Laikipia

Your gateway to unblemised wilderness

With snow kissed, glacier riddled peaks, sweeping savannah punctuated by rocky hills and free flowing rivers, the Laikipia Plateau and its abundant wildlife are the stuff of romantic African legend. Early explorers were ridiculed when they told of an awesome, ice tipped mountain directly on the equator, encircled by plains teeming with animals like nature’s Noah’s Ark. It sounded too incredible: the exaggerated ramblings of bush-addled travellers.

But it was all true. All of it. Sitting between Mount Kenya and the dramatic 3,000-foot cliffs of the Great Rift Valley, Laikipia is two million acres of raw, unblemished wilderness. It’s also the nerve centre of Rift Valley Adventures.

It’s here, on this extraordinary ancient land, which our expeditions hike, kayak, climb, ride, cycle and live alongside local tribes. It doesn’t have to be an adrenaline rush. You can help with village building projects, learn about the local traditions or simply sit and gossip under shady trees, or watch transfixed as a blood red sunset kisses the horizon.

This is the remarkable location we chose to establish our Savannah and Forest Camps and Mt. Kenya Conservation Centre. Straddling several of the plateau’s group ranches and forests main base, where you’ll stay in eco lodges and tents. We only operate on land owned by indigenous Kenyans like the Kikuyu, Maasai and Samburu, working with them to establish pioneering, low-impact tourism that generates much-needed funds for health and development projects, including training wildlife and forest rangers.

And that has to be good news. Seeing animals against the vast, mind-bending panorama of land and sky is one highlight of our trips. Laikipia is home to more endangered species than anywhere else in East Africa, the final bastion of the Lelwel Hartebeest and the planet’s only growing wild dog population. And don’t forget the ‘Big Five’ – rhino, lion, leopard, buffalo and elephant, migrating through the bush or roaming across Mount Kenya’s alpine moorland.

Second only to the Maasai Mara for numbers of animals, Laikipia has a mere fraction of its visitors. It’s not a highly regulated commercial game park, it’s a place where humans live and work among the wildlife. It’s simply unique. Add in the adventure, local culture and epic scenery, and it’s obvious why we’re proud to call this diverse, wonderful region our African home.