Saruni Camp

Running Elephants
click to enlarge

Sundowners at Kilileoni
click to enlarge

Wildebeest on the plains

The Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya 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. Around the Masai Mara National Reserve there are several "group ranches" or ancestral wildlife areas owned collectively by the Masai communities. The Lemek-Koyiaki Group Ranch, in which Saruni is set, has an area of 1,490 square kilometres (368,000 acres) and its natural treasures are managed by the several trusts set up and managed by the Masai people.

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. It is also a prime area for ornithologists and hundreds of different bird species have been recorded. The area is teeming with herbivores that, in turn, support large numbers of predators. 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 as well as cheetah, leopard, hyena and jackal. The Mara is also one of the best wilderness areas in Africa to observe rare species, like the rhino, the bat-eared fox or the nocturnal wildlife, from the bushbaby to the genet.

The scenery ranges from the rolling hills dotted with acacias, made famous by endless wildlife documentaries, to the lesser known mountains, rivers and valleys where the vegetation can be very green and lush.

The highlight of the Masai Mara is the famous annual migration of wildebeest that move north from the Serengeti in Tanzania each July-August in search of fresh grazing. After remaining here for three or four months they return south in October before the beginning of the rainy season. Watching millions of these animals traveling en mass is truly a humbling experience for human observers.

The Masai Mara is, above all, the home of the Maasai, a traditional semi-nomadic people known for their beauty, intelligence and a deep love and understanding of the African wilderness.

After running the risk of developing too quickly, in recent years the Masai Mara has entered a period of renaissance with a more considerate form of low-impact and sustainable tourism emerging.

To live in this African bush is a privilege. Saruni, in the Aitong area of the Masai Mara ecosystem, offers you a chance to share it. Each day is a different adventure at our tented lodge, overlooking the plains but set in a shady valley where the animals wander in total freedom. In front of the main verandah elephants and bushbuck, baboons and impalas all come to drink at our waterhole.

Click here to see more photos of the Masai Mara.

Click here to view Masai Mara map