Ashnil Samburu is strung along the shaded banks of the Ewaso Nyiro, under a dense stand of doum palms, with the great flat-topped bulk of Ol Olokwe mountain filling the view behind. It is one of the more visually striking settings in northern Kenya — genuinely different from the rolling green of the Mara.
Nineteen tents, each with its own decked terrace looking directly onto the river. Elephant come down to drink and cross in front of camp, so a good deal of the wildlife watching here happens from your own chair rather than from a vehicle.
The reserve is home to the “Samburu Special Five” — Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich and the long-necked gerenuk. None of them occur in the Mara or Amboseli. If a client has already done a Kenya safari and thinks they have seen it, this is the answer.
Nineteen luxury tents spread along the riverbank rather than clustered together.
Samburu is hot and dry year-round and does not follow the migration calendar, so game viewing is consistent rather than seasonal. Wildlife concentrates on the river, which makes sightings reliable.
June to October and January to February are the driest and best for photography. The reserve gets genuinely hot in the middle of the day — plan on early starts and a long lunch break.
Being straight with you: this property is not currently a default in any of our fixed packages. We contract it directly and build it in on request. Any of these itineraries can be re-costed around it:
Comparing options? Every lodge we book is on the accommodations page. We would rather put you somewhere that suits you than somewhere that pays us more.
Tell us your budget and dates and we will put two or three Samburu options side by side, honestly compared.
