Saruni Mara

Located in the far north of the Mara North Conservancy, Saruni Mara is a stylish and unfenced bush lodge with six individual cottage-villas. Unlike most other properties in the Mara’s conservancies, it is built with a degree of permanence, setting it apart from the numerous tented camps found nearby.

A sister lodge to the equally stylish Saruni Samburu, Saruni Mara is quite a drive north of the other camps in the Mara North Conservancy. To some it is a remote location, far from the main national reserve where the river crossings inside the Masaai Mara National Reserve but to others, it is a delightful retreat in the remote northern side of a conservancy away from the maddening crowds.

The Mara North Conservancy is one of the oldest of the Mara’s conservancies and, taken as a whole, has the most camps. Yet Saruni Mara offers one a quiet first game drive as there are few other vehicles around to interrupt game sightings. The camp is also located near a small village, which gives a stay here a more rounded experience than that of just wildlife. Each day you pass by a community – and in doing so learn a little about the way of life here. A winding road takes you from the flat plains of the Mara North Conservancy up to the lodge itself, which has a high vantage point. As you approach, you can marvel at how both the rooms and the main area are individually cantilevered out from the hillside.

The main area has an almost cottage-like appearance, with dark wooden beams running through white-washed plastered walls and areas of exposed stone along the back and sides of the building, and a high thatched roof that adds to the bright and breezy feel. A stone bench scattered with cushions offers a place to sit during the day, while a softer arrangement of chairs and sofas face a fire that is lit on cool evenings. The large dining table is made from old railway sleepers full of its original knots and holes. Communal meals are served here, with lovely old-fashioned silverware giving a faintly colonial feel to the dining experience.

The six spacious cottages at Saruni Mara are set either side of the main area, and built in the same country farmhouse style. Each is very comfortably furnished to reflect a slightly different theme but otherwise are broadly the same.

*For a full list of available activities, the best time of the year to visit, and any other relevant enquiries, please contact a Sister Hippo Travel Consultant!