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Best Travel Guide To Ol Pejeta Conservancy Wildlife In Kenya
Best Travel Guide To Ol Pejeta Conservancy Wildlife In Kenya
Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya; is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, and home to two of the world's last remaining northern white rhinos. It is the only place in Kenya to see chimpanzees, in a sanctuary established to rehabilitate animals rescued from the black market. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a 360 sq. km (140 sq. mi) non-profit wildlife conservancy in Central Kenya. It is situated on the equator west of Nanyuki, between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. Established in 1988, originally as a cattle farm, Ol Pejeta has developed into a wildlife sanctuary and is an important conservancy protecting endangered species.
Ol Pejeta is home to the last two remaining northern white rhinos in the world (both female), and a sanctuary for over 165 critically endangered black rhinos. It's a great place to add to your itinerary if you are heading up to Northern Kenya to places like Samburu National Reserve and Lake Turkana. The reserve is also close to Mount Kenya, the second-tallest mountain in Africa and one of Africa's best hiking destinations. So Ol Pejeta is worth visiting
The conservancy is home to Africa’s ‘Big Five’ that’s lions, buffalos, elephants, rhinos, leopards, as well as endangered species like the African wild dog, cheetah and oryx, Grevy’s zebra, Beisa oryx, and Jackson’s hartebeest plus giraffes, baboons, hippos, and hyenas among others.
The endangered species enclosure is the only area of the conservancy, that is fenced off, and it’s where white and black rhinos are monitored around the clock to protect them from poaching. The Grevy’s zebra and Jackson’s wildebeest are also kept in the endangered species enclosure. Poaching and loss of habitat have massively reduced their numbers, and they now need urgent protection.
Visitors can enjoy night game drives in Ol Pejeta, allowing them the opportunity to spot the nocturnal creatures that roam the grasslands of the park. Ol Pejeta has fitted a few lions with tracking collars to help rangers establish the pride’s location and also keep them safe from poachers as they can wander around an entire 360 sq.km range. Visitors can join rangers to track the lions between 06:30-08:30 am and 3:30-5:30 pm.
The main tourist activities in Ol Pejeta include lion tracking and endangered species tours, walking tours down the Ewaso Nyiro river where visitors can spot hippos that come to the shores for sunshine, nature walks where visitors enjoy meandering through various indigenous plants used by local communities for medicine and cooking.
Tourists can also visit Sweet Water’s chimpanzee sanctuary home to orphaned chimps since 1993, and it has provided a natural environment to the non-indigenous species on the island within the park. Chimpanzees that arrive at the conservancy are nursed to health and later released, and Ol Pejeta is the only place in Kenya where chimps can be found and it’s open daily between 07:00 am-18: 30 pm.
It also operates a successful livestock program, which serves to benefit local pastoralists and wildlife. Through the conservancy's community development program, Ol Pejeta provides funding to surrounding communities to aid health, education, and water and infrastructure projects.
Ol Pejeta is the best place to see rhinos in Kenya and has the most activities available of all the parks and conservancies in Kenya, including game drives, mountain biking, horse riding, lion tracking, running with rangers, cycling, and community visits
Accommodation is readily available including the Ol Pejeta House, which is located in a private and tranquil area of the conservancy. There are only a few rooms available, along with two private swimming pools, Kicheche Laikipia Camp, a luxurious camp that has won various awards for its conservation efforts, donating 25% of its turnover to conservation and community projects, and Porini Rhino Camp hidden behind a small isolated forest of acacia trees. The camp is eco-friendly, nestled into a pretty valley - it is a secluded and peaceful retreat.
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