Il Ngwesi Eco Lodge — Kenya’s Only 100% Community-Owned Safari Lodge, Star Beds & Northern Laikipia | 4 Days 3 Nights
Luxury Tours
Luxury Safaris
Il Ngwesi Eco Lodge, Il Ngwesi Group Ranch
Luxury Private Hotels & Lodges
There is only one lodge in Kenya like this. Built in 1996 entirely from local materials, designed by architect Simon du Fresne to sit open to the bush on the edge of the Mararoi hills in northern Laikipia, Il Ngwesi Eco Lodge is 100% owned, managed, and staffed by the Mukogodo Maasai community of the Il Ngwesi Group Ranch. Every member of staff was born on this land. Every decision about the lodge is made by the community. And every dollar you spend here goes directly back into the conservation and livelihoods of the people who have stewarded this 24,000-acre conservancy for generations.
It has won the British Airways Best Eco-tourism Destination Award. It has been named Best Self-Catering Camp by Travel Magazine Kenya. It received the Equator Initiative Award at the World Summit in Johannesburg. And for the guests who stay here, including Tripadvisor reviewers who consistently call it one of the best lodges they have ever experienced anywhere in Africa. The awards matter far less than the reality: elephants walking past the waterhole below your veranda. Giraffes grazing on the hillside as you eat breakfast. The Milky Way overhead from a four-poster star bed on an extended veranda, with nothing between you and the northern Laikipia sky.
Six spacious bandas, each different, each designed in the open-to-the-bush style that makes Il Ngwesi unique — walls that fold back entirely, views that open onto the conservancy in every direction, and in two of the six rooms, a four-poster star bed on an extended veranda where guests can sleep under the stars. Two rooms are connected by a rope bridge. One overlooks the waterhole directly. There is an infinity pool that hangs over the valley with the elephant plains stretching toward Samburu below it. A waterhole hide tucked down the hillside allows you to watch animals drinking from just a few metres away in complete silence.
This is not the most polished lodge in Kenya. It is something rarer — a place with a genuine soul, built from the ground up by people who love this land, where the warmth is real and the wildlife is extraordinary and the experience of sleeping under the northern Laikipia stars is unlike anything else you will find in East Africa.
Details
Summary information about this package
Il Ngwesi Eco Lodge, Il Ngwesi Group Ranch
Laikipia
Couples
Available
Flying, Road
All Ages (For Kids & Adults)
Full-board
Included
All year round
Costs
Kenyan Citizen
Ksh. 235000 per person sharing
Non-resident
$ 1810 per person sharing
Transport
Options: Flying, Road
Duration and Timing
No
Yes
About Package
More information about this package
Kenya's only 100% community-owned luxury safari lodge: Built in 1996 and owned, managed, and staffed entirely by members of the Mukogodo Maasai community, Il Ngwesi Lodge is the only facility of its kind in Kenya — where every staff member was born on the conservancy, every management decision is made by the community, and 100% of lodge revenue goes directly back into conservation and community livelihoods.
Six open-to-the-bush bandas — including two with four-poster star beds: Each of the six bandas is individually designed, with walls that fold entirely back to open onto the bush, offering different perspectives across the Mararoi hills and Il Ngwesi valley. Two bandas have extended verandas with four-poster star beds — where guests sleep under the Milky Way with the sounds of the northern Laikipia night around them. Request these rooms specifically at the time of booking.
Infinity pool over the elephant valley and waterhole hide: The infinity pool hangs over the edge of the hill with the valley and elephant plains stretching toward Samburu below — arguably the most dramatic pool view of any Laikipia lodge. A discreet waterhole hide tucked down the hillside allows you to watch elephants, giraffe, and plains game drinking from just metres away in complete silence.
Game drives in both Il Ngwesi Conservancy and Lewa Wildlife Conservancy: For stays of three nights or more, a full-day game drive through the famous Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is included — one of Kenya's most important rhino and northern species sanctuaries. Il Ngwesi's own conservancy offers exclusive, uncrowded game drives across 24,000 acres of northern Laikipia bush.
Award-winning conservation model — British Airways, Equator Initiative, Travel Magazine: Il Ngwesi has been recognised internationally as one of the most successful community-led conservation models in Africa. The lodge pioneered a community conservancy model that has since been replicated across East Africa, and a new $20 million investment agreement with Conservation Equity Limited will expand the conservancy's reach and impact significantly in coming years.
Rope bridge rooms, waterhole views, and the most personalised safari in Laikipia: The manager joins guests for meals to customise every day of the stay. Game drives, bush walks, and cultural visits are tailored entirely to your preferences and schedule — a level of personal attention that larger lodges simply cannot match.
Package Itinerary
The package itinerary is as follows
4 Days 3 Nights — Il Ngwesi Eco Lodge Luxury Honeymoon Safari with Baecation Adventures Kenya
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Day 1: Nairobi to Il Ngwesi — Flying into the Northern Frontier
Transfer to Nairobi Wilson Airport.
Board the scheduled flight to Lewa Downs Airstrip — approximately 40 minutes, with Mount Kenya growing through the window.
Free lodge transfer from Lewa Downs to Il Ngwesi — approximately 45 minutes through the conservancy gate.
Arrive at Il Ngwesi and be welcomed by the community team in traditional red robes.
Check in to your banda — star bed veranda set up for the evening if requested.
Welcome drinks, flowers, and banda decorated on arrival.
Afternoon waterhole hide visit — sit in silence as elephants come to drink metres below you.
Sundowner on the infinity pool deck overlooking the valley.
Full board dinner in the main Il Laikipiak Hall with panoramic northern Laikipia views.
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Day 2: Game Drive, Maasai Cultural Village & Star Bed Night
Pre-dawn wake up for the early morning game drive in Il Ngwesi Conservancy — exclusive, uncrowded, driven by guides who have known these animals since childhood.
Return to lodge for full breakfast.
Mid-morning guided Maasai cultural visit to the Il Ngwesi community manyatta — learn about the Mukogodo Maasai's 30-year journey from livestock farmers to conservation pioneers, watch traditional beadwork being made, and understand the community model that has made Il Ngwesi a global conservation benchmark.
Return to lodge for lunch.
Afternoon bush walk with an armed Maasai ranger — tracking animals on foot through the northern Laikipia bush.
Infinity pool as the sun sets over the Samburu plains.
Your first night sleeping on the star bed veranda — four-poster bed under the Milky Way, the sounds of the conservancy around you.
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Day 3: Lewa Conservancy Full Day Safari & Private Bush Dinner
Early morning game drive in Il Ngwesi Conservancy.
Full breakfast at the lodge.
Full-day game drive in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (included for 3-night stays) — one of Kenya's most important rhino and wildlife sanctuaries, home to black and white rhino, Grevy's zebra, and the Big Five.
Picnic lunch in the field.
Return to Il Ngwesi in the late afternoon.
Evening: your private candlelit dinner — set up on the veranda or in the bush below the waterhole, with sparkling wine and the northern Laikipia stars overhead.
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Day 4: Final Game Drive & Return to Nairobi
Pre-dawn final game drive at first light.
Full breakfast at the lodge.
Lodge transfer back to Lewa Downs Airstrip.
Flight back to Nairobi Wilson.
Your Baecation Adventures driver meets you and transfers you home.
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+ Inclusions
Nairobi transfer to/from Wilson Airport
Return flights Nairobi Wilson–Lewa Downs Airstrip
Free lodge transfer Lewa Downs–Il Ngwesi–Lewa Downs
3 nights accommodation at Il Ngwesi Eco Lodge (star bed banda on request)
All meals, soft drinks, tea & coffee throughout
All game drives in Il Ngwesi Conservancy
Full-day Lewa Conservancy game drive (3-night inclusion)
Guided Maasai cultural manyatta visit
Guided bush walk with armed ranger
Waterhole hide access
Private candlelit dinner with sparkling wine
Welcome flowers & honeymoon banda decoration
Baecation Adventures coordinator support throughout
- Exclusions
Il Ngwesi Conservancy fees ($65 PP per day — charged separately)
Alcoholic beverages (not included in lodge rate)
Beading workshop (own account)
Beauty treatments (own account)
Transfer from Isiolo ($250) or Timau ($350) (if using road access)
Personal expenses (tips, souvenirs)
Travel insurance
Gratuities for lodge staff and guides
What To Carry
Neutral safari clothing (khaki, beige, olive)
A warm layer — northern Laikipia nights are cool
Soft bags only — 15kg limit for the Lewa Downs flight
Light cotton clothing for warm afternoons
Swimwear for the infinity pool
Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses
Binoculars — essential for Lewa game drive
Camera with extra batteries
Personal medications
Small cash for alcoholic drinks and personal purchases
Valid ID or passport
Book This Package
Reach out:
For enquiries or bookings, write to [email protected]. We’ll revert within 20 minutes during business hours.