The Lodges

Campi Ya Kanzi

Campi Ya Kanzi is a pioneering and award-winning eco-tourism lodge situated at the foot of the legendary Chyulu Hills and overlooking the mighty and majestic Mount Kilimanjaro. Explore 280,000 acres of protected cloud forest and savannah plains in complete privacy, home to a diverse, unique and plentiful range of wildlife, birdlife and plant life. Enjoy the classic ‘safari under canvas’ feel at Campi Ya Kanzi’s six, thatched, luxury tented cottages, each secluded and attended by its own dedicated Maasai assistant. Or opt for the privacy and comfort of your own villa in the bush at Kanzi House, accommodating up to 10 people exclusively, with a jacuzzi and swimming pool.

Activities and amenities: game drives, forest and bush walks, bush meals, payable extra activities: photography and birding excursions, Maasai village visits, spa treatments, transcedental meditation course, horse riding, air excursions to Tsavo and Amboseli, Kilimanjaro scenic flight.

Sample Itinerary

Day 1: Saruni Samburu

• Arrive at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where a Saruni vehicle will transfer you to Wilson Airport for your flight to Samburu.
• Depart Nairobi in the morning*, arriving at Samburu an hour later, where your Saruni Samburu guide will meet you and transfer you to the lodge, or take you on a game drive.
• Afternoon game drive on Kalama Conservancy exploring over 200,000 acres of pristine wilderness in total privacy and sundowners with a breathtaking view.

Day 2: Saruni Samburu

• Early morning game drive into Samburu National Reserve to seek out the ‘Samburu Special Five’: the reticulated giraffe, the Grevy zebra, the beisa oryx, the Somali ostrich and the gerenuk, all rare species that occur only in this part of the country, and look for its well known larger wildlife including elephants, lion and leopard. Enjoy a picnic lunch before heading back to the lodge to relax for the afternoon.
• Enjoy a complimentary half hour massage upon arriving back at the lodge at the Samburu Wellbeing Space.

Day 3: Saruni Samburu

• Continue to explore the wonders of Samburu with a morning game drive and after lunch head out on a nature walk discovering animals, plants and the caves in the local area with rock paintings, led by your skillful and knowledgeable Samburu guides.
• Evening game drive in Kalama Conservancy, the 200,000-acre private wildlife conservancy in which Saruni Samburu is located, ending with a bush dinner under the stars in the middle of the wilderness, and a night drive back to the lodge. The Samburu warriors dancing, candles and fire under the vast African skies, make this a truly magical experience, and one of the highlights of your stay.

Day 4: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

• Depart Samburu on your flight in the morning* and arrive in the Masai Mara an hour and a half later.
• Game drive with a picnic lunch to enjoy under an acacia tree or by the river next to a pod of hippos, or head to Saruni Mara or Saruni Wild for some rest and an exclusive game drive later in the afternoon in Mara North Conservancy – over 30,000 acres of plentiful, protected land bordering the Masai Mara National Reserve. Enjoy a completely different and less-explored corner of the Mara ecosystem in total privacy, brimming with wildlife.

Day 5: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

• Early morning game drive to look for the big cats and other predators of the Mara, returning to the camp or lodge for lunch and treatments at the Maasai Wellbeing Space.
• In the afternoon, a game drive will take you to a special area where the largest tower of giraffe can be seen, followed by dinner at the lodge or camp and an optional night game drive.

Day 6: Saruni Mara / Saruni Wild

• Walk through the valleys and plains surrounding Saruni Mara, accompanied by a vehicle, or a game drive up to the top of Kilileoni, the highest mountain in the Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem – led by your skillful and knowledgeable Maasai guides.
• In the afternoon you will discover more of Mara North and its neighbouring conservancies and experience first-hand what makes the Mara one of the most exciting wildernesses in the world.
• Weather permitting, experience a bush dinner in the middle of nature under the vast African sky, with Maasai warriors singing and dancing around the fire.

Day 7: Campi Ya Kanzi

• Depart the Mara in the morning* on your chartered flight and arrive in the Chyulu Hills two hours later in time for a delicious lunch surrounded with gorgeous scenery.
• Head out on an afternoon game drive and celebrate the sunset with a sundowner and the picturesque backdrop of Kilimanjaro.

Day 8: Campi Ya Kanzi

• Wake up early for an exhilarating horse ride through the wilderness or a forest walk leading you to a bush breakfast.
• Set off on a scenic flight over Kilimanjaro, Amboseli and Tsavo if you choose, or relax for the afternoon, finishing off the day with a spa treatment.

Day 9: Campi Ya Kanzi

• Embark on a Maasai Village visit and learn more about the fascinating culture of the area, and the remarkable relationship between Campi Ya Kanzi and the local Maasai communities.
• Game drive, horse ride or bush walk to a sundowner in a scenic spot with an incredible view.

Day 10: Departure

• Enjoy your final morning waking up in paradise to a beautiful sunrise, the dawn chorus and the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance.
• Depart on your charter flight and arrive at Wilson in Nairobi just over an hour later. The times of this flight will be arranged according to your international flight.
• A Saruni vehicle will collect and transfer you to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Depending on the time of your international flight, stop at the Talisman or Carnivore restaurant for dinner.

About Campi Ya Kanzi and the Chyulu Hills

Campi ya Kanzi (‘Camp of the hidden treasure’) is a community project with the local Maasai on their Group Ranch of 400- square-miles. The altitude of the ranch ranges from 3,000 to 6,900 feet, so the land includes a number of different environments from the grasslands of the savannah to green river woodlands to cool mountain forests. The volcanic Chyulu Hills flank the property. The camp has only six luxury tented cottages and the Hemingway and Simba suites, all set on wooden platforms with thatched roofs and large en-suite bathrooms with hot (solar boiler) and cold running water, eco-friendly flush toilet, shower and bidet. Bedding is of the finest Italian linen. Tents are named after the view from the verandas, from Chyulu Hills to Kilimanjaro. The camp is centered around Tembo House, which is constructed of local materials such as lava rocks and grass for the roof, collected locally with high respect for the environment. Tembo House is an open plan dining/living room with a huge vista to many different views. Italian and Maasai décor are tastefully combined. The cooks have been trained in the preparation of fine Italian cuisine, which is featured along with international and local dishes. All pasta, bread, biscuits and ice creams are homemade. Fresh vegetables are supplied daily from a small organic vegetable garden. Campi ya Kanzi rests in an area of outstanding natural beauty. The Chyulu Hills are the Green Hills of Africa so much loved by Hemingway. Over and above the big game and plains game the area offers many rare and interesting species such as the wild dog, fringe eared oryx, lesser kudu, gerenuk, black rhino and cheetah. There are more than 400 bird species on the ranch.

About the Masai Mara

The Masai Mara is a 5,000 square km ecosystem made of a national reserve and several private conservancies. The national reserve covers 1,672 square kilometres (more than 400,000 acres) and is situated between 1,500 and 2,100 metres above sea level. It is part of the Serengeti ecosystem that extends from northern Tanzania into southern Kenya. Mara North Conservancy, which borders the Masai Mara National Reserve, is where Saruni Mara is located – 74,000 acres of amazing wilderness, where the most of the wildlife is concentrated most of the year. The Masai Mara region is considered the jewel of African wildlife and nowhere on the continent can you find the same abundance and variety of wild animals. Millions of wildebeest, gazelle, zebra, buffalo, impala, topi, hartebeest, giraffe, eland, elephant, dik-dik, hippo and warthog live their natural lifecycle alongside the largest population of lions in Kenya. For our safaris we use comfortable, fully-open Land Rovers, specially designed to give you maximum visibility over the landscape and the animals. On our foot safaris we walk on the plains and in the mountains that surround Saruni.

About Samburu

The Samburu Ecosystem is one of the most exciting in East Africa and is made of several national reserves, private ranches and communally-owned group ranches that are more and more interconnected. Famous for its large population of elephants, Samburu stands out for the abundance of northern species that cannot be found in other areas of Kenya. Kalama Conservation area, the wildlife sanctuary bordering with Samburu National Reserve where we are located, has an abundance of other rare species, like the leopard, the striped hyena, the civet. We’d love to take you to our secret spots, especially for bush dinner, or to the river for a picnic lunch that allows us to be with elephants, waterbuck, lion, impala, giraffe and all the Samburu species that go and drink water. If you are passionate about birds, Samburu is your preferred park: not only the species are abundant, but the birds are very tame and can be easily spotted and photographed.

Note: The Saruni Tours team can modify and tailor this itinerary to suit your personal preference. Baggage allowance on internal flights is 15kg per person, preferably in small, soft bags without wheels. Seats on the schedule flights are subject to availability at confirmation. Rates with children or single occupancy are available upon request. *Flight times and durations may vary depending on airline and routing, and are subject to change. All guests travelling into Kenya with duty free plastic bags shall be required to leave the bags at the entry points and seek alternative carrier bags. We request that you do not carry plastic bags whilst visiting or working in Kenya as there are strict penalties for those caught with them.