Reviews of Lewa Wilderness

"RUN, don’t walk, to Lewa Wilderness! My husband and I spent 3 nights at Lewa in December. It was our first safari ever and we were lucky enough to have Mwangi as our guide. He was beyond knowledgable and taught us more than we ever thought we’d learn about wildlife during our time in Africa. He was not just smart, but so much fun to spend time with too. The wildlife in Lewa is abundant and we saw TONS of rhino (Black and White), elephant, giraffes, zebra, etc. While Lewa isn’t particularly known for predators, Mwangi helped us find lionesses and the next day we were able to spot their cubs plus the male lion feeding on their kill from the previous night. We also had two very close calls spotting a leopard, but she had young cubs so ultimately stayed fairly hidden (her cubs peaked their heads out a few times). The fact that Mwangi was able to even find her was so impressive!

In addition to the game drives, the Lewa property is absolutely beautiful and feels very homey. We had Room 10, which had incredible views, a small plunge pool, and more space than we would ever need. We watched elephants and giraffe outside our room every day. We were also close to the gym, which we used several times and found to be well equipped. We also spent some time at the pool, which also has incredible views.

We were really blown away by the food at Lewa. They have their own garden (you can take a tour of it - which I recommend!) so they primarily use their own produce, which we found absolutely delicious. The lunches at Lewa were some of my favorite meals in all of our travels - they were somewhat simple, but so fresh and so delicious with a ton of variety (usually 5-7 dishes each lunch). I believe they normally serve it as a big buffet, but due to Covid, each group had their own individual buffet in their own area of the property (they varied where you ate each day). Dinner was a 3 course meal and was also delicious.

I already mentioned how spectacular our guide was, but the rest of the staff was equally as amazing. Karmushu is the lodge manager and we were so grateful to get to spend so much time with him. He was generous enough to share a lot about his Maasai upbringing and culture with us, and provided a lot of wisdom about the animals we were seeing from the camp, as well as spent some time stargazing with us and identifying constellations. All of the servers and room attendants at the camp were lovely too. It was clear they just wanted to make you happy, and with their kindness and attentiveness it wasn’t hard for them to succeed. Every single person we came into contact with was absolutely wonderful. It’s also worth noting that we felt the camp did a great job taking Covid precautions and while all staff wore masks 100% of the time, it’s at the guests discretion if they would like to or not, given everything is outside.

Lewa offers camel rides, horseback rides, and nature walks as well. My husband is allergic to all animals so sadly we didn’t take advantage of the horseback riding, but I took a camel ride one morning which was a lot of fun and offered a unique perspective of the wildlife.

Overall, we absolutely LOVED Lewa Wilderness and would recommend it highly to anyone. We hope to be back to visit again sooner rather than later!" See all these reviews: 9n in Kenya

"fantastic game viewing with an excellent guide, Supukia. The game was everything we hoped it would be and Supukia definitely went out of his way to give us a great experience.

The food at Lewa Wilderness was nowhere near the standard it should have been for the cost of staying there. It was not a patch the two other camps we stayed at. I would describe the food at Lewa to be grandmothers cooking. Carrots, green beans and chicken, carrots, green beans and ( overcooked ) pork, carrots, green beans and overcooked fish. All devoid of any creativity and very plain. My wife's vegetarian dishes were basic and not very good. Fortunately the game viewing and our guide were exceptional." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya; 9n in Zanzibar

"Lewa Wilderness offers a lot more than just game drives. They will arrange walks in the reserve (with breakfast in the bush), a trip to the Ngare NdareForest with its tree canopy walk, horse back riding, camel riding, a visit to their organic farm and more. They are particularly good with children, offering a morning of learning traditional Massai skills.

Our cottage was spacious and located so that we did not see other cottages but looked out over the downs, where we could view giraffe, elephants, rhinos, etc. They have extensive electric fencing that allows the elephants to be close enough that we could hear their stomachs rumble! Food was buffet style and generally good and staff were very friendly." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya

"The camp is set in a lovely location, the owner's house set in the middle. Our room requested by Richard Trillo was superb with wonderful views. Beautiful lawns and flower beds in camp make this a special place to visit.

The trip to the farm going past the stables was well worth a visit, they are virtually self sufficient for food.

Game drive viewing was great, both white and black rhinos were seen - including Elvis who had been hand reared many years previously - friendly chap who came right up to the vehicle.

Francis was our Masai guide - in Masai dress of course." See all these reviews: 17n in Kenya; 9n in Zimbabwe; 6n in Tanzania; 5n in Botswana; 5n in Zambia

"Lewa Wilderness is a very attractive lodge, with manicured gardens and spectacular bougainvillea.

It has a welcome, if slightly cold, pool with a very comfortable seating area around. Our room was beautiful and very spacious, with a huge veranda on which they hyraxes sunned themselves every morning! The open fire was very welcome in the evening, both for its look and its warmth, as this was definitely the coldest of the places we stayed - this was the only place where there were no dressing gowns, and the one place we could have done with one.

The surprise breakfast in the Bush was lovely, and the best one we had. The buffet lunch was good but the food in the evening was slightly bland, with no choice, unlike all three other places.

There was a greater variety of wildlife than at Meru although, as in Meru, you had to look for it. We were pleased to see rhinos, black and white, a leopard and a cheetah, as well as a bush baby. Our guide was great." See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya

"I could write volumes about our fantastic time at Lewa but will spare you, except to say that if we could only visit one place in Kenya to see the greatest number of birds and animals, to experience expert guiding with true warmth and friendliness, be served the most tasty array of foods prepared fresh from the lodge's own garden, and feel treated to luxury while not being too grossly decadent, this would be it.

Emma and Will Craig and their staff have mastered the art of providing unique and rich experiences tailored to each of their guests' desires." See all these reviews: 18n in Kenya

"An absolutely fantastic place to stay. Abi, the manager, made us very welcome and we genuinely felt at home. The whole family loved it, and the kids somewhat fell in love with Zazou their dog. A beautiful spot that we were very sad to leave." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya

"Lewa Wilderness was our first official safari and what a way to start! The hillside cottages were excellent with outstanding views where we daily got to see elephants, giraffes, baboons, and other wildlife come to drink. We went horseback riding which was very thrilling to see the animals from a different vantage point. It did cross my mind prior to doing this that we may be lunch for a lion, but it was all very safe and the breakfast at the end was fabulous. And, then to go back to camp on a camel was interesting.

I can't say enough about our guide John. He, along with Philip, were with us for every drive and managed to find all of the big 5. And, we learned so much from them. We were also fortunate enough to see a rhino being notched for tracking purposes.

Lewa was a great place for one's first safari." See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya

"We had stayed last year in Sirikoi and this year decided to try the more traditional way of safaris in Laikipia - in a colonial property with cottages in lieu of tents. LWT is a wonderful property in a gorgeous conservancy. We are very fond of Lewa and the team behind the conservancy and its our place for seeing some very special animals ( rhinos, Grevys, reticulate giraffes, large herds of elands, oryx and other plains game), our place to relax the pace of safaring (just a notch) and enjoy the superb landscape. Of most of Laikipia, Lewa's landscape is the most dramatic with its many valleys and hills, red soil giving way to black cotton soil, exploring the conservancy from north to south, even some places where only rangers go and rarely a tourist vehicle, the wonderful green swapm and the yellow fever tree forests, the elephants, views of Mount Kenya- A Lewa safari is so different and unique in many ways and we enjoyed our stay tremendously. Zoey, Lee, Kiramanshu were incredible hosts and we really fell in love with the property and the views.

Our guide was Simon- who is the head guide there. I expected him to be good but we were very impressed with how good he was- with spotting, with priorititising our wish list ( we had 8 glorious days on predator watch in Mara so were looking for anything but cats and he understood that very well). He was brilliant wityh the rhino spotting and all other sightings, even spotting a coalition of 2 male cheetahs. We didnt share a single sighting with any other car. He is also very knowledgable about Lewa's history, community and the tribes in Kenya, so conversation with him was really cherished. Our last afternoon drive into Sambara plains and Isolo valley and beyond to the northern most point ( from where we could see as far as the Matthews Range) was one of the best safari days, ending with sundowners barely 50 metres from where a white rhino foraged." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya

"Of the three places we stayed in on this trip to northern and central parts of Kenya, arguably this was our all round favourite. The atmosphere at Lewa Wilderness Trails is very different and more like a house party - the owners and staff are so hospitable and the food is amazing. We stayed in the newest cottage which was delightful.

We were so impressed with the success of conservation in this conservancy and it is surely a marvellous model for others. Simon was our guide and his patience particularly with the black rhino and cheetah really gave us an insight into these two species. The scenery, with its backdrop of Mt Kenya really adds to this location from a photography viewpoint.

We only did game drives and a bird walk around camp (highly recommended) but there were a large range of activities on offer which other guests enjoyed." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya