Laikipia Plateau
Former colonial ranches turned laboratory of African conservation: Laikipia holds more rhinos than anywhere else in East Africa — and the world's last two northern white rhino females.
Suggested stay — 2 nights
North-west of Mount Kenya, the Laikipia plateau has reinvented the safari: no national park here, but a mosaic of private and community conservancies where ranching and wildlife coexist. The most self-drive-friendly, Ol Pejeta, is a concentrate of stories: East Africa's largest black rhino sanctuary, home of Najin and Fatu — the planet's last two northern white rhino females, under permanent armed guard — and the country's only chimpanzee sanctuary.
Laikipia is also the gateway to the northern species you won't find in the Mara: the fine-striped Grevy's zebra, the geometrically patterned reticulated giraffe, the blue-necked Somali ostrich. Nights are cold (you camp at 1,800 m, equator or not), the tracks well maintained, and the visit is paid by the day like a park — with activities impossible elsewhere: walking safaris, night drives, meeting the anti-poaching dog units.
Don't miss
- Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos, in their guarded enclosure at Ol Pejeta
- The black rhinos ranging free in the conservancy — East Africa's highest density
- The Sweetwaters chimpanzee sanctuary, unique in Kenya
- Mount Kenya clear at dawn from the conservancy's plains
Our tips on the ground
- Book Ol Pejeta's camping online well ahead (Ewaso or Hippo Hide sites): pitches are few and completely without infrastructure — full self-sufficiency required.
- The northern-white-rhino encounter is booked as a separate paid activity: the morning slots go first.
- Nanyuki, thirty minutes away, is the circuit's best staging town: supermarkets, serious garages, fuel — top up completely before the bush.
Our flagship guide — €44
Guide available“Kenya on Your Own”, the complete edition, is out
10 chapters: day-by-day itineraries, driving and transport, a costed budget and checklists — the same method as our Namibia guide.
The guide is currently written in French — an English edition is in the works.
No time to do it yourself?
A professional can take care of it: tailor-made trip, equipped 4x4 rental or a local guide. Describe your plans and, with your consent, we pass them on to partner professionals.
1. What you need
Before you go
Readers' questions about Laikipia Plateau
Can you do Ol Pejeta self-drive?
Yes — it is one of the few Laikipia conservancies open to private vehicles: day entry (around USD 90/adult), mapped and well-signed tracks, loops doable without a guide. The special activities (northern white rhinos, chimpanzees, night drives) are booked separately at the visitor centre or online.
Does Laikipia replace or complement the Masai Mara?
It complements it: fewer visible big cats than the Mara, but guaranteed rhinos, the northern species, and a different philosophy — active conservation, diluted tourism, encounters with the field teams. On the road to Samburu, or as a loop from Nairobi via Nyeri, the stage adds a dimension the southern savannah doesn't have.