Journey to the vast and untouched northern regions of Kenya. Experience the magical scenery ranging from mountains and hills; Jade Sea; white salt pans of Chalbi, emerald green montane forest of Mt. Marsabit and the beauty of Samburu

6 days of eye opening travel that takes us across wildly different landscapes and sceneries in a land cruiser

Info at a glance:

• Day 1: Leave Nairobi, Ololokwe photos, Ngurunit rock slide (if weather allows), stay at Ndotto Camp
• Day 2: early morning Kilabunyo hill hike (optional), visit Turkana Wind Power, Lake Turkana sundowner swimming, stay at Palm Shade Resort at Loiyangalani
• Day 3: Turkana museum, Horr Gudha Oasis, Sand dune visit, stay in Kalacha
• Day 4: Kalacha oasis visit, Chalbi desert drive, Marsabit park tour, stay at Bongole Resort 1.5km outside the park
• Day 5: Samburu national reserve safari, stay at Umoja Womens camp Archers post
• Day 6: Buffalo springs national reserve safari, swimming in the wild, return to Nairobi

Itinerary

Day 1: Ngurunit

• Early departure from Nairobi at 5am
• Washroom breaks along the way as needed, max 10 min per break
• Have lunch along the way around noon – you’ll need to carry packed lunch
• Short photo session at Mt. Ololokwe
• Expect to get to Laisamis around 1:30pm or so
• The road from Laisamis to Ngurunit is not tarmacked – please take note. It is a rough road and our speed will be reduced while the ride could get bumpy
• Expect to arrive at Ngurunit at our camp around 3:30pm – quickly freshen up, stow luggage away in our rooms
• Walk to the famous Ngurunit rock slide where we will spend the rest of the afternoon. You’ll need your swimming gear for this. We’ll visit if water is present. The walk is about 2.5km one way, so 5km in total.
• Return to the camp by 6:30, freshen up, have dinner

 

 

Day 2: Loiyangalani – Lake Turkana

• For those interested, we will do an early morning hike at a nearby hill called Kilabunyo from 4:30am
• The hill is about 2km from the camp and the hill itself rises from 750m ASL to 1085m ASL with a steepness of 35% in places. It is a steep hike but short as well
• Our aim is to catch the sunrise from the top of the hill as the first rays reach the surrounding hills and valleys
• The hill part of the hike is 3 km, 1.5km going up and 1.5km going down.
• Hiking shoes, hiking pole will be needed as well as enough water
• Once the hike is over, we’ll be driven back to the camp, freshen up, have breakfast and then depart the camp at 9:00am
• We’ll drive from Ngurunit to Loiyangalani via South Horr and the Lake Turkana wind station
• We’ll take breaks for photos at scenic locations including the wind station. It will get quite hot and dusty and the roads also get quite bumpy
• Expect to arrive at Loiyangalani at our hotel and have late lunch, then freshen up
• Drive down to Lake Turkana for an evening swim up to sunset time. You’ll need your swimming gear here
• Return to the hotel at 7pm or so for dinner

 

 

 

 

 

Day 3: North Horr, Kalacha

• We’ll have breakfast and then leave by around 7:30am
• We’ll visit the Turkana museum for a bit of history as well as the views of the lake
• Our route will hug the shoreline for a while and then turn towards North Horr. We may do some bird watching if time allows
• Along the way to North Horr, we’ll pass Horr Gudha oasis where we can walk for a bit.
• On arriving at North Horr, we’ll have late lunch and then a short rest
• In the afternoon from 3:00pm, we’ll visit the nearby sand dune up to around 4:30pm
• You can walk to the top of the sand dune, slide down, run up
• Once done with the sand dune, we’ll drive to Kalacha to spend the night – the roads are still quite rough

 

 

 

 

Day 4: Chalbi, Mt. Marsabit

• We’ll have early breakfast and then depart by 7:30am
• Our journey will take us across the Chalbi region famous for it’s salt pans and flat landscapes. At a suitable location, we can take a stop for photos and experience the salt pan (if conditions allow)
• Towards Marsabit, we will finally return to tarmacked roads
• Once we arrive in Marsabit town, we will head to a local restaurant for lunch
• From 1:30pm, the rest of the day will be spent inside Mt. Marsabit National park where we will get to see first hand Lake Paradise and the most amazing forest scenery
• Mt. Marsabit also hosts wildlife species including the rare Grevy’s Zebra
• After exiting Mt. Marsabit at 6pm, we’ll head to our hotel for dinner and rest
• Dinner at the hotel from 8:00pm or so

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 5: Samburu

• In the morning, we’ll have an early breakfast and then check out by 7:30 for a drive to Archers Post
• Once we arrive at Archer’s post, we’ll have an early lunch next to the river, stow away our luggage in our rooms and then head to Samburu national reserve for an afternoon safari from 2pm to 6pm
• Samburu has some of the best wildlife sightings of the north, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants and the unique 5
• Dinner will be at the camp and this will be our final night outside Nairobi

 

Day 6: Samburu

• In the morning, we’ll have a very early breakfast and check out by 6:30am
• We’ll head to Buffalo Springs for a quick morning safari
• Our main highlight will be the Buffalo Springs pool and springs where we will enjoy the cool waters in the wild
• Our departure from Buffalo Springs will be around 11am and then begins our drive back to Nairobi
• Lunch can either be had at Isiolo or Nanyuki
• We expect to be back by 7pm or so, thus ending our safari

 

Cost coverage:

• Transport by land cruiser from Nairobi to all regions and back to Nairobi
• Rooms at Ngurunit, Loiyangalani, Kalacha, Marsabit, Archers Post on sharing basis
• All meals except for lunch on day 1, day 4 and day 6
• All entry fees at relevant areas for Kenyans
• Light snacks on day 1 and emergency water refill

Notes:

• This is our first time organising this trip and a few issues might be encountered
• The timings during the trip are an estimate and this may change depending on road conditions
• Weather is expected to be warm and sunny for most of the trip but we’ll advise closer to the date
• Our plan may change closer to the date depending on local conditions and time available
• This is not a luxury trip nor are any of the camps/hotels considered luxury. Some are very basic