Sarara Treehouses
Location
The surrounding lands form the Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, a community-led sanctuary of almost 3,500 square kilometres. The semi-nomadic Samburu people who call this place their home are responsible for the name Namunyak, which means ‘Where the hills hug the clouds’.
The other Sarara properties within the Namunyak Conservancy are Sarara Reteti House and Sarara Camp.
Accommodation
On those rustic platforms, ecologically impermanent and suitably bush-luxury intrepid, are eight tented rooms plus a family room suitable for a group of four. They may have indoor toilets, but the solar-heated showers are outside and in sight of the occasional passing guereza colobus monkey. Lounge on a sofa on your tent’s deck, and you’ll enjoy birds flitting through the canopy and glimpses through to the lowlands beyond.
Then there’s the swimming pool. It’s the icing on a very delicious, tiered cake: a rim-full hillside terrace with a view to the craggy peaks above the verdant slopes. Put your elbows on the edge, admire, and then look downhill. You’ll see something special: a permanent waterhole frequented by elephants and many of the other inhabitants of this special place.
Experiences
- Daily safari adventures await. Even though elephants were once hunted to near extinction here, the reserve now has the second-largest population in Kenya. There are also almost 500 reticulated giraffes and a good population of the critically endangered Grévy’s zebra.
- A short journey away is the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, a community-owned conservation initiative that is inspirational and educational in equal measure. Connect with the keepers and with their delightful, orphaned charges.
- Discover the good works of the Sarara Foundation, such as the nomadic Montessori schools and the Milk to Market programme.
- Cultural visits, such as to the Manyatta homestead, are unforgettable. You can learn from traditional artisans like the blacksmiths and enjoy having a go at beadwork. Perhaps your day will finish with Ngoma dancing.
- Take a walk with a Samburu resident of these hills. You’ll explore ravines with centuries-old cycads, venture up rugged outcrops and perhaps enjoy the thrill of a natural rock slide.
- Experience the fascinating cultural routine of the semi-nomadic herders as they tend their cattle in the ‘Singing Wells’ ritual.
- Ways to have safari adventures here include vehicle, foot, horseback and even helicopter. Perhaps ask to be dropped off on Mount Orka for some fly camping.
We prioritise working with properties that collaborate with local communities and address location-specific needs from education to anti-poaching. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to.We prioritise working with properties that collaborate with local communities and address location-specific needs from education to anti-poaching. We assess our partners to ensure the people we work with share our values of ensuring our trips continue to act as a force for good. Here we share some of the positive impacts your stay here contributes to.
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