kenya & rwanda: turkana, lewa and the gorillas

The lake is a day out from Koros, not a view from your room.

The camp sits in the South Horr Valley, about 60 kilometres south of the shore and roughly one hour away by vehicle, and it keeps its own 24-foot aluminium boat on the lake. A day on the water means cruising past volcanic islands and shores where crocodiles live, watching for birds, and fishing for Nile perch if you like.

Be ready for wind and heat: Turkana's winds can be extremely strong and the water rough, and average dry-season temperatures are 28 to 30 degrees. Two nights give you one full day, which covers the lake; a third adds a walk up the dry riverbeds or a quad bike outing without hurry.

Koros also offers helicopter flights over the lake and the Suguta Valley with Tropic Air, typically in an Airbus H125. They are not part of this route, so ask us about adding one.

Good odds on both species, though nothing wild is ever certain.

Lewa and neighbouring Borana count their rhino as one population, which stood at 273 in March 2025: 130 black and 143 white. We would call rhino sightings there very common.

The two species behave differently, and that shapes what you see. White rhino are grazers and spend their days out on open grass, so they are usually the first you find. Black rhino browse in heavier cover, so a clear view of one is a matter of patience, which four nights give you.

Lewa's open country helps in another way. The same drives regularly turn up Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and Beisa oryx, three of the northern specialities that people come to this part of Kenya to see.

Tell your guide on the first day that black rhino are the priority.

Less than the map suggests, because the long legs are flown.

The route flies you from Nairobi to Naboisho and, near the end, from Kenya to Kigali, then drives you from Kigali to the volcanoes, two and a half to three hours by road.

In the north, what exists decides the rest. No scheduled flights serve the South Horr Valley, so Koros is reached by private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or a Pilatus PC-12, to an airstrip about twenty minutes from camp.

Sarara has a conservancy airstrip for charters, and the nearest scheduled service lands at Kalama, about an hour and a half away by road. Scheduled light aircraft carry 15 kilograms of luggage each, in soft bags. We confirm every leg when we plan the trip.

To shorten it, the natural cuts are one of the two Kigali stays, a night at Lewa, or Koros itself, which suits travellers who want remoteness more than wildlife. Koros takes exclusive bookings only, so its dates come first.

July and August are the months our own pages rate best at every stop on this route, with September, January and February just behind. July to September puts the wildebeest in the Mara, keeps the northern tracks firm and the desert skies clear, and gives the gorilla trails their driest footing.

January and February are a second dry window, which we rate as excellent for desert travel and photography in the north.

June, October and December sit in between, better in the Mara and the north than in the highlands or Rwanda.

The months to avoid are April and May, the long rains, when northern tracks turn to mud and some camps close, and March is rated challenging in the Mara and on the volcanoes. November fails for a separate reason: Sarara Treehouses shuts from the start of November to the start of December.

The wetter months have compensations, with green country, newborn animals, fewer vehicles and easier gorilla permits, but this is a route built on remote tracks and it is at its best dry.

It is the most physical day of the twenty.

After nearly three weeks of vehicles, short walks and rides, you climb through bamboo, nettles and mud, somewhere between 2,500 and 4,000 metres up, for anything from half an hour to four hours and more each way, and which of those it will be is not known until the morning itself.

At the 7am briefing at Kinigi the rangers allocate the gorilla families with fitness in mind, so say plainly what you can manage, and hire one of the porters waiting at the start. We call solid boots, gaiters and sturdy clothes essential in Rwanda, and gardening gloves useful against the nettles.

Your chances are very good: no sighting is promised and no official rate exists, but we put success at better than 95 per cent, and a permit gives you one hour with the family.

Anyone with a concern about the height, or about their heart or lungs, should put it to their own doctor before booking.