Ol Ari Nyiro, Laikipia - Different places

Ol Ari Nyiro is a 100,000-acre (150 square mile) private paradise, wildlife and ecological conservation reserve in Laikipia, Kenya. It is home to Kuki Gallmann, best selling author of I Dreamed Of Africa, an autobiographical story of love and death set against the dramatic backdrop of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. 

Ol Ari Nyiro is an oasis of breathtaking beauty renowned for the variety of its landscapes, from open savannah to steep gorges, rolling valleys and sweeping plains, spectacular ridge top views of the Great Rift Valley, endless vistas of hills covered in wild sage and thorn trees.  The vegetation is dense Leleshwe bush (Tarchonanthus camphoratus), a camphor type indigenous tree of which the leaves have the most amazing aroma

The variety of plants, animals and terrain that you can walk among will take your breath away
The Forest of Enghelesha is the only indigenous and protected forest remaining in Laikipia, home to the last surviving troupes of the rare and endangered Colobus monkey, as well as over 400 species of birds and many rare and exotic plants.

With the Serengeti-Masai Mara admiting an unavoidable 150,000 visitors a year, Ol Ari Nyiro offers our visitors an experience of wildlife undisturbed and in solitude.

Ol Ari Nyiro is home to the largest population of undisturbed indigenous black rhino outside the National Parks, the largest population of Cape buffalo on private land in Kenya, herds of elephant, eland, waterbuck, and many lion, leopard and cheetah.

Safaris and tours led by professional guides can be taken on foot, on camel, on horseback, in a jeep, by helicopter or by plane. If you choose a walking or camel safari, trained camels with their traditionally dressed handlers will wait nearby to walk with you, carrying your picnics, drinks or breakfast to secluded romantic locations like the Moonlight Cottage, waterfalls or hot springs.

Ol Ari Nyiro has an entomologist, ornithologist, ethno botanist, rhino ecologist, all in residence, and all of whom are delighted to share their passion and knowledge with visitors on trips.

Ol Ari Nyiro’s renowned cuisine is a mixture of exotic Indian and African tastes and classic Italian gourmet dishes prepared by Italian-and Indian-trained chefs. Food is prepared from fresh, certified organic ingredients all grown in their gardens.

Some of the things you might like to try during your stay at Ol Ari Nyiro:

• Discover the wealth of plant and wildlife on a private walking safari
 
• Glimpse into the daily lives and culture of the elusive Pokot people .

• See first-hand the conservation activities of The Gallmann Memorial Foundation, and join in if you wish

• If Kuki is at home, meet her and hear her story

• Join reforestation activities and plant your own indigenous tree .

• Take a natural hot water spa in the luxury of a mineral rich thermal spring
amongst granite boulders and palm trees.

• Relax with an Ayurvedic massage using locally–extracted organically certified natural essential oils, from indigenous African plants.

• Swim beneath waterfalls in deep, clear waterfall rock-pools

• Go horse riding or camel-riding on a mini camel-safari to a bush picnic which keeps you in tune with the rhythms of nature.
        
• Fish in over sixty rain dams and streams, some of which are filled with delicious tilapia,
black bass and fresh water crayfish.

       
There is a  Retreat perched on the cliffs overlooking the spectacular Mukutan Gorge at the edge of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley.

Mukutan means ‘The Meeting’ and it is here that the fingers of the surrounding hills meet.
Three large traditional dwellings patterned after native African rondavels arranged around a central fireplace provide private and luxurious living for up to 6 people.

Each hut offers luxurious accommodations with a double bed (some rooms have 2), a fireplace, a private veranda overlooking the cliffs and a bathroom with sunken baths and handmade pottery basins.  Each is built of local stone, papyrus cedar and olive woods.

The rooms at Mukutan are dressed with antique Swahili, Lamu and Indian furniture chosen carefully over the years by Kuki Gallmann, textiles from around Africa and India clothe the sofas, beds and cushions.

There is also a spacious main living area with fireplace and breakfast verandah perched over the verdant hills from which one can hear the waterfall below and the calls of over 400 bird species as well as other animals which happen to pass by the salt-lick in the valley below.

For those lazy afternoons, an infinity pool has been created in between the rocks. It is fed by water from thermal springs below and has breathtaking views across the Mukutan gorge.

The Moonlight Cottage, a roofless cottage with a huge, hexagonal Star Bed, 12-foot across, ideal for romantic moonlit trysts and stargazing, lies next to the elephant lake near the Retreat.

The unique setting, the silence and the evocative sounds of Africa, make the Mukutan Retreat an exclusive hideaway for discriminate traveler's who wish to find a total communion with nature in simple yet sophisticated comfort.