As you leave the lush, fertile lands of Mount Kenya, you enter Samburu, a semi-arid region full of culture and tradition. Here, people, livestock, and wildlife walk side by side, sharing precious resources. The area is dotted with palm groves and coastal forests, creating a stunning backdrop in Samburu National Reserve.
Established in 1985, this 165km2 reserve is not only known for its scenic landscapes but also for incredible wildlife and fantastic opportunities to experience nature. Samburu is home to the Samburu people, a resilient community that has thrived in tough conditions for generations. They are proud of their culture and enjoy sharing it with visitors.
The Ewaso Nyiro River runs through the region, serving as its lifeblood. In addition to game drives, Samburu offers a chance to explore different landscapes and learn about the rich local culture. The park is compact and easy to navigate, with nearby community conservancies and reserves to explore as well. For all these reasons, Samburu is one of the best places to visit in Kenya. But because it’s in the north, it only sees a fraction of the visitors when compared to the parks on Kenya’s southern safari.
With its numerous game tracks, game drives activities are most rewarding in Samburu.
While it doesn’t have all the Big 5, it’s home to some rare and unique animals like the striped Grevy’s Zebra, the Reticulated Giraffe, regal Beisa Oryx and long-necked Gerenuk. These four together with the blue-legged Somali Ostrich make up the so-called “Samburu Special Five”. Besides those, Samburu is also renowned for its resident leopards, African painted wolves, Vulturine guineafowls, and even the rare and elusive striped hyenas.
The Ewaso Ngiro river is home huge Nile Crocodiles, Hippos, and the Critically Endangered African Pancake Tortoise. If you like slow travelling or don’t feel like doing another game drive, you can enjoy a guided walk, a camel trek, visit community-run elephant orphanage, immerse yourself in Samburu community life or explore the nearby Namunyak Conservancy to see the local “Singing Wells”.
As an aside, Samburu was one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness, made famous in the best-selling book and award-winning movie Born Free. The reserve is also home to Kamunyak, a lioness known for adopting several oryx calves in the early 2000s, a heartwarming story featured in the film Heart of a Lioness.
You can visit Samburu National Reserve at any time of the year, but the best wildlife viewing happens during the dry seasons, from June to October and December to March. The rainy months are usually April, May, and November.
Samburu National Reserve is easily accessible from Nairobi, Nakuru, or Mount Kenya via smooth, well-kept tarmac roads. If you’re driving from Nairobi, it’s a 322 km journey that usually takes around 7 hours. The best route is to join the A2 highway and head toward Archers Post.
For those coming from Nakuru, the distance is about 323 km, and the drive takes roughly 6 hours. It’s recommended to take the C83 road to Nyahururu, then switch to the B5, which connects to the A2 highway, leading you all the way to Archers Post. Just a heads-up, when renting vehicles in Kenya, travel beyond Archers Post is not permitted.
Samburu National Reserve belongs to a trio of fantastic parks strung out along the Ewaso Nyiro River, including Shaba and Buffalo Springs National Reserves. These parks share the same ecosystem, wildlife, and landscapes, so visiting all of them increases your chances of seeing what you’re hoping for.
Surrounding Samburu are several community-run conservancies that see very few visitors. While most of these conservancies are home to exclusive lodges and camps, you might be able to visit for a day. A bit further north, you’ll find the lush, wildlife-packed Matthews Range and the hiking trails of the Ndoto Mountains.
To the south, the Laikipia Plateau offers more conservancies, though many are off-limits to budget travelers. However, Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a fantastic exception, where you can see the Big Five (lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhino). Meru National Park is also a great addition to a northern safari.
Wild and remote, Samburu is the perfect combination of stark, untamed wilderness and luxury safari destination. There are plenty of accommodations to choose from inside Samburu National Reserve’s boundaries, but there are other options.
Some travelers stay in neighboring Buffalo Springs or Shaba National Reserves (both a two- to three-hour drive away). Combining a visit to Buffalo Springs and/or Shaba with Samburu is an excellent thing to do, although you’ll pay separate entry fees for each reserve. Here is our pick of the best-value lodges and camps in the area.
I recommend spending at least one full day in Samburu, aside from the travel days to and from the park. If you plan to visit Buffalo Springs, Shaba, and the nearby conservancies, each of these could easily take a full day to explore.
Ideally, spending a week here, with a side trip to the Matthews Range, would be perfect, giving you more time to really get to know the area. This would also increase your chances of spotting the unique wildlife of northern Kenya, like the Somali ostrich, Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, and gerenuk.
Another reason to stay as long as possible is that getting to Samburu takes time. Unless you’re flying in from another part of Kenye, the drive is long, so you don’t want to rush through it with just one day of sightseeing.
There aren’t as many tour options for Samburu as there are for other parks, but it’s still possible to find an affordable safari that includes the reserve. Most Samburu safaris cost between US$125 and US$350 per person per day.
This typically covers your guide, driver, vehicle, accommodation (including camping gear), game drives, meals, water, and some drinks. It might also include park entry fees (US$70 for adults, US$40 for children per day) and transfers.
If you opt for a budget camping safari, you might need to pitch in with camp chores. While most safaris offered by tour operators are standard packages, it’s sometimes possible to arrange a custom itinerary. This is trickier on a budget safari, but it can work if you can gather enough travelers to keep the overall costs low for everyone.
We will be happy to answer all your questions about highlights, accommodations and possible travel routes!
Since 2016, Greenway Nature Tours Africa has been offering 4×4 vehicle rentals, safari packages with accommodations, and guided tours for both individual and group travelers throughout East Africa, covering countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
The ideal time to visit Kenya is during the dry seasons, which run from June to September and December to February. These months provide the best weather for wildlife safaris, with less rainfall, making travel more comfortable and enjoyable.
