7-Day Northern Kenya Safari Itinerary: Samburu to the Mathews Range to Namunyak
A northern Kenya safari itinerary built around Samburu, the Mathews Range, and Namunyak Conservancy is one of the most rewarding circuits in the country, and one of the least crowded. This route trades the packed viewing platforms of the southern parks for private conservancy game drives, forested mountain walks, and direct contact with the Samburu community that owns and manages this land. Trunktrails Safaris built this 7-day plan from real distances, drive times, and camp options so you can see exactly how the days connect. 🐘
Quick Facts: The Northern Kenya Circuit
| Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Samburu National Reserve size | 165 km2 |
| Buffalo Springs National Reserve size | 131 km2 |
| Shaba National Reserve size | 239 km2 |
| Namunyak Conservancy size | ~850,000 acres (~3,440 km2) |
| Mathews Range highest peak | ~2,688 m (Ol Doinyo Lenkiyio) |
| Nairobi to Samburu by road | ~325 km, 5-6 hour drive |
| Nairobi (Wilson Airport) to Samburu by air | ~1 hour scheduled flight |
| Samburu to Namunyak/Sarara by road | ~90-100 km, 3-4 hours (rough track) |
| Samburu to Namunyak/Sarara by air | ~20-25 minute charter |
| Samburu National Reserve fee (non-resident) | indicative USD 90-100/day, confirm at booking |
| Namunyak conservation fee | indicative USD 100-150/night, bundled into camp rates |
| Reteti Elephant Sanctuary opened | 2016, community-run |
Why This Route Instead of the Mara or Amboseli
Most first-time visitors default to the Masai Mara. Northern Kenya offers a genuinely different safari, with the Ewaso Ng’iro River anchoring a drier, more rugged landscape and species you will not see further south. Samburu National Reserve is home to the “Samburu Special Five”: Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich, gerenuk, and beisa oryx. None of these are common in the Mara ecosystem. Add the Mathews Range forest and Namunyak Conservancy, and you get mountain walking, elephant conservation work, and a Samburu cultural experience that the southern circuit simply does not offer.
This itinerary works well for travelers who have already booked tours and safaris in the Mara or Amboseli and want somewhere quieter, or for anyone drawn to community-led conservation over mass-market lodges.
Day 1: Nairobi to Samburu National Reserve
Fly from Wilson Airport to the Samburu or Kalama airstrip (about 1 hour), or drive the ~325 km route via Nyeri and Isiolo (5-6 hours, with a stop at the equator crossing near Nanyuki). Check into camp on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro River and take an afternoon game drive. Elephant herds, Grevy’s zebra, and Nile crocodiles along the riverbank are common on the first afternoon.
Where to stay: Elephant Bedroom Camp or Elephant Watch Camp, both directly on the river inside Samburu National Reserve.
Day 2-3: Samburu, Buffalo Springs, and Shaba
Spend two full days across the three linked reserves. Samburu National Reserve (165 km2) and Buffalo Springs National Reserve (131 km2) sit either side of the Ewaso Ng’iro River and share a single ecosystem, so most camps run game drives across both. Shaba National Reserve (239 km2), further east, sees far fewer vehicles and rewards travelers who want solitude alongside the wildlife. Morning and evening game drives here consistently produce leopard, lion, and the Special Five species, plus strong birdlife along the riverine forest.
Where to stay: Saruni Samburu, in neighboring Kalama Conservancy, adds night game drives and community visits that the national reserve itself does not permit.
Day 4: Transfer to Namunyak Conservancy and the Mathews Range
Move north into Namunyak Conservancy, roughly 90-100 km from Samburu by road (3-4 hours on a rough track) or a 20-25 minute charter flight into the Sarara airstrip. Namunyak covers approximately 850,000 acres (about 3,440 km2), managed by the Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust under the Northern Rangelands Trust, making it one of the largest community-owned conservancies in Kenya. The Mathews Range (Ol Doinyo Lenkiyio), rising to roughly 2,688 m, forms a forested backbone across the conservancy and is a sharp visual contrast to Samburu’s dry plains.
Where to stay: Sarara Camp, overlooking a natural waterhole where elephants come to drink, or Kitich Camp, set deeper inside the Mathews Range forest for travelers who want a genuine bush-camp experience.
Day 5: Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and Mathews Range Forest Walk
Visit Reteti Elephant Sanctuary, which opened in 2016 as Africa’s first community-owned and -run elephant sanctuary. Local Samburu keepers hand-raise orphaned and abandoned elephant calves before releasing them back into Namunyak’s wild herds. In the afternoon, take a guided walk into the Mathews Range forest with an armed Samburu ranger, tracking elephant and buffalo sign through montane forest that feels closer to a highland trek than a classic game drive.
Day 6: Namunyak Culture and Wildlife
Spend the day with a Samburu community: a camel trek across the conservancy plains, a visit to a Samburu manyatta (homestead), and a sundowner overlooking the escarpment. Namunyak’s low-density tourism model means sightings, whether elephant, Grevy’s zebra, or the occasional African wild dog pack, happen without another vehicle in sight.
Day 7: Return to Nairobi
Fly out from the Sarara or Kalama airstrip back to Wilson Airport, or drive the full route back through Isiolo and Nanyuki if time allows a stop in Nanyuki town.
Samburu vs Mathews Range vs Namunyak: How the Three Areas Compare
| Area | Size | Best For | Vehicle Density | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samburu National Reserve | 165 km2 | Special Five species, river game drives | Moderate | 5-6 hr drive or 1 hr flight from Nairobi |
| Buffalo Springs / Shaba | 131 km2 / 239 km2 | Quieter game drives, same ecosystem | Low | Adjacent to Samburu |
| Kalama Conservancy | ~450 km2 | Night drives, community visits | Low | Borders Samburu |
| Namunyak Conservancy | ~850,000 acres (~3,440 km2) | Elephant conservation, mountain walking, culture | Very low | 3-4 hr drive or 20-25 min charter from Samburu |
Best Time to Travel This Circuit
The dry seasons, January-March and June-October, give the easiest road conditions on the Samburu-to-Namunyak transfer and the clearest game viewing along the Ewaso Ng’iro River. The long rains (April-May) can make the rough track into Namunyak difficult, so a charter flight is the more reliable option during that window. November’s short rains bring green landscapes and excellent photography light, with far fewer vehicles at any of the three areas.
What to Pack for Northern Kenya
Daytime temperatures in Samburu and Namunyak often exceed 30°C, while evenings in the Mathews Range foothills cool considerably. Pack neutral-colored clothing, a wide-brim hat, sunscreen, sturdy walking shoes for the forest walk, a light fleece for early morning drives, and a good pair of binoculars for spotting the Special Five species across open terrain.
The Trunktrails Advantage
Trunktrails Safaris builds northern Kenya itineraries around the actual logistics of this region, not a generic template borrowed from the Mara circuit. We know which weeks the Namunyak track is passable by road and which weeks call for a charter flight instead, which camps in Kalama and Namunyak keep their community fees transparent, and how to sequence Samburu, the Mathews Range, and Namunyak so you are not backtracking across the same stretch of road twice. Every itinerary we build for tours and safaris in this region is checked against current park and conservancy fee schedules before we send it to a client, because published rates in this part of Kenya change more often than in the southern parks.
Our guides are drawn from the communities that manage these conservancies, so a Trunktrails northern Kenya trip includes context you will not get from a driver-guide seeing the Mathews Range for the first time. That is the difference between a safari that ticks off wildlife sightings and one that explains why this landscape looks the way it does. 🌍
Plan Your Northern Kenya Safari
Ready to build your own Samburu-to-Namunyak circuit? Trunktrails Safaris will map out drive times, flights, and camp options against your travel dates and budget, so every day of your northern Kenya safari itinerary is confirmed before you land. ✨
Contact Trunktrails Safaris:
Further reading
More safari planning resources
- Map of Samburu from Valley Safaris
- Samburu National Reserve guide on Touring Insights
- Samburu destination guide on FindMySafari
- Big Five safari collection on FindMySafari
- WhatsApp: +254 113 208888
- Email: info@trunktrailssafaris.com
- Website: trunktrailssafaris.com
Trunktrails Safaris is a Kenyan-owned operator built on tours and safaris across Kenya’s less-traveled circuits, from Samburu’s riverine plains to the Mathews Range and beyond. Talk to us before you book, and let Trunktrails Safaris turn this itinerary into your actual trip.
