Laikipia & Ol Pejeta

About Laikipia & Ol Pejeta

The Laikipia plateau stretches north-west from the foot of Mount Kenya, a high, open land of grassland, whistling-thorn and rocky outcrops where ranches and community land are now largely given over to conservation. Because most of it lies outside the national parks, the rules differ: you can drive off-road, track animals on foot, ride horses or camels, and go out after dark with a spotlight. Ol Pejeta Conservancy, near Nanyuki, is its best-known corner.

Ol Pejeta is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, and it is where the story of the northern white rhino is playing out. When the last male died here in 2018, the subspecies became functionally extinct; the remaining animals live under round-the-clock armed guard while scientists work to bring them back through IVF, with southern white rhinos as surrogate mothers. You can meet the rangers who protect them, visit a sanctuary for rescued chimpanzees, and look for lions and Grevy's zebras, while wild dogs roam ranches elsewhere on the plateau.

Nanyuki, on the equator, is three to four hours' drive from Nairobi or a short flight from Wilson Airport. The plateau stays pleasant all year, driest from January to March and late June to October. Samburu is two to three hours further north, Mount Kenya rises right behind, and the Maasai Mara is a short flight away.