10 Days Northern Kenya Wilderness trek

You’ll be picked from the airport and dropped at your hotel for the night. Your Overnight will be at the Tamarind Tree hotel in Nairobi.

Breakfast at the hotel then depart from Nairobi and head for Namunyak community conservation area, the land of endless hills including the Ndoto and Mathews Ranges. This is a 6-hour drive and on arrival we meet our local hosts, the Samburu tribesmen who will give us a detailed overview of their land and culture. Our bush camp today is at Kirish Campsite, the base of the Ololokwe Mountain. This mountain is sacred to the Samburu sub tribe of northern Kenya who apparently are related to the Maasai ethnic group found in the southern part of Kenya. Dinner and overnight at Kirish bush campsite.

Start the hike of the Ololokwe with the donkeys carrying provisions for two days. You hike up the steep slope through the high altitude forest comprising of acacia trees, pencil cedar, cycad palms and podo carpus. From time to time you may come across temporary shelters of the Samburu herdsmen who trek uphill with their animals in search for pastures. You arrive at the campsite after about 4 hours for a picnic lunch. You set camp and later in the afternoon hike to the Mt. Ololokwe summit (2000m) and explore the various viewpoints. The views from these viewpoints are awesome. On one side there is the Mathew ranges with its Warges Peak (2600) proudly standing out. On the other side are the expansive plains that extend to the Nyambene Hills in the south-east. Namunyak Conservation area is a Samburu community run conservancy that acts as a dispersal area for the wildlife from Samburu and Meru parks. Our visit to this conservancy goes a long way to help the local people and consequently encourage them to conserve and protect the environment. Dinner and Overnight at bush campsite.

You take a 2 to 3 hour descent to Kirish campsite, say good bye to our Samburu guides and donkey handlers and board the vehicle and drive Ngurunit Village. Ngurunit is a village in a remote part of the Marsabit County in Northern Kenya. The village is nestled between hills on one side and the seasonal Ngurunit River on the other side. The village is home to the Samburu people but there is also a small population of the Rendille, a Cushitic ethnic group whose language is similar to the Somali. During the dry season the river is a bee hive of activities as the locals and their livestock congregate on the river bed to excavate the river bed in search of water. On arrival we set camp in a local campsite owned by a Rendille family. We spend the rest of the day interacting with our Rendille hosts and blending into the culture and remoteness of this beautiful place. Dinner and overnight in the campsite.

Start early for the days trek with our Rendille guide and Rendille Camel handlers. Camels are part and parcel of the ethnic groups in Northern Kenya. The camels are used to ferry luggage and they also provide milk and meat. The camels are for carrying our provisions for the next three days. For the next three days we trek in the wilderness accompanied by our Rendille guides who from time to time explain to us their way of life this vast wilderness. The trek takes us through various beautiful landscapes and Samburu villages. We will make various stops to admire the landscapes as well as meet the local Samburu people. The trek takes between 4 to 7 hours each day. Dinner and overnight in a bush campsite near a Samburu village.

Trek in the bush with our Rendille guides. Dinner and overnight in a bush campsite near Samburu Village

We trek back to Ngurunit village. Dinner and overnight at Ngurunit village Campsite.

We do a morning visit to the Rendille Village to learn the way of life of these graceful Cushitic people whose lives revolve around camels. After the visit we break camp and drive to Nanyuki for overnight. Here we will spend a night at a cozy hotel in Nanyuki where you will have a well-deserved full shower and a comfortable bed(the other days water is a problem, so no guaranteed showers). Dinner and Overnight in Nanyuki.

After breakfast, you can opt for a full day game drive at the nearby Olpejeta conservancy which has many wildlife species including Chimpanzees(only place in Kenya with Chimps). The views of Kenya’s highest mountain(Mt.Kenya) are amazing from here. And you’ll also have a stopover at the Equator point where the Equator cuts through. It is amazing to be in two different hemispheres on the same day! Dinner and Overnight will be back at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel, then departure for Nairobi after an amazing time sampling Kenya’s remote areas on foot. Nothing can beat this unique experience! You’ll be dropped back at the airport for your onward flight back home.