Explore on Foot with Maasai Guides. Past and present intertwine in Loita Hills with stunning drama and beauty. Constantly changing before your eyes, this region inspires you to explore and immerse yourself in one of the best wilderness areas that Africa has on offer.
Our sometimes strenuous, but splendidly rare, donkey-supported trek takes you over rolling hills, along perfectly preserved ancient elephant trails lavished with magnificent views, down into valleys of extraordinary fauna and flora. You won’t find a more unique Kenyan safari than this hiking safari in the Loita Hills. Embarking on moderate to occasionally rigorous four to six hour hikes, ending up (with all of our gear, which is carried by donkeys) in carefully chosen, usually spectacularly sited fly camping sites. Under the African night sky, awash in a symphony of stars, this is fly camping at its ultimate.
Along the way we get acquainted with the traditional people of this land, the Maasai, who live in the glow of these superb hills and bask in their radiant beauty. Following in their footsteps they effortlessly guide you through ever changing eco-systems as pristine as they were when their ancestors walked them.
Sacred forests filled with age old cedar, podo, strangler figs and indigenous orchids are set against a backdrop of impressive hills and valleys with spectacular waterfalls – this untouched wilderness will have your senses reeling. The emphasis is not on big game, though there’s plenty of it about, but on the raw wilderness experience with some 2,000 colobus monkeys roaming the canopies. You’re also likely to see or find evidence of elephant, buffalo, baboon, bushbuck, bush pig, leopard, hyena and maybe even hippopotamus. For birders, this is the birding Eden – brilliantly coloured Hartlaub’sTuraco’s flit from tree to tree as giant hornbills pause up in the canopy and red-fronted parrots peck away at fruits.
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Facilities
Sleep in Comfort in Classic Tented Camps. No need to haul a heavy load—donkeys carry our lightweight camp to our base, located deep within the forest near natural springs and hippo pools. All you carry is your daypack. And lest you think that a safari on foot means you must forsake creature comforts, you’ll be pleasantly surprised: our camp features dome tents large enough to stand in and hot-water bucket showers on demand. Meals are a highlight, too, prepared in hearty portions over the campfire by our guides.
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Activities
Enjoy a Truly Authentic Cultural Encounter. While many visitors come to Africa to see wildlife, cultural encounters with local people can be an equally rich part of a safari experience. Yet it’s often difficult to find an authentic opportunity for such engagement. Many Kenya safaris, for instance, include a chance to meet the Maasai, the traditional semi-nomadic herding people of East Africa who live near the wildilfe parks and are known for their distinctive customs and dress. But most of these “cultural encounters” are staged for tourists—viewing a dance at a safari lodge, or paying a few dollars to have your photo taken with a Maasai warrior holding a spear. Our Loita Hills trip, in contrast, offers a chance to spend extended time with your Maasai guides, a genuine and mutual opportunity to learn about one another’s lives, to exchange stories and laughs around the campfire, and build friendships through a shared immersion in Kenya’s magical landscapes. There’s simply nothing like it offered anywhere else!
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Location
The low-lying mountain range is located south of Nairobi and northeast of the Masai Mara and is a perfect addition to any Kenya safari, especially on rout to the Maasai Mara.