5-Day Ol Pejeta and Laikipia Highlands Safari

Your highlands private safari begins with an early morning departure from Nairobi on the road north toward Nanyuki, skirting the lower slopes of Mount Kenya through tea and coffee plantations before emerging onto the open highland plains of Laikipia County. The three-hour drive delivers you to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Africa’s largest black rhino sanctuary and the home of the world’s last two northern white rhinos. Upon arriving at the conservancy entrance, your guide begins an afternoon game drive through the conservancy’s open grasslands and acacia woodland where lion prides patrol vast territories and cheetah scan the plains from raised termite mounds. The afternoon includes a visit to the northern white rhino enclosure, where Najin and Fatu are cared for by a dedicated team of rangers in one of conservation biology’s most extraordinary efforts to prevent a subspecies from complete extinction. Return to your lodge for dinner under the highland stars as Mount Kenya’s peak glows in the alpenglow.

A full day at Ol Pejeta Conservancy begins with an early morning game drive targeting the conservancy’s healthy black rhino population, which has grown to over 150 animals through decades of intensive protection making it the largest concentration of black rhinos in East Africa. The morning drive also seeks out wild dogs, one of Africa’s most endangered predators, which have established a successful pack at Ol Pejeta through a carefully managed reintroduction programme. The afternoon is dedicated to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, the only chimpanzee facility in Kenya, followed by an evening game drive through the conservancy’s northern sector where elephants move through the highland scrub and lions begin their evening activity. An optional night game drive reveals the nocturnal world of porcupines, civets, bush babies, and hunting leopards in the beam of your guide’s spotlight.

After breakfast, leave Ol Pejeta for the booked Laikipia base. The programme includes the road transfer, the scheduled afternoon game drive and the first of two Laikipia nights, with the listed meals. The selected conservancy or ranch determines the access area and operating rules. Your vehicle is private to your party; other guests or vehicles may be present in the wider landscape. The outing follows wildlife and conditions encountered rather than a guaranteed species list.

A full day on the Laikipia Plateau combines morning and afternoon game drives with a guided nature walk, allowing you to experience the highland ecosystem at ground level with your tracker guide, who reads the stories of every track, dropping, and broken branch in the trail. The morning drive focuses on locating the plateau’s resident wild dog pack, which ranges widely across the conservancy and can be tracked using radio collar data shared between the private conservancies on the plateau. Reticulated giraffe browsing above the acacia canopy and large elephant herds moving toward the seasonal rivers create spectacular photographic subjects against the blue peaks of Mount Kenya. The afternoon walk covers a different sector of the conservancy, approaching wildlife on foot for a perspective that no vehicle-based safari can replicate. The evening game drive into sunset reveals lions beginning their nocturnal hunts and leopards emerging from their daytime resting spots in the rocky hillsides.

Rise early for a final dawn game drive across the Laikipia Plateau, when the first golden light illuminates Mount Kenya’s peak and the highland plains come alive with activity. This morning is ideal for photographing Grevy’s zebra and reticulated giraffe against the mountain backdrop in the extraordinary clarity of the highland morning light. After a hearty breakfast at your conservancy lodge, pack up and begin the scenic three-hour drive back to Nairobi, arriving by early afternoon. Your Mount Kenya, Ol Pejeta, and Laikipia highlands safari concludes with memories of exclusive wildlife encounters, conservation stories of global significance, and the magnificent mountain backdrop that makes this region one of Africa’s most distinctive and rewarding safari destinations.