Laragai House

Straddling the Equator and stretching from the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya to the eastern rim of the Great Rift Valley, the Laikipia plateau is one of Africa’s most exciting and exclusive wilderness safari destinations – with abundant wildlife, spectacular scenery, extraordinary cultural and bio-diversity and some of East Africa’s most successful nature and game conservancies.

Ranching, conservation and high-end tourism go hand-in-hand, with few of the constraints that often apply in Kenya’s national parks and reserves.  Night game drives, bush walks, bike tours, horse-riding, camel treks, scenic flights and helicopter safaris are a few the exhilarating pursuits on hand in the extensive private ranches and conservancies that make up much of the region.

Laikipia hosts a wealth and diversity of wildlife second only to the Masai Mara in Kenya. It has significant populations of predators and the “Big Five”, with over 50% of Kenya’s rhinos, thousands of elephants, about 25% of the world’s endangered Grevy’s Zebra, and an increasing population of rare Wild Dogs. The region is home to more at-risk species than anywhere else in East Africa.

The 32,000-acre Borana Conservancy sits just 27 kilometres north of the Equator, 40 kilometres north west of Mount Kenya and 2000 metres above sea level on the Eastern edges of the Laikipia Plateau. Borana is a non-profit organisation and all conservation fees paid by visitors are invested into the sustainable conservation of land and wildlife and into building local livelihoods.

With arid landscapes to the North and ancient indigenous forests surrounding Mount Kenya to the South, Borana Conservancy is a convergence of habitats where a wide variety of wildlife thrives, with large numbers of Buffalo, Eland, Hartebeest and sizeable herds of plains game. Rare Reticulated Giraffe are commonly seen nibbling the Acacia trees, while the cooler forests shelter Bushbuck, Colobus Monkey and the endangered Patas Monkey.

Borana is home to over 50 species of mammal including some of the world’s rarest and most endangered animals, such as Wild Dog, Leopard, Cheetah, Elephant, Lion and Grevy’s Zebra.  Borana is an incredible conservation success story – the fences were removed between Borana and the neighbouring Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in 2014, forming the Lewa-Borana Landscape – one of East Africa’s largest continuous rhino habitats at over 90,000 hectares and home to large and increasing numbers of Black and White Rhino.

For keen ornithologists, Borana is home to over 350 species of birds, including a variety of Eagles, Vultures and the stunningly bright Superb Starling.  Borana also is host to a substantial organic farm, a working cattle ranch and state-of-the-art abattoir and butchery.  Using holistically-raised livestock as a rangeland management tool, the cattle play a vital role in the conservancy’s success story.

Getting to Sirai House

• Scheduled Flights – there are daily scheduled flights by Safarilink and Air Kenya from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to the neighbouring Lewa Downs Conservancy. From there the game drive to Sirai House takes approximately one hour.
• Private Flights – charter flights land at Borana Conservancy’s private airstrip which is just 20 minutes’ game drive from Sirai House.
• Helicopters – Sirai House has its own helicopter landing pad and can arrange helicopter transfers.
• By Road – Borana is a four-hour drive from Nairobi and a one-hour drive from Nanyuki Town.

tbc