villas and the shared spaces. The design is open and largely wall-less, connecting every room to the outdoors, and at the edge of the outcrop two rock-hewn pools sit with their water appearing to merge with the horizon.
Dining leans Italian and local, drawing on fresh produce served communally in the open-fronted dining area or privately in the villas. The lodge is known too for its bush meals: breakfasts laid along the Ewaso Nyiro River as elephants pass, and starlit dinners set out in a dry riverbed, or lugga, around a fire and to Samburu song. An elephant-proof photographic hide, built at ground level beside the waterhole, brings you close to visiting elephants, giraffe and oryx without disturbing them, while a wellbeing space offers spa treatments.
It is built into a giant rock outcrop from stone, wood and locally sourced materials
With minimal light pollution, the night sky becomes a fixture of a stay, watched from beanbags on the warm rocks. Beyond the game drives, the days open out into guided bush walks and the hiking excursion known as the Sacred Mountain Trek to Mount Ololokwe. There are visits to ancient Samburu rock art in nearby caves, and the Warriors Academy, a bush-skills programme for families led by local warriors. Rhino tracking can be arranged at the Sera Conservancy sanctuary a little further afield.
The six villas back into the rock and open to the view, their canvas and netting closing at night. Configurations run from doubles and twins to two-bedroom family villas, each one giving onto its own private veranda and holding an en-suite bathroom, a dressing room and a living area within. Staff are drawn predominantly from the local Samburu community, and tourism revenue flows back to the conservancy landowners. The lodge also supports the community-owned Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in neighbouring Namunyak, which can be visited by arrangement.
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accommodation
Six villas back into the rock and open to the view, their canvas and netting closing at night. Configurations run from doubles and twins to two-bedroom family villas, each one giving onto a private veranda and holding an en-suite bathroom, a dressing room and a living area within.
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activities
The private Kalama Conservancy allows day and night game drives, while Samburu Reserve offers day drives along the Ewaso Nyiro River. Between them come guided bush walks and the Sacred Mountain Trek to Mount Ololokwe, rock art visits and the Warriors Academy for families, stargazing and bush meals in the conservancy, with rhino tracking at Sera by arrangement.
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conservation
Saruni Samburu was the first lodge built in the community-owned Kalama Wildlife Conservancy. Staff are drawn predominantly from the local Samburu community, and tourism revenue supports conservancy landowners. The lodge also supports the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in neighbouring Namunyak.
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.
You fly from Nairobi's Wilson airport to an airstrip in the Kalama Conservancy of northern Kenya, about an hour to an hour and twenty by light aircraft, and the lodge meets you for the transfer up to its rocky outcrop. We can arrange this flight as a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your international arrival. Guests describe the drive up as rock-climbing in a Land Rover, so the final approach is part of the experience.
The bush planes take soft bags of around fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, so pack a duffel. The lodge sits north of the Samburu Reserve, high on the rock with a long view across the plains.
Yes. Samburu is hot and semi-arid, which holds mosquito numbers down, but it lies well below the altitude at which the CDC and TravelHealthPro regard malaria risk as negligible, so antimalarial tablets are usually advised, with the risk higher along the Ewaso Nyiro River and after rain.
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 after dark.
Samburu is dry and hot, with warm to hot days, milder nights than the highlands, and thin vegetation that makes for easy spotting in the dry months. Up on the outcrop there is often a breeze. The rains green the plains and can turn the roads muddy.
Pack light, breathable clothes in neutral colours, strong sun protection and a hat, a light layer for early game drives, and closed shoes for the walking. Binoculars are well worth bringing for the dry-country species along the river.
The dry months, June to September and January to February, give the strongest game viewing, as surface water retreats to the Ewaso Nyiro and thin vegetation makes spotting easy across the open hills. The long rains of March to May and short rains of November to December green the plains, bring newborn animals and the year's best birding, though the roads turn muddy at the height of the rains.
So the choice is between the concentrated dry-season game and the green, bird-rich but wetter shoulder seasons.
The pull of Samburu is a set of dry-country species you do not find in the Mara: the reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, Beisa oryx, gerenuk and Somali ostrich, together known as the Samburu Special Five. Elephant herds gather below the lodge along the Ewaso Nyiro, the lifeline of this arid country.
A stay works two areas at once. Up on the private Kalama Conservancy you can drive at night and walk with Samburu guides, while the reserve down the hill is for daytime drives along the river, where the heat draws the game thick to the water. Between them you get both the freedoms of the conservancy and the classic reserve viewing.
Yes. Among the six villas are two-bedroom family villas, and the lodge runs a Warriors Academy for families, where children learn Samburu skills, alongside stargazing and bush meals in the conservancy. The waterhole below the lodge means wildlife comes into view without long drives.
The steep, rocky access and the walking activities favour some ages over others, so tell us your children's ages and we will match the villa and the activities and arrange a private vehicle where it helps.
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.
