Samburu

Samburu National Reserve sits in the remote semi-arid north of Kenya, where the landscape is raw, dramatic, and unlike anything found in the more-visited southern parks.

Dry rocky outcrops rise above thornscrub plains crossed by the Ewaso Ng'iro River, a lifeline that draws extraordinary concentrations of wildlife to its banks throughout the year. 

Samburu is famous for its Rare Five: five species found almost nowhere else in the world.

•  The reticulated giraffe, the most strikingly patterned giraffe subspecies, towers over the acacias in slow-motion elegance.
• The Grevy's zebra, the world's most endangered zebra, stands out from its common cousin with its narrow stripes and large rounded ears.
• The Beisa oryx cuts a dramatic silhouette with its long straight horns.
• The long-necked gerenuk stands on its hind legs to browse from branches beyond the reach of all other antelope.
•  And the Somali ostrich, blue-legged and vivid, strides across the dry plains. 

Beyond the Rare Five, Samburu supports large elephant herds, healthy lion and leopard populations, cheetah, and one of the finest assortments of dry-country birds in Africa. Game drives along the riverbanks are thrilling at any time of year, with predators and prey converging at the water under skies that seem to stretch without end.  Samburu attracts travellers who have already explored Kenya's southern parks and want something more remote, more exclusive, and more unexpected.