Laikipia

Laikipia has plenty of room for a few safari visitors.

To the north-east of the Great Rift Valley, and north-west of snow-capped Mount Kenya, the high plains of Laikipia are increasingly recognised as one of Kenya’s best safari regions, challenging the Maasai Mara for overall safari experience, if not for raw numbers of animals.

Between Mount Kenya and the northern deserts, these high rangelands spread out between north-flowing streams and rivers, which flow most of the year into the Ewaso Nyiro, northern Kenya’s greatest river.

Formerly a patchwork of huge ranches, and still an important livestock district, Laikipia is now where some of Kenya’s most encouraging conservation success stories are unfolding. The environment here is managed to protect the wildlife, to promote a personal and small-scale approach to adventurous and often luxurious safari tourism, and to generate an income for the local Samburu, Ilaikipiak Maasai, and Mokogodo Maasai communities.