The first thing you’ll notice upon arriving at Sarara Camp are the views. Surrounded by mountains and overlooking wildlife-rich forestland, dotted with riverbeds and Samburu communities, there is nothing quite like this view in the world.
While the infinity pool is the main focus of the lodge, it’s what lies just below that draws travellers here. Elephants often cluster below the pool at the camp watering hole. Their mere presence is an important part of the Sarara story.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the hills of the southern Mathews Range echoed with the blasts of poachers’ gunfire; by 1985, there were few elephants remaining in this remote wilderness where they once thrived. Ten years later, the Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust was established to protect elephants and local wildlife through an innovative, community conservation partnership, one of the first of its kind in Kenya. Soon after, Sarara Camp was created to help support Namunyak through ecotourism, generating economic opportunities for the Samburu community in return for their participation in wildlife protection efforts.
This conservation collaboration has become recognized as one of the most successful community conservation initiatives in Africa. Thousands of elephants have returned to the Mathews Range area and other species—including leopard, buffalo, and wild dog—are following.
But perhaps most importantly, this team of dedicated conservationists have successfully changed the attitudes of local communities toward wildlife, ensuring the protection of these magnificent creatures for generations to come.