What is the Laikipia Plateau

The Laikipia Plateau is a vast highland region north and west of Mount Kenya covering over 9,500 square kilometres. It supports Kenya's second-largest wildlife population outside the Mara ecosystem, managed across a network of private conservancies, community ranches, and national reserves.

Can I see African wild dogs in Laikipia

Yes, Laikipia is one of the best places in Kenya to see African wild dogs, which move freely between conservancies in the plateau. Sightings are not guaranteed but are more likely here than in most other Kenyan destinations.

What activities are available on Laikipia conservancies

Depending on the conservancy, activities include off-road game drives, night game drives, guided bush walks, horseback safaris, camel safaris, and cultural visits to Maasai and Samburu communities.

How is Laikipia different from national parks

Laikipia's private conservancies permit activities not allowed in national parks, including off-road driving and night game drives. Wildlife density is excellent and visitor numbers are strictly controlled for an exclusive experience.

Is this safari good value for money

Yes, the combination of Ol Pejeta's unique conservation experiences, the exclusive Laikipia conservancy access, and full board accommodation makes this one of Kenya's most rewarding value-for-money safari itineraries.

3 Day Ol Pejeta Laikipia Safari Rhinos and Wild Frontiers Kenya

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Map

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Map

Overview

An Ol Pejeta Laikipia safari ventures into Kenya’s most dynamic and conservation-forward wildlife region, the vast Laikipia Plateau stretching north and west of Mount Kenya across a mosaic of private conservancies, community ranches, and national reserves. Laikipia is one of Africa’s great conservation success stories, where enlightened landowners and communities have converted former cattle ranches into wildlife corridors supporting Kenya’s second-largest wildlife population outside the Maasai Mara ecosystem. This 3-day safari begins at Ol Pejeta, the jewel of the Laikipia conservancies and home to the world’s last two northern white rhinos and East Africa’s largest black rhino population, before venturing deeper into the Laikipia wilderness for an exclusive conservancy safari experience that reveals a side of Kenya rarely accessed by mainstream tourism. The Laikipia landscape is dramatically beautiful, with the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya dominating the eastern horizon and vast open plains stretching toward the semi-arid Samburu frontier in the north. Wildlife here moves freely between conservancies across unfenced landscapes, resulting in natural predator-prey dynamics and wildlife encounters of remarkable authenticity. Lions, wild dogs, cheetah, and spotted hyena hunt across these open rangelands, while grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, and the African wild dog, one of the continent’s most endangered predators, roam the frontier areas connecting Laikipia to Samburu. Night game drives, bush walks with armed rangers, and horseback safaris are permitted in some Laikipia conservancies, offering activity diversity that strictly protected national parks cannot provide, making this Ol Pejeta Laikipia safari one of Kenya’s most versatile and rewarding experiences.

Trip Highlights

Visit the world's last two northern white rhinos at Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Black rhino tracking on foot and by vehicle in Laikipia
African wild dog sightings in the Laikipia Plateau frontier
Exclusive private conservancy game drives away from tourist crowds
Night game drive revealing nocturnal predators and aardvark
Dramatic Mount Kenya backdrop across the Laikipia plains
Grevy's zebra and reticulated giraffe on the northern Laikipia border
Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary visit at Ol Pejeta

Day 01 :

Nairobi to Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Depart Nairobi early morning for the three-hour drive north through Mount Kenya's foothills to Nanyuki and Ol Pejeta Conservancy on the equator. Upon entry, your guide introduces the conservancy's extraordinary conservation story before transferring you to your lodge for lunch with Mount Kenya views. The afternoon game drive covers Ol Pejeta's prime wildlife areas, targeting lion prides on the open plains, buffalo herds near the Ewaso Nyiro tributary, and the conservancy's abundant elephant population browsing through highland woodland. In the late afternoon, you visit the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary for close encounters with rescued chimpanzees before returning to the lodge for dinner under a vast Laikipia night sky.

Day 02 :

Ol Pejeta Conservancy Full Day

Dedicate a full day to the highlights of Ol Pejeta Conservancy with morning and afternoon game drives. The day begins with the most profound wildlife encounter in Africa: a visit to the northern white rhino enclosure where Najin and Fatu, the world's last two, graze in the morning light. Your guide shares the full story of the northern white rhino's decline and the hope offered by ongoing IVF research. The morning drive then transitions to black rhino tracking through the conservancy's densely vegetated rhino sanctuary, where your guide reads fresh tracks and signs before leading you to one of the conservancy's remarkable black rhino bulls. The afternoon game drive explores Ol Pejeta's eastern sectors, tracking cheetah across the open grasslands and seeking leopard in the riverine acacia thickets. An optional night game drive after dinner provides opportunities to encounter aardvark, porcupine, serval, and the nocturnal predators that define the Laikipia night.

Day 03 :

Laikipia Conservancy & Return to Nairobi

After an early breakfast, check out of Ol Pejeta and drive to an adjacent Laikipia conservancy for an exclusive morning game drive experience on private conservancy lands where visitor numbers are strictly limited. Laikipia's private conservancies permit activities unavailable in national parks, including off-road driving, night game drives, bush walks, and in some properties horseback safaris, delivering a flexibility and intimacy of wildlife encounter that transforms the safari experience. The landscape here transitions toward the semi-arid northern frontier, with reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, and occasionally African wild dog visible on the open rangelands. After the morning session and a bush lunch at the conservancy, you begin the return drive to Nairobi arriving by early evening, completing a safari that has connected you to Kenya's most important conservation landscapes.