Remote and run by its own Samburu host, guide and chef, this exclusive-use safari house takes one family or group at a time and sits on a rocky escarpment in northern Kenya's Namunyak Conservancy. Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, Africa's first Indigenous-owned and run sanctuary, is a ten-minute walk away, so you can watch its keepers at work. Built from rock, timber and thatch and worked around the boulders, the house feels earthy and handmade, and its open-sided lounge looks across the Sarara Valley to the peaks of the Mathews Range. For those who've done the classic parks, it's a rare chance to have a corner of Samburu country to yourselves.
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Giant woven lampshades shaped like weaver-bird nests and Samburu goat bells hang from the steep thatch of the lounge, which opens straight onto the view. Rough stacked stone in rust and grey, a pale polished floor, cream sofas and rattan armchairs keep it earthy, and the cliff itself forms the back wall of the bar. Just below, a curved infinity pool sits on the boulders. Meals are planned around your group, using regional produce and honey from Samburu gatherers in the hills, with suppers round a fire on the cliff top.
Strung along the escarpment west of the lounge, the four suites each open onto a curved terrace under a pergola of stripped branches. Ochre-washed walls and panels of upright poles surround a carved timber headboard and a white mosquito net, and the front rolls back so the bed faces the mountains. Showers are outdoors, behind wavy ochre walls with a boulder built in. The family suite joins two en-suite bedrooms with a shared living space and a broad verandah over the valley, and the open-plan family room beneath the main living area sleeps four.
If you do one thing here, make it Reteti: one exclusive visit is included, and you'll watch the keepers bottle-feed the orphans (no touching, though). Game drives run day and night with your Samburu guide, wherever you like, and walks set off at sunrise with a packed breakfast. The bush ponies, some of which share a yard with giraffes and zebras, take beginners as well as experienced riders, and one ride is included. In the dry season, don't miss the Singing Wells, where herders sing their cattle down to water.
Floating in the infinity pool while elephants, some of them raised at Reteti and since returned to the wild, drink at the waterhole just below.
Fly by charter straight into Namunyak airstrip, minutes from the house, rather than taking a scheduled flight to Kalama (about 1.5 hours by road) or Lewa (about 3.5 hours).
Come for elephants, conservation and Samburu culture rather than big cats: wildlife is thinner here than in the Mara, so we'd pair it with a few nights in a classic big-game reserve.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Reteti House can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made Kenya trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended Kenya trips featuring Reteti House or get advice and suggestions from one of our Kenya specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Reteti House start from around $1.3K, or US$1.3K, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Hike, bike & ride through this remote, sparse and spectacular mountain range in northern Kenya.
