A nine-cottage family-run lodge in Kenya’s Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, with horseback safaris, camel trekking, and access to one of Africa’s most significant rhino populations.
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Lewa Wilderness sits at the base of Mount Kenya within the 62,000-acre Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, looking out over the Marania Valley with a river below that draws elephant, giraffe, rhino, and zebra to drink within view of the cottages.
Will and Emma Craig, the third generation of the family that has lived on this land since 1924, run Lewa Wilderness as the home it has always been, opening their lounge, dining table, and stables to guests rather than operating a conventional lodge.
The conservancy holds the full Big Five alongside the Samburu Special Five, with both black and white rhino present in numbers that make Lewa one of the most significant rhino destinations in Africa.
In 1983, David and Delia Craig set aside 5,000 acres of their working ranch as a rhino sanctuary in response to Kenya’s poaching crisis, which had reduced the country’s black rhino population from 20,000 to fewer than 300 in two decades. By 1995 the entire ranch had converted, becoming the nonprofit Lewa Wildlife Conservancy that exists today.
Meals at Lewa Wilderness are shared around a long banquet table in the open air dining room, prepared from ingredients grown in a five-acre organic garden and from livestock raised on the property. Guests can dine privately on request. The main sitting room, with its fireplace and bar, operates as the social heart of the lodge before and after meals.
A salt water swimming pool sits at the centre of the property, alongside a tennis court, table tennis, a bush gym, and a yoga deck. Massages can be arranged for guests who want to recover after a day on horseback or in the saddle of a camel.
Game drives operate in a fleet that includes some of the first electric safari vehicles introduced in Africa, with night drives also available. Horseback safaris draw on a stable of around 40 horses suited to both novice and experienced riders, with English saddles provided.
Camel trekking with a Maasai guide covers ground that a vehicle does not reach. Guided walks follow the riverbed or climb into the hills depending on the guest’s preference and fitness.
Flights in East Africa’s only open cockpit biplane, piloted by a member of the Craig family with over 5,000 hours of flying experience in the area, provide a view of the conservancy from above.
Visits to the conservancy’s anti-poaching tracker dogs, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy headquarters, and the Il Ngwesi community can all be arranged, alongside excursions to the Ngare Ndare Forest for treetop canopy walks and swimming below a waterfall.
Six cottages sit a short distance below the main gardens, each with one spacious en suite bedroom, some with bathtubs, a lounge area with a fireplace, and a private veranda overlooking the Marania Valley. Each cottage is unique in shape and layout, built from stone with polished floors, chunky wooden furniture, and woven carpets made on site.
One hillside cottage is configured as a family room, with two en suite bedrooms, a central lounge with fireplace, and a private outdoor deck with its own plunge pool.
Three larger cottages sit in the lawns near the main house, each with vaulted thatched roofs and two bedrooms, one with a king bed and the other with two queen beds, joined by a shared lounge with a fireplace. Both bedrooms have their own bathroom.
These cottages are suited to families or groups travelling together, with the proximity to the main house offering easy access to communal areas.
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