Prince William comes to Il Ngwesi on occasion to get away from it all - and it's a good choice, especially if you have an entourage, or for the less royal, a large group of friends or family. It's not a busy place, and with six rooms you could easily take over the whole place and lord it in privacy round its 60,000 hectares.

Il Ngwesi is a small lodge, tucked away in a beautifully remote part of Laikipia, Kenya's ranch country.

It's peaceful, set in thick acacia bushlands that stretch away for miles to the Northern Frontier District, with an exclusive sense of solitude and space. Knowing this, you might expect to pay a princely sum for accommodation, but Il Ngwesi is fairly reasonably priced compared to many of the establishments around Laikipia. This is because though funky, it's quite rough. Accommodation highlights are a couple of large double starbeds - beds that can be wheeled out of the bedroom onto the verandah for sleeping out under the night-sky.

By just visiting Il Ngewsi you're helping to support a whole community, and its wildlife -

Il Ngwesi is a community lodge, owned and run in theory by the local Maasai. In fact, the nearby Lewa Downs Conservancy still have a lot of involvement in it - providing practical support, handling their marketing and organizing their supplies. But the point is, for you as a guest, that you will only see Maasai while you're here, and they are in full charge on the spot, which in theory means you'll get a deeper experience of Africa.

Rather telling was the bone collection here - in most lodges you see a few whitened old animal bones that have been picked up during game drives. Il Ngwesi's bone collection included a half eaten zebra leg that still had the skin and meat on it. Expect spit, but don't expect much polish.

Do you need some help with this?

Call +44 (0)1747 898104

At Natural High, we've all lived and worked in Africa, so our knowledge is born of hands-on experience rather than simply visiting on holiday. We can't over-stress how worthwhile it is to take a few minutes to call us. We're not in the business of churning out thousands of packages so if you'd like to discuss things in detail, take a few minutes and call Fiona, Catherine, Vanessa, Alex on +44 (0)1747 898104.

If you like this, why not consider these other camps in Kenya...
Lewa Wilderness Trails Lewa Downs on the eastern edge of Laikipia is home to the Craig family and to one of the great success stories of Kenyan wildlife conservation, the Rhinoceros breeding... more	Rekero Kidogo Rekero Kidogo is the sister camp of Rekero Tented Camp. As at main camp, the success of this place is in large part down to how much of themselves the owners - Jackson... more	Offbeat Camp Offbeat Meru is a place to get your feet back on the ground - this is a camp on traditional lines, with smart but not elaborate tents on the ground. No decks here.... more