Visit The Laikipia Plateau, Kenya
Stretching over a vast area from the foothills of Mount Kenya to the shores of Lake Baringo, the Laikipia Plateau is one of Kenya’s lesser known wildlife areas. It's far from the beaten track and the place to relax in total wilderness.
Reticulated giraffe, Lewa Wilderness Conservancy
The Laikipia Plateau
Kenya
Stretching over a vast area from the foothills of Mount Kenya to the shores of Lake Baringo, the Laikipia Plateau is one of Kenya’s lesser known wildlife areas.
Wildlife of the Laikipia Plateau
It harbours more endangered species than anywhere else in East Africa. This is the place to see Grevy’s zebra, Jackson’s hartebeest and wild dog. Many northern species are found including reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, Beisa oryx and gerenuk. There are large elephant populations, thriving lion, leopard and cheetah and numerous impala and gazelle.
The land on the plateau is divided into huge wildlife conservancies, sometimes known as ranches after the farms that used to exist there. All are now devoted to wildlife conservation. There are seven large conservancies: Borana Ranch, Il N’gwesi Group Ranch, the Lekurruki Group Ranch, Sabuk Wilderness, Lewa Wilderness Conservancy, Loisaba Wilderness and Sosian Ranch.
Local Maasai communities
All the conservancies are very different from each other. Some, such as Il N’gwesi and Lekurruki are run by Maasai communities. Others, such as Lewa have been instrumental in research and education and as a guest you can learn about the ongoing projects. Sabuk works closely with Samburu communities as well as running camel treks into remote wilderness whilst Loisaba was the creator of the inventive ‘star bed’.
All of the conservancies are far from the beaten track and the place to relax in total wilderness. You might track elephant on foot, ride a camel across rugged plains or watch the sunset from the top of a kopje. The earth is brick red and game wild and unfettered as far as the eye can see.
Places within The Laikipia Plateau
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- The Borana Ranch lies at the foot of Mount Kenya, just sixteen miles from the equator and 6,500 feet above sea level. The ranch is home to fifty indigenous tree families and over 300 species of bird life.
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- Ol Lentille is a private conservancy of 14,500 acres, lying around seventy-five kilometres north of Mount Kenya. Although not a place to tick off the Big Five, the varied terrain and diverse habitats of the conservancy nevertheless support a wide variety of wildlife.
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- The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 90,000 acre wildlife conservancy situated between the foot hills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. The conservancy has an extensive variety of animals including the big five as well as a chimpanzee sanctuary.
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- High up on the Laikipia Plateau the Sabuk Wilderness Area stretches over miles and miles of wilderness. Rugged and untouched country it is a place of open plains, rocky hillsides and deep gorges. Sabuk is one of the best places in Kenya to meet and learn about the Samburu culture and people.
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- Sosian is a 24,000-acre working ranch in the centre of the vast Laikipia Plateau. The scenery is beautiful, with views to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya, the Aberdares to the south and the cedar-clad Karisia Hills to the north.
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- The Il Ngwesi Group Ranch is north of Mount Kenya and covers an area of 16,500 hectares. The ranch is not a ranch in the traditional sense but is rather a huge tract of land owned by many Maasai villages. Il Ngwesi is home to a wide range of big and small game.
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- The Lekurruki Group Ranch is north of Mount Kenya and covers an area of 60,000 acres. The Lekurruki is as much about learning about Maasai culture as it is enjoying the game and wilderness that this wonderful part of Kenya has to offer.
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- To the north of Mount Kenya, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy stretches for over 45,000 acres. As a result of poaching, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy was set up and now the amount of wildlife in the area has grown enormously, including many endangered species.
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- The Loisaba Wilderness Conservancy covers an area of roughly 150 square kilometres. Although not a place to tick off the Big Five, the varied terrain and diverse habitats of the conservancy nevertheless support a wide variety of wildlife.
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