Treetops Safari Lodge Kenya: Where a Princess Became Queen 🌍
Treetops safari lodge Kenya holds a claim no other property in the country can match. On the night of February 5 to 6, 1952, Princess Elizabeth climbed a ladder into a tree hotel in Aberdare National Park and walked down the next morning as Queen Elizabeth II. At Trunktrails Safaris, we get asked constantly whether this story is real or safari-guide folklore, so here is a straight answer built on named people, dated events, and current travel facts, not a rehashed legend.
This is not a general lodge review. It is the verified timeline of who was at Treetops that night, what happened, why the original building no longer exists, and what a visit to this same site involves today for anyone planning tours and safaris through the Aberdares.
Who Was at Treetops the Night a Princess Became Queen?
Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, checked into Treetops on the afternoon of February 5, 1952, as part of a Commonwealth tour standing in for her father, King George VI, who was too ill to travel. Their host was Jim Corbett, the famed hunter-turned-conservationist who had helped establish nearby Corbett National Park in India and was staying at the Outspan Hotel in Nyeri at the time. Eric Sherbrooke Walker, the Outspan’s owner and the man who built Treetops, arranged the visit personally.
Corbett’s role matters because he is the one who wrote the now-famous line in the Outspan Hotel visitors’ book: that a young woman had climbed into a tree one day a princess, and, after having what she described as her most thrilling experience, climbed down the next day a queen. That firsthand account, written by someone who was actually present, is the closest thing this story has to a primary source, and it is why the tale has survived more than seventy years without falling apart under scrutiny.
What Actually Happened on the Night of 5-6 February 1952?
The couple spent the evening watching elephant and rhino at the floodlit waterhole below the lodge, unaware that King George VI had died in his sleep at Sandringham House in England during those same hours. News traveled slowly. A journalist is said to have shouted the news up to the lodge the next morning before the royal party had been formally notified through official channels, a detail that still gets debated by historians but is consistent across multiple contemporary accounts.
Prince Philip broke the news to his wife once it was confirmed, and the couple left Treetops that same day, cutting the royal tour short to fly home for the funeral and the accession. Elizabeth became Queen the moment her father died, but Treetops is where she learned it and where she spent her last hours as a princess, which is the detail that makes this specific lodge, rather than any other stop on that 1952 tour, the site people still travel to see.
Historians have picked at parts of the story over the decades, mainly the exact hour the news reached the lodge, but the core facts are not in dispute: the royal couple were at Treetops, the King died that night, and Elizabeth learned of her accession while still on the property. That distinction between disputed detail and confirmed fact is worth knowing before you repeat the story to your own guide, since the safari-circuit version sometimes blurs the two.
Who Built Treetops Lodge and Why Does That Story Matter?
Eric Sherbrooke Walker, a British army officer who settled in Kenya after the First World War, opened the original Treetops in 1932 as a simple two-room platform wedged into a giant fig tree above a natural waterhole. The idea was modest: give Outspan Hotel guests in Nyeri a safe, elevated spot to watch game drink after dark. Nobody involved in that 1932 build could have guessed it would become the site of a royal accession twenty years later.
That founder’s story is part of why Treetops safari lodge Kenya still draws visitors today. It was never designed as a luxury property competing on thread counts, and Trunktrails Safaris tells guests this upfront. It was built as a wildlife-watching platform first, and the royal history that followed was accidental, which is part of what makes the story credible rather than manufactured for tourism.
What Happened to the Original Treetops Lodge?
The tree lodge where the Queen’s accession took place did not survive. Mau Mau fighters burned it down in 1954 during Kenya’s independence struggle, two years after the royal visit. The current Treetops Lodge is a rebuilt structure completed in 1957 on a nearby site overlooking the same waterhole, expanded from the original two rooms to today’s 35 rooms (32 standard rooms and 3 suites), with the same floodlit waterhole design at its core.
This means the exact tree platform Princess Elizabeth climbed is gone, but the lodge standing today occupies the same ground, faces the same water, and carries a commemorative plaque marking the 1952 event. Guests who understand this distinction get more out of the visit than those expecting to see an untouched 1930s building.
How Do You Get to Treetops Safari Lodge From Nairobi?
| Route | Distance / Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nairobi to Outspan Hotel, Nyeri (traditional check-in point) | Approx. 150-165 km, about 2.5-3 hours by road | Same check-in and lunch stop Jim Corbett used in 1952 |
| Outspan Hotel to Treetops Lodge | Approx. 16-17 km | Escorted lodge vehicle transfer through forest |
| Nairobi (Wilson Airport) to Mweiga airstrip | Approx. 40-50 minutes by light aircraft | Fastest route; scheduled flights vary by season |
| Mweiga airstrip to Treetops Gate | Approx. 15-20 minutes by road | Short transfer after landing |
Indicative figures only. Confirm current transfer schedules and road conditions with Trunktrails Safaris before travel.
Treetops Safari Lodge vs The Ark: Which Aberdare Lodge Fits Your Trip?
Treetops is not the only waterhole lodge in Aberdare National Park, and travelers researching this trip usually ask how it compares to The Ark, the other well-known tree lodge in the same 767 km² park.
| Lodge | Historical Claim | Rooms | Waterhole Viewing | Indicative Rate (per person/night, all-inclusive) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treetops Safari Lodge | Site of Queen Elizabeth II’s 1952 accession | 35 | Floodlit waterhole + ground-level viewing bunker | USD 250-400 |
| The Ark | No royal history; opened 1970 as a purpose-built lodge | 60 | Floodlit waterhole + hide | USD 300-450 |
| Aberdare Country Club | Colonial-era ground lodge, base camp for The Ark | 50 | No direct waterhole | USD 200-320 |
Figures are indicative ranges drawn from typical published rate brackets and change by season. Confirm exact current pricing with Trunktrails Safaris before booking. If the royal history is the reason for your visit, Treetops is the only property on this list that can make that claim. If you want a larger, more modern build with a similar waterhole concept, The Ark is the closer match.
What Should You Know Before Booking Treetops Safari Lodge?
- Luggage is limited to one small overnight bag. Larger bags stay at Outspan Hotel or Aberdare Country Club during your stay, the same two-stage system used in 1952.
- The commemorative plaque marking the 1952 accession is on site and worth asking staff to point out, since it is easy to miss without a guide.
- Rooms are simple by design. This is a historic property, not a five-star finish, and Trunktrails Safaris sets that expectation before booking.
- Aberdare National Park sits at altitude, roughly 1,830 m to over 3,990 m at Ol Doinyo Lesatima, so nights are cold year-round regardless of season. Pack warm layers.
- Non-resident park entry fees run approximately USD 60-70 per adult per 24 hours, indicative and subject to KWS policy changes. Confirm current figures with Trunktrails Safaris.
The Trunktrails Advantage
Booking a stay tied to a specific historical claim means confirming details most visitors cannot verify from outside Kenya: which room overlooks the original waterhole, whether the plaque tour is included, and how the Outspan Hotel transfer fits into a wider itinerary. Trunktrails Safaris handles that groundwork directly with lodges across the Aberdare region so guests get accurate information, not recycled marketing copy.
As a Kenyan-owned, TRA-licensed tour and safari operator (Licence No. TRA1/22/C01/92750), Trunktrails Safaris builds tours and safaris that place Treetops safari lodge Kenya inside a properly paced route, matched to your dates and budget, with the royal history explained by guides who know the verified timeline rather than a shortened tourist version. 📸
Ready to Stand Where History Happened?
A night at Treetops safari lodge Kenya works best as part of a wider itinerary that pairs Aberdare’s royal history and forest wildlife with other parks on your route. Trunktrails Safaris can build that itinerary around your dates, your budget, and how much of Kenya’s history you want woven into your trip.
Further reading
More safari planning resources
- Kenya safari packages from SafariPure
- Kenya tour packages from Valley Safaris
- Best time to visit Kenya on Touring Insights
- Honeymoon safari collection on FindMySafari
Reach out to Trunktrails Safaris on WhatsApp at +254 113 208888 or email info@trunktrailssafaris.com to check current availability and start planning your tours and safaris around Treetops safari lodge Kenya today. ✨
