Laikipia Wilderness Camp

Name: Laikipia Wilderness Camp
Address: Laikipia
Rating: 5

A departure from the elaborate ranches and private estates for which Laikipia is known, Laikipia Wilderness Camp offers a great product for those seeking something authentic and unpretentious. Run by excellent veteran safari guide Steve Carey, this is the real deal in terms of expertly led game viewing, fantastic walks, and a genuine no-frills bushcamp sensibility. An informal setting with friendly staff who will enhance your visit with warm hospitality, Laikipia Wilderness Camp is an option we thoroughly recommend for the adventurous at heart. Rates are full board and include accommodation, meals, local drinks, activities within the conservancy on a shared basis, and laundry.

A collection of intimate and authentic camps in Laikipia North, three of which overlook the Ewaso Narok River

Lounge, indoor/outdoor dining, viewing deck, campfire, and a small curio shop

Exterior Family Tent, Laikipia, Laikipia Wilderness, Kenya

Four rustic, family-friendly camps, each with four to six tents or cottages, two of which are exclusive-use only

Game drives, night drives, walking safaris, tracking, river activities, fly camping, mountain biking, and wilderness expeditions

Firepit, Laikipia, Laikipia Wilderness, Kenya

Our Yellow Zebra Opinion

Exceptional choice

An adventurous camp that’s all about the personal experience and the guiding. Steve, a Zimbabwean pro guide, and his guiding team are phenomenal at getting you up close on foot to big game, whilst offering the ultimate flexibility to explore this region. This camp is a must if guiding is a priority, due to the sheer quality of Steve and his guiding team!

Kirsten Jonker Training Director

Activities

Now, we know that if you’re looking at a Kenyan camp, you will want to get a real feel and understanding of the natural habitat and wildlife. You are in the right place at Laikipia!

Game drives

Night drives

Walking safaris

Tracking

River activities

Fly camping

Mountain biking

Wilderness expeditions

Laikipia is renowned for its healthy populations of elephant, reticulated giraffe, Grevy’s zebra, warthog, buffalo, hippo, and many antelope species. Lions, leopards, and wild dogs are often seen too. Morning and afternoon game drives are offered in open-top Toyota Landcruisers, led by expert wildlife guides. You might also like to enjoy brunch under the shade of an acacia tree or in a waterfront location where elephants come to drink.
Part of Laikipia’s appeal is the freedom and flexibility of night drives, and the fact that they are not confined to the opening hours of a national park. Lucky visitors might see striped hyena, spotted hyena, aardwolf, aardvark, porcupine, genet, and white-tailed mongoose. The camp also has some camera traps, which are set up to capture images of wildlife roaming at night.
Laikipia Wilderness Camp’s owners have tremendous experience providing walking safaris tailored to all levels. They offer morning and afternoon walks, and you can even walk to a fly camp set up just for you and sleep under the stars before returning to camp the next morning.
This experience involves tracking wild dog via collars used to locate them as they traverse the conservancy. Black leopards are also seen frequently in this area, and the guides use traditional tracking methods to seek them out.
Take to the river for tilapia or catfish fishing, or perhaps enjoy wild swimming and jumping off the rocks into the refreshing water. When the water levels are high enough, you can also go rafting down the mini rapids on an inflatable.
Fly camping is an incredible back-to-nature adventure, spent under the stars on a bedroll. There’s an inviting campfire to sit around with an ice-cold beer and storytelling, followed by a delicious bush dinner cooked on open coals. Special dome tents offer privacy, protection from mozzies, and the perfect stargazing through a mosquito net roof. Please note that during long grass/rain periods, camp-outs take place on platforms without the mozzie dome tents rather than on the ground.
This is another great way to get up close to nature, and a vehicle is always present at a safe distance. The camp has seven bikes of various sizes to choose from.
Those wishing to explore farther afield can visit Lake Turkana, Shaba National Park, the Aberdares, Mount Elgon National Park, Buffalo Springs, and Mount Kenya. Walking, horse-riding, fly-fishing, fishing on Turkana for Nile perch, and walking are some of the key highlights, so let us know your interests and we’ll tailor our suggestions.

Access & Location

Laikipia Wilderness Camp is located on the Ol Doinyo Lemboro Ranch in Kenya’s Laikipia region, overlooking the Ewaso Narok river. Access to the camp is by light aircraft, either to Nanyuki (45-minute flight) or to Loisaba airstrip (approximately 1 hour), followed by a 2-hour game drive.

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This property is unfenced and located in a wildlife area, so large and potentially dangerous animals do pass through. If you opt to stay here, always be alert when walking around the camp and request for a member of staff to escort you if you have any concerns. Any guest is escorted after dark as a matter of course.

Facilities

Laikipia Wilderness Camp consists of four separate camps – Main Camp, Palm Camp, River Camp, and Leopard Springs.

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Communal dining

Al fresco dining

Campfire

Board games area

The first three have different perspectives overlooking the Ewaso Narok River, while Leopard Springs is set back in a quiet valley. Rustic and down-to-earth, these camps are centred on authentic safari, where guests enjoy cosy mess tents, home-style communal meals, and viewing decks with panoramic views of the Laikipia landscape. At Main Camp, there’s a board games area and a swinging bench where 360-degree views include the outline of Mount Kenya on clear days. Each site has plenty of space for open-air dining, with hearty breakfasts enjoyed in the sunshine and atmospheric candlelit dinners. You’ll get to know your friendly hosts by the campfire, while soaking up the views and tuning into the sounds of the bush. Laikipia is well known for its private ranches and super-high-end luxury, but here the emphasis is on the great outdoors and simple pleasures such as storytelling under the stars or a hot shower in the semi-open air.

Amenities

Accommodations across the four camps stay true to the traditional East African safari style.

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Veranda

Family rooms

The emphasis is on a rustic, lived-in feel, where you’ll be completely immersed in nature and surrounded by untrodden bush. Rooms feature comfortable handcrafted beds draped with mosquito nets, writing desks, armchairs, sustainable toiletries, and private verandas offering ideal vantage points from which to take in the surrounds. Main Camp has six tented rooms, including four family units. River Camp operates on an exclusive-use basis with four cottages, including two family options and two flexible double, twin, or triple rooms, all with an open-air en-suite bathroom. Palm Camp, also for exclusive use, features six tented rooms set on wooden stilts overlooking the Ewaso Narok River. Finally, Leopard Springs accommodates a maximum of two groups in four tented rooms, each with an open-air en-suite bathroom and 24-hour hot water powered by traditional wood-fired boilers. All camps have modern flush toilets and hot and cold running water, keeping creature comforts simple while letting the surrounding wild landscape take the lead.

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What our Customers say

8 months ago

The people at Laikipia Wilderness were the BEST! They were all so friendly and welcoming. The food was delicious and the camp was so peaceful. What an experience we all had!!

Kristin Fleischauer
4 years ago

Laikipia Wilderness Camp is in our opinion THE BEST place for a family with kids! The staff at camp goes out of their way to make you feel like a great friend or family member…

Tina Jordan
4 years ago

Excellent. We would unreservedly recommend this camp (unless what you're after is (very expensive) serious luxury). It really suited us as a family: 2 adults, 15 year old twins in a set up of two…

Jenny
4 years ago

Wonderfully remote safari camp with great owners and staff plus opportunities for walks and night drives

N Atkins

Talk to someone who’s been there

Real expertise doesn’t come from a few trips to Africa. All our specialists have either been guides, run the camps, or grown up and lived in Africa. That’s over 600 years of genuine safari experience.

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+18889780956

Laikipia Wilderness Camp

Our Yellow Zebra Opinion