An intimate Eco
Lodge located in the heart of 15,000 acres of private land.
El Karama Lodge is the closest eco lodge situated on private
wildlife property to Nairobi. It is the model safari destination
for those seeking seclusion and to discover the freedom and
beauty of Laikipia.
Accommodation:
Riverside cottages or ’bandas’ made from stone, thatch and
canvas. Built using local materials and with as little impact as
possible – NEMA approved and currently undergoing an eco rating.
Both Murray and his mother Lavinia are extremely artistic and
therefore the lodge is unique in its design and full of quirky
artwork in the form of oil paintings of El Karama’s landscape,
painted stones, plaster casts of animals tracks and stone age
hand axes found by the family on walks.
4 Bandas – all with their own verandas – perfect for couples
1 Rondavel – ideal for families
1 upstream cottage – ideal for families
Accommodates a total of 20 pax.
Lit with LED solar lighting and supplemented with kerosene bush
lanterns; the whole camp runs on solar electricity including
water heating systems for baths and showers.
All ensuite bathrooms (except Rondavel) with flushing toilets
and large stone baths all with open views of the bush.
C
entral
mess area with a large stone fire place, open on one side
overlooking the river and a salt lick, open plan dining area,
bar and reading area.
Rustic style; walls adorned with Lavinia Grant paintings and
stone art, sheep’s wool love rugs on the sofas from Borana and
soft furnishings by Laikipia based Jane Mcleod and local social
enterprise Mitumbaa Art.
Our new shop – opening in Dec 2010 will offer a combination of
affordable art, gifts, jewllery and souvenirs – all from the
Laikipia community.
H
istory
of the Lodge
The lodge started in the 1970’s as simple camp for hunters. Guy
Grant built thatch and pole shelters under which simple canvas
tents were pitched when needed by his guests. After hunting
became illegal, the family opened the bandas’ up to tourism –
still keeping them as thatch roofs with tents underneath, it
remained a simple bush camp for self catering, mostly resident
families to enjoy. In 2000, Murray Grant, the son, invested his
energies in building the bandas up into a small and intimate
bush lodge. Today, it continues to evolve into a pretty and
comfortable riverside eco lodge. Run by Murray and his wife
Sophie, the lodge now offers full board accommodation and a
large number of wildlife and ranching activities. El Karama is
still a place to come for adventure; the Grants encourage
activities like walking with their rangers, camping, game drives
and night drives as well as farm visits to see the cattle in
their bomas, at the dip, being inspected, being milked and other
insights into the daily life of a working ranch. The lodge is
hosted by their team of local staff, many of whom built the
lodge with Murray in 2000 and have lived at the ranch most of
their lives and overseen by Murray and Sophie.
Activities
• Day and
night game drives
•
Fantastic horse safaris with El Karama’s own horses
•
Walking safaris with ranch trackers
•
Fishing in the Ewaso Nyiro river (please contact us re:
licenses)
•
Artist’s retreat
•
Camel Rides
•
Fly camping
•
Bird Watching
Read
More about El Karama ranch
