At Saruni, you'll get some first world comfort, without losing too much of that safari feeling. It would be ideal for a couple, for instance, where one partner didn't feel quite as gung ho for a true bush experience as the other.

For a start, Saruni has a very beautiful location. As you approach on the track that winds its way up from the plains,

it's barely visible until the last minute, with discrete thatched cottages perched on the side of a wooded slope in the Olokirasei hills. This is a secluded spot in a grove of Ozoroa and acacia trees, yet the views are spectacular, with the distant Aitong plains framed in a V through the hillside pass.

As soon as you arrive at Saruni, the attention to detail that has gone into the basic design is plain to see.

Someone (the architect Mark Glenn) has thought very hard about how to fuse the concepts of camp and hotel - creating a stylish reinterpretation of bush living. It is chic and secluded, well brushed even to the point of formal. There's plenty of game in the immediate area of the lodge - herds of buffalo were visible from our room in the morning on the short grass that spread out below like a lawn - we were there after a heavy fall of much needed rain. We heard elephant, and even a lone hippo in the dam for most of the night - the area is a natural amphitheatre so the smallest sounds carry. In the morning the sounds of bird song - yellow vented bulbuls, turacos, puffback shrikes and even the illusive Narina's trogon - fill your room as the sun comes up.

Normally part of the package at Saruni is the manager and part owner, Ricardo Orizio,

an Italian ex foreign correspondent who was overcome by the Africa bug about five years ago, and has made Saruni what it is today: not least by building a very impressive library of Africana books. The calm styling in the architecture and decor is echoed by his hospitality.

If you like this, why not consider these other camps in Kenya...
Elsa's Kopje The fat and happy hyraxes (like African guinea pigs) that bask in the sunshine all over the huge granite boulders of Elsa's Kopje are a pretty good indication... more	Ol Malo In Laikipia it's not uncommon to have a view, but Ol Malo must have one of the best. Here you look down into the colossal views that stretch for hundreds of... more	Rekero Tented Camp When you remove the frills from a safari camp it has to rely on real substance. Rekero has a pleasingly simple design that belies its style and depth of character.... more

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Saruni Camp, Mara Conservation Area home > safari camps > saruni camp	+44 (0)1747 898104 about us contact us

Saruni Camp, Mara Conservation Area

For a start, Saruni has a very beautiful location. As you approach on the track that winds its way up from the plains,

As soon as you arrive at Saruni, the attention to detail that has gone into the basic design is plain to see.

Normally part of the package at Saruni is the manager and part owner, Ricardo Orizio,

Elsa's Kopje

Ol Malo

Rekero Tented Camp