Borana Lodge

Borana Lodge sits on a hillside inside Borana Conservancy in Laikipia, at around six thousand five hundred feet above sea level, with Mount Kenya visible to the south. Below the lodge is a dam where elephant gather to bathe; lion and leopard move through the area at night. In 2014, Borana and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy removed the fence between them, forming a single landscape of ninety-two thousand acres. That landscape holds over one hundred black rhino and ninety-two white rhino — fourteen percent of Kenya's total rhino population.

The lodge has eight rooms across six cottages. Four stand-alone cottages are built into the hillside, each with a fireplace, en-suite bathroom with both shower and bath, and a verandah facing the valley. Two further cottages are configured for families, each with a double and a twin room sharing a sitting room and minibar; the most recent of these also has a private plunge pool.

Activities are run by trained Kenyan field guides and conservancy rangers. Game drives go out morning, afternoon, and after dinner. Each morning, rangers are required to locate every individual rhino on the conservancy; guests can join that tracking exercise on foot. Horse riding is available from two sets of stables — ex-polo ponies for experienced riders, quieter horses for beginners — and mountain bikes are available for the hills. Guided bush walks, anti-poaching deployment visits, and a trip to the Ngare Ndare forest on the southern boundary are all options.

The lodge has a pool, a spa, and communal dining. An airstrip transfer from Nanyuki is included.