Ol pejeta conservancy is found in central Kenya’s Laikipia County a distance of 209.6 kilometres from Nairobi. It is 364 Km² in size and located on the equator west of Nanyuki,town between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. It’s to conserve wildlife, provide a sanctuary for great apes, and generate income through wildlife tourism and complementary enterprises for re-investment in conservation and community development. The Conservancy hosts the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa making it one of the best wildlife safari destinations in Kenya with a population of over 100 black rhinos. It also houses the two remaining northern white rhino in the world, who were moved from Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic. The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is situated here which provides a haven for orphaned, abandoned, and rescued chimpanzees. It is the only place in Kenya where chimpanzees can be seen making it one of the dreams kenya wildlife safari destinations. The Conservancy is host to the Big five game animals among a large selection of other African animals, which makes it a popular safari destination.
The best time to visit
The best time to visit Ol pejeta conservancy is during the dry season of June to October.
There is a short rainy season in November and December which makes plants to bloom, and it’s a good time to see migratory birds.
From January to March is another dry season, and the flowers will be in bloom following the previous short rains – this time of year makes for great time for photography. The long rainy season takes place in April and May
Entry fee
Adults child
Citizen kshs 1400 kshs 650
Residents kshs 2600 kshs 1300
Non residents 90USD 45USD
Students kshs 350
East African and residents students kshs 650
Non residents students 22USD
Attractions of Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Lion Tracking
This is the most enjoyable and unique activity to do in Ol pejeta conservancy and unique opportunity and to contribute towards lion conservation within the conservancy. An opportunity to track with the help of trained guides will be able to learn more about the lions living there. You can participate in helping them to gather important research information needed to monitor the lions. When identifying lions, features such as ear tears, whisker spots, and nose spots can be used. It is an excellent way to learn about lions while also getting to spend time with them while out in the wild.
Riding With Rhinos
What a perfect place to enjoy a morning or late afternoon horse ride within the Endangered Species , the best part of this activity is meeting the last remaining northern white rhinos. The rhinos named Najin and Fatu, are the daughters of Sudan, who became famous all over the world after being the last remaining male northern white rhino before he died in March 2018.
Sudan, Najin, Fatu were flown to Kenya from a zoo in the Czech Republic to Ol Pejeta Conservancy because the climate and grasslands of the Laikipia Region of Kenya provide better breeding conditions for rescuing the species from the brink of extinction. These four northern white rhinos were the last of seven alive, and all previous breeding attempts in the zoo had failed.
Three years after the rhinos arrived at Ol Pejeta, Suni was seen mating with Najin, unfortunately, after 16 months there were no offspring. In 2014, Suni died of natural causes, leaving Sudan as the last remaining northern white rhino which also died in 2018. Now the only remaining option for this subspecies depends on the development of in vitro fertilisation techniques and stem cell technology which is complicated, costly and has never before been attempted in rhinos.
Dogs Anti-Poaching Unit Visit
There is Ol Pejeta’s anti-poaching dog unit which is open to all visitors. After an insightful tour about the training these animals undergo to become anti-poaching patrollers, you can play a game of human-canine hide and seek, trying to dodge the canines and finding a spot to hide within the Morani Information Centre. This is a fun way to interact with the dogs, you get a bit of exercise and the hounds do too! The visits to the unit are restricted to six people per group. This activity is not suitable for children under the age of 12 years old.
The dogs are each trained in a particular speciality – from detaining potential suspects, and searching for ammunition, down to tracking the scent of a poachers.
Junior Ranger
This is the best tour place in Kenya for a family holiday safari with children between the age of four and twelve can become a ranger for the day by purchasing a Junior Ranger Pack. These packs include a book filled with fun activities, as well as colouring crayons and stickers. As they go through the conservancy, the children have to work through all the activities, completing the questions in the booklet as they go. When they reach the end of their adventure, the tourism team at Morani Information Center will be waiting to ask them to repeat the official ranger oath, before presenting them with a certificate, ranger hat, and a pin to confirm their status as honorary rangers.
Wildlife
The Conservancy is hosts to all members of the Big five game family (lion, Cape buffalo, African elephant, leopard and rhinoceros) can be found on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. It is also home to both black and white rhino
Other rare animals that can be found on Ol Pejeta include the endangered African wild dog, Oryx, Jackson’s hartebeest, Grevy’s zebra, serval, cheetah and bat-eared fox, giraffes, vervet monkeys, baboons, hippos, impala, eland, Grant’s gazelle, dikdiks, plains zebra, silver backed jackal, hyena. There are also over 300 bird species on the Conservancy.
All animals are free to move in and out of the conservancy . There is a constructed game corridors that only restrict the movement of rhinos. There are Knee-high posts in the ground, situated very close together, which doesn’t hinder elephants Antelopes and carnivores, who are easily able to jump or step over. Rhinos are unable to do this, and as a result are restricted from moving into areas where they are in danger of being poached for their horns.. Rhino horn is erroneously believed to have medicinal properties by many people in Asia and is used as traditional dagger handles in Yemen.
Chimpanzees
The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is incorporated within the Ol Pejeta Conservancy and is the only place in Kenya where chimpanzees can be seen. The Sanctuary opened in 1993 in a negotiated agreement between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Jane Goodall Institute. The facility was initially established to receive and provide chimpanzee orphans which were brought to the sanctuary from a facility in Bujumbura, Burundi, that needed to be evacuated due to the civil war. This was followed in 1995 by another group of 9 adult chimpanzees, and another 10 in 1996. Over the last decade Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary has continued to accept chimpanzees rescued from traumatic situations, bringing the total number of chimpanzees in the sanctuary to 43.
At the Sweetwaters Sanctuary, chimpanzees are nursed back to health and enjoy the rest of their days in the safety of a vast natural wild. The chimpanzees live in two large groups separated by the Ewaso Nyiro River. Sweetwaters is a chartered member of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance (PASA), an alliance of 23 sanctuaries in 13 African countries, currently caring for over 1100 orphaned and/or confiscated chimpanzees.
Accommodations at Ol pejeta conservancy
Ol Pejeta remains a popular safari destination for both local residents and international visitors. The Conservancy has 7 accommodation options: Sweetwaters Tented Camp, Ol Pejeta House, Ol Pejeta Bush Camp, Porini Rhino Camp, Pelican House, Kicheche Laikipia Camp and private campsites.
