SAFARIS | CAMPS & LODGES | IMPACT

This year, Reteti Elephant Sanctuary marks ten years of caring for Samburu's most vulnerable orphans. Born from a community's response to elephants lost to drought, conflict and poaching, Reteti has grown into East Africa's first community-owned elephant sanctuary entirely run by the Samburu people who founded it.

The sanctuary currently cares for 48 elephants. Since opening, it has returned 23 elephants to the wild and reunited more than 70 calves with their wild families.  Each one is raised alongside companions who become family, and tagged before release so the team can follow their journey back.

Talk to us About Visiting Reteti During Your Stay

A visit here is one of the most moving additions to your Saruni Samburu and Basecamp Samburu stay. You will be assigned a guardian to share the story behind each rescue and the work of raising them. You'll watch the calves return from their daily walk for feeding time, trunks reaching eagerly for their bottles which is a highlight for guests of every age. 

From Reteti, take a five-minute drive to the elephant rock art; a natural amphitheatre of shade where your guide lays out a picnic breakfast. Herds of elephants often graze past at a distance while you linger over your meal with nothing but birdsong and the wide Samburu sky for company.

Mt.Ololokwe:  The Sacred Peak Every Hiker Should Summit 

Sacred to the Samburu people and rising over the Northern Frontier, Mt. Ololokwe has a way of humbling anyone who sets out to summit it.

Our team took on the climb from the steep scrambles, the wishing stones hidden in the forest, to the four-hour push to the top and came back with a real account of what it takes to get there, and why the view earns every step.

Follow their journey up (and down) Mt. Ololokwe, and start planning your own.

Green Scene: From Farm to Plate

Across our camps, we tend 11 organic gardens, each shaped by the landscape and hands that grow it. Collectively, they supply 30–40% of the herbs and vegetables that make it to your plate; from fragrant coriander to sun-ripened tomatoes, picked hours before dinner.

No two gardens are the same; some grow in the shadow of Samburu's hills, others closer to the Mara's grasslands, each shaped by its own soil, climate and the community that cares for it. Ask, and our team will happily walk you through how the garden came to be when you visit.

We've Been Shortlisted, and We'd Love Your Vote!

We're proud to share that our camp Saruni Samburu has been shortlisted in not one but two categories at The Safari Awards 2027: Best Safari Property Location and Most Romantic Safari Property. If Samburu has ever felt like home to you, whether through a sunrise over the Kalama hills, a cheerful moment with the elephants of Reteti, or simply the warmth of our team, we'd be so grateful for your vote.

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