Laikipia and Ol Pejeta

Overview

Laikipia is a plateau of roughly 9,500 square kilometres north-west of Mount Kenya that has become the most interesting conservation story in the country. It contains no national park. Instead, former cattle ranches and community land have been converted into private and community conservancies that now hold Kenya's second-largest wildlife population after the Mara, including around half of the country's black rhino and the largest population of Grevy's zebra and Jackson's hartebeest anywhere. Ol Pejeta is the best known: 360 square kilometres running cattle and wildlife together, home to the world's last two northern white rhinos and to a chimpanzee sanctuary. Lewa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Borana next door form another large contiguous block. Because these are private land, the rules that constrain national parks do not apply - night drives, walking safaris, horse riding, mountain biking and tracking on foot with rangers are all normal here, and vehicle numbers are strictly limited.