Sarara Treehouses is a tented camp set high in the trees of an old forest, at the foot of Warges, the highest peak in northern Kenya’s Mathews Range. Run by the Samburu in the Namunyak Conservancy, about 20 minutes’ drive from the airstrip, it gives you two landscapes in one: montane forest behind camp for hikes, and dry plains below for drives. Canvas tents rise on stilts, linked by raised walkways with twisted-branch railings, and the thatched lounge and infinity pool look over a waterhole from the hilltop. It’s rustic and a little adventurous, and waking to birdsong with elephants padding about beneath your tent is what you’ll remember...
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On the highest point of camp, the lounge sits under a tall thatched roof, open at the sides to the view. Big boulders form the back wall, branches are set into the others, and the colours are creams, fawns and forest greens. White sofas and a well-stocked bar fill one end, and a long communal table the other, for meals of regional produce with Samburu influences. Just below, the infinity pool looks over the waterhole to the jagged Mathews Range and Warges, one of the Samburu’s seven sacred mountains.
Timber platforms about five metres up, above elephant height, carry the eight tents, with four close to the lounge and four deeper in the forest, each with its own outlook. Inside, a pale wall inlaid with dark, twisting branches frames a live-edge timber bedhead, and cream curtains are tied back from mesh fronts that open onto a daybed heaped with white cushions. Showers are outdoors, behind a curving sand-ochre wall topped with a branch, and two tents joined by their own walkway share a veranda, sleeping four.
Straight from camp, you can hike into the Mathews Range for ancient cycads and colobus monkeys, or walk an hour to a flat-rock lookout, spotting birds as you go. Down on the plains, you’ll head out on day and night drives with a Samburu guide, and your first horse ride is included, whatever your experience. So is one visit to Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, a 45-minute drive, to see orphaned elephants fed from a viewing platform. Or stay put by the pool and watch the waterhole.
Stretch out on your balcony daybed, up in the canopy, and watch elephants browsing beneath you.
If you have time for two Sarara camps, pair a few nights here with Sarara Camp, 20 minutes’ drive away, for the contrast between this forest and its open hillside.
About 70 steep, uneven steps link the main area with the tents, so you’ll need to be reasonably fit. And because the tents are raised, children should be six or older.
Start with a recommended trip or create one from scratch
Sarara Treehouses 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 Sarara Treehouses 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 Sarara Treehouses 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.
