Central Kenya
The part of Kenya you are allowed to walk in
Laikipia is not a national park. It is a plateau of private and community conservancies, and the landowners set the rules — which is why you can get out of the vehicle here.
- What it is
- Private and community conservancies, not a park
- Altitude
- Mostly 1,700 – 2,000m — cool, lower malaria risk
- Suggested stay
- 3 nights, 4 if you want to walk properly
- From Nairobi
- 1-hr flight or 4–5 hours by road
What you can do here
Four things a national park forbids
This is the whole argument for Laikipia. Everything else follows from the land being private.
Walking safaris
Half a day or more with an armed guide and a tracker. Reading the ground rather than ticking off species.
What it is like
Riding
Among the best riding safaris in Africa — and the fitness requirement is real. Gentle hacks exist too.
Honest fitness notes
Night drives
Aardvark, porcupine, genet, striped hyena and leopard on a kill. None of it visible by day.
What comes out
Rhino tracking on foot
Joining a real monitoring team, on foot. The most memorable morning available here.
How it works
How Laikipia works
Why it is not a park, what a conservancy fee pays for, and how the conservancies differ.
The explanation
With children
Cool, comfortable, lower malaria risk and plenty to do outside the vehicle. Our usual first suggestion for families.
Family guideThe other reason
High, cool and easier on everyone
Laikipia sits mostly between 1,700 and 2,000 metres. The middle of the day is comfortable rather than punishing, the nights are cold enough for a fire, and malaria risk is lower than in the low-lying parks.
For families, for anyone uneasy about prophylaxis, and for anyone who has found Amboseli or Tsavo hard work in February, that combination matters more than it sounds.
- Comfortable at midday, when the low parks are unbearable
- Lower malaria risk than Tsavo, Samburu or the coast
- Family houses you can take whole, with your own guide and vehicle
- Short flight or a manageable road transfer from Nairobi
Free download
The Laikipia Activity Guide
What walking, riding, tracking and sleeping out are actually like here — including the fitness each needs and the ones we would talk you out of.
- Why the rules are different on private land
- Walking safaris: what a half day and a full day are really like
- Riding: the honest fitness requirement, and what "competent" means here
- Night drives, and what actually comes out after dark
- Fly camping and sleeping out
- Rhino tracking on foot — what it involves and who can do it
- Choosing between the conservancies by what you want to do
- A worksheet for matching activities to your party
No cost, no obligation. We ask for an email so we can send it and, if you want it, follow up once.
In their words
What travellers say
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Before you ask
The questions we get most
Is Laikipia a national park?
No, and that is the point. It is a plateau of private, community and group-owned conservancies. There is no single gate and no single fee — each conservancy sets its own, usually built into what your camp charges.
Because the land is private, the landowners set the rules, which is why walking, riding and night drives are possible here and not in a park.
Do I need to be fit?
For the gentle end — short walks, easy hacks, night drives — no. For a full-day walk or a serious ride, yes, and we would rather you told us honestly than found out on day two.
Riding in particular: "competent" here means able to gallop out of trouble. Overstating your level is dangerous rather than merely awkward.
Is Laikipia better than the Masai Mara?
Different, not better. The Mara has far higher density of animals; Laikipia has activities the Mara cannot offer at any price, plus altitude and space.
For a first safari we would usually suggest the Mara. For a second one, or for a family, or for anyone who has had enough of sitting in a vehicle, Laikipia.
How many nights?
Three is the minimum and four is better, because the good activities — a full-day walk, a fly camp, a proper ride — need a whole day each and you will want a game drive or two as well.
Who actually arranges my safari?
This site is a planning guide. When you send an enquiry it goes to Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Kenya, who prepare your itinerary and quote and handle the booking, the payments and you on the ground.
You deal with one team from the first email to the airport transfer home.
Start planning
Tell us what you want to do
Not which camp — which activities. Laikipia conservancies specialise, and we will work backwards from what you actually want to the one that does it best.
Our Kenya specialist replies within 24 hours with named camps and an itemised price.
- Matched to the conservancy that does your activity best
- An honest read on whether your riding or walking level fits
- Family houses identified if your party suits one
- An itemised price including conservancy fees
Who answers
Nomad Africa, our partner travel agency in Nairobi, builds and prices every itinerary we send. You deal with one team, on the ground, for the whole trip.
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Get your tailored itinerary and quote
Our Kenya specialist replies within 24 hours with a costed plan built around your dates.
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Each of these is a focused guide we publish. Same Kenya specialist behind every enquiry.