Kicheche Mara: Our full report
Kicheche Mara is a relatively small, well-designed and very well run bushcamp in Acacia Valley, stretched ...
... out above the Olare Orok stream in Mara North Conservancy. It has ten tents, and a real bush feel, with no fence separating it from the surrounding wildlife.Kicheche Mara Camp is one of three Kicheche camps in the Maasai Mara ecosytem, the others being Kicheche Bush Camp and Kicheche Valley Camp and it enjoys the same relaxed, intimate feel and good quality as the others.
The ten well-spaced tents at Kicheche Mara have views into the surrounding woodland and feel very peaceful; each named after the Swahili name for safari animals, i.e. ‘Chui’ (leopard) or ‘Simba’ (lion). Inside they're well equipped with a rustic design. Chunky wooden bedframes hold a comfortable mattress strewn with charcoal-coloured throws, and woven mats cover the majority of the canvas floor. There are some small shelves for your clothes, a two-way radio and whistle for attracting attention if need be, and – on the veranda at the front of the tent – some comfortable directors' chairs to sit and watch for passing game. When we were last there we watched a small herd of impala passing by, and vervet monkeys and baboons playing in the trees.
The en-suite bathroom is at the back of the tent, separated by a canvas flap. Like the bedroom, it's simple and unfussy, with a flush loo and plumbed-in hot shower. Although the basins have running water, it comes from a borehole and can be slightly salty for brushing teeth, so a recycle glass bottle with filtered water is provided – as are toiletries such as cotton buds and cotton wool.
Four of the tents are set up as triples and quads and there is one special family unit consisting of two bedrooms which are interconnected by a central lounge area. With plenty of space and several larger tents this makes Kicheche Mara one of the better Kicheche camps for families and groups of friends traveling together. It's worth asking for a tent closer to the central areas if a walk of several minutes each way wouldn't suit you: the camp will always try to oblige. The tents haven't changed much since the camp's inception so, to some, their traditional style may feel a little dated. The camp is in the process of upgrading the tents one by one; this is a gradual processm however over time the whole camp will have had a bit of a facelift.
The same laidback design has been applied to Kicheche Mara's communal areas, two simple canvas structures that are generally left open when the weather is fine to enjoy the views to the plains beyond. There are some comfortable chairs with colourful cushions to sit and read the coffee-table books, and a small shop. At lunchtime, meals are often served outside, but in the evenings, when its cooler, dinner is usually taken in the dining tent around one long table.
Kicheche Mara has a Gold Level Eco-rating Certificate from Ecotourism Kenya, making it one of only a dozen camps and lodges in the whole country to have achieved this endorsement of its responsible resource use, conservation of the environment and investment in the local community. When visiting in 2019 we were told that the camp had just won the Eco-warrior award for sustainability. Kicheche Mara plans to introduce a fully electric vehicle in 2020, making it one of the only camps in the greater Mara ecosystem to do so.
Activities at Kicheche Mara generally focus on full or half-day game drives in the surrounding wildlife areas, usually with no more than four guests per vehicle (in common with all the Kicheche camps in the Mara, the vehicles at the camp are four-seaters, but there is also a six-seater for larger groups). All the vehicles are fully open, with roll-back covers, rather than having solid sides and roofs. Most guests will have the same driver-guide throughout their stay. All the guides at Kicheche Mara are either silver KPSGA-qualified or studying for their silver level.
To make the most of your time, head out with a picnic breakfast or lunch (or both!). As Kicheche Mara is in the Mara North Conservancy outside the Maasai Mara National Reserve, game drives will predominantly focus within this area. The Mara North Conservancy, which covers 300km², has just 12 camps, and MNC rules mean that no more than five vehicles are ever allowed at one animal sighting. Day trips into the main Mara reserve can be easily arranged, and when the wildebeest migration is in the area this can be a popular option.
The area is superb for big cats, with lions and both spotted cat species breeding near to camp, regular sightings of cubs and close encounters with lion prides and leopard and cheetah families.
Also available are game walks, out of camp and back to camp, which can be arranged for those aged 12 and over. Guests are taken out in groups of up to six, with a guide and an armed escort carrying a light weapon (an AK47). The armed ranger is, however, always the same escort – and his shooting ability was tested a few years ago when a buffalo came into camp and had to be dispatched.
For something a little different, there are a couple of further options at additional cost. These include a trip to a Maasai village (US$30 per person). Guests can visit some of the community projects which the camp is helping with, such as the local school, and if you happen to be there on a Thursday morning, the Aitong local market will give you an insight into daily life in the area.
The Rhino Sanctuary in Olchoro Oiroua is also of interest, and can easily be incorporated as part of a game drive (US$5 per person). However, its only rhino inhabitants are two, semi-tame southern white rhinos.
Our view
Everything about Kicheche Mara feels very authentic. It is unfussy, low-key and rustic with good-quality fittings and finishings. That said, it is a bush camp, so without compromising on comfort, it will suit those who prefer simple camps. The camp's location in Mara North means that you can enjoy the game of the quieter, less-crowded conservancy, whilst still having access to the renowned wildlife viewing in the national reserve itself.
Kenya expert
Geographics
- Location
- Maasai Mara Conservancies, Kenya
- Ideal length of stay
- 3 - 4 nights
- Directions
- The nearest airstrip is Mara North, which in good weather is about 30 minutes’ game drive from Kicheche Mara. It will take longer if there has been rain.
- Accessible by
Food & drink
- Usual board basis
- Full Board & Activities
- Food quality
- The food we enjoyed at Kicheche Mara was generally good, and you could tell that some thought had gone into the flavours. Salad and some vegetable items are sourced from their own vegetable garden. The chefs are more than happy to incorporate guests' requirements into their cooking, as well as let guests get involved in the kitchen if they wish!
Breakfast is often taken as a picnic and will generally involve boiled eggs, fruit, bacon sandwiches, tea, coffee and fruit juice. In camp you can expect a similar selection, with cereals as well as fruit, juices, tea and coffee, followed by a cooked breakfast to order.
Similarly, lunch will often be taken out with you, particularly if you're spending the full day in the national reserve. If you're in camp it will generally be a light buffet lunch. On our visit in 2019 we enjoyed a light lunch of a selection of salads, chutneys and Kenyan cheeses along with homemade pizzas. Desert was a fruit strudel.
Dinner was a slightly more formal affair. During our most recent stay, the chefs had prepared a special menu based on traditional cooking from their different upbringings across Kenya. The carefully prepared dishes were varied and flavorsome, and quite different from the more classic safari meals. On a previous visit, we enjoyed some of the camp's more typical offerings: filo pastry with goat's cheese and a balsamic dressing, grilled tilapia with a lemon dressing and flambéed pancake. - Dining style
- Individual Tables
- Dining locations
- Indoor and Outdoor Dining
- Further dining info, including room service
- Kicheche Mara can offer dining in tents on request, but this needs to be organized in advance.
- Drinks included
- Most drinks stocked by Kicheche Mara are included in their rates, the exception is premium wines, spirits and champagnes which are best ordered in advance.
Special interests
- Solo Travel
- With a comparatively low single supplement, group dining and a sociable atmosphere, Kicheche Mara works well for solo travelers to Kenya. Enjoy a real bush feel and benefit from activities like superb game drives or walking safaris offered here.
- See ideas for Solo Travel in Kenya
Children
- Attitude towards children
- Kicheche Mara is unfenced and quite wild so the camp would prefer that children are over the age of 11. Walks are restricted to those aged 12 and over only.
- Property’s age restrictions
- None
- Special activities & services
- The Maasai guides have guided daytime activities for children, including: tracking animal footprints around camp, creating plaster casts and identifying bones; catching, releasing and identifying butterflies and other insects; starting a fire without lighter or matches; and making bows and arrows, learning how to throw a spear and also beading with the local Maasai ladies.
- Equipment
- There is no special equipment, but the triple and quadruple tents are great for families.
- Generally recommended for children
- Kicheche Mara has a welcoming feel to it, and the family tents mean that family accommodation is catered for.
- Notes
- The camp is very open and unfenced so children need to be under parental supervision at all times.
Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Kicheche Mara
Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Kicheche Mara have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
93% success
91% success
71% success
6% success
6% success
4% success
0% success
0% success
Communications
- Power supply notes
- There are charging sockets in the tents, dining and lounge area and in the vehicles. There is 24-hour electric lighting in the tents. The camp makes its own charcoal briquettes from char dust mixed with cow dung. No wood is collected from the conservancy.
- Communications
- There is WiFi in the lounge which is free to use.
- TV & radio
- No
- Water supply
- Borehole
- Water supply notes
- The tents have plumbed in showers, flush toilets and running cold water. Drinking water is supplied in bulk from Nairobi. Bottled water is also available.
Health & safety
- Malarial protection recommended
- Yes
- Medical care
- There are first-aid kits in the camp and in the vehicles, and five members of staff are trained first aiders.
A local clinic sponsored by the camp is 14km away (about 30 minutes’ drive) and the camp has links with the flying doctors. - Dangerous animals
- High Risk
- Security measures
- Askaris escort guests to and from their tents at night.
- Fire safety
- There are fire extinguishers in each tent.
Activities
4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Cultural excursion
Fly-camping
Guided walking safari
Hot air ballooning
Night drive
Private activities
Extras
- Disabled access
- Not Possible
- Laundry facilities
- Full laundry service included – but no ladies’ underwear is accepted. Garments are hand-washed, line dried and then coal ironed, so delicate items should not be submitted.
- Money
- There is a main central safe in camp to store valuables. If there is sufficient cash in camp, guests may exchange small amounts of money at Kicheche Mara. Alternatively, guests may withdraw money against a credit or debit card, at a 5% surcharge. The shop is priced in Kenyan shillings.
- Accepted payment on location
- Visa, Mastercard and Amex are accepted. There is a 5% surcharge if you’re taking cash out on your card, but not for sales. They will take cash payments in euros, US dollars, GB pounds and Kenyan shillings.
Other lodges in Maasai Mara Conservancies
Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Kicheche Bush Camp
Kicheche Bush Camp is a smart and intimate tented camp with a relaxed atmosphere and the perfect base in the Mara for keen photographers.
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley is a boutique tented camp in a wooded district of the Mara ecosystem's Naboisho Conservancy, with plenty of wildlife in the area.
Naboisho Camp
Naboisho Camp is one of the most luxurious of the handful of camps in the Naboisho Conservancy. It offers day and night game drives, game walks and full creature comforts in the bush.
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara is a small traditional camp that appeals to safari traditionalists, located in one of the Maasai Mara’s quiet conservancies.
Encounter Mara
Encounter Mara is located in the private Naboisho Conservancy – a game-rich area of the Mara ecosystem – and offers a contemporary take on the traditional, low-impact luxury safari camp.
Elephant Pepper Camp
Elephant Pepper Camp is a small 10-tent bush camp, put together in the traditional "campaign" style, and including a large honeymoon/family tent.
Serian
Serian is a luxury tented camp on the east bank of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy. It is the sister camp of Ngare Serian, on the west bank.
Mara Plains Camp
Mara Plains is one of the very best camps in the Mara ecosystem. Located in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, just outside the Mara reserve, it has access to three wildlife-viewing areas.
Basecamp Eagle View
Basecamp Eagle View is a community-focused safari camp in the Naboisho Conservancy, with a strong emphasis on responsible tourism and a spectacular location.
Hemingways Ol Seki
Magnificently located tented lodge on a bluff looking south across the Naboisho Conservancy toward the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Kicheche Fly Camp
Kicheche Walking Wilderness Fly Camp is a temporaray dome tent camp set up for participants in Kicheche's two-day walking safari between Kicheche Valley and Kicheche Bush Camp.
Porini Lion Camp
Porini Lion Camp is a pioneering, community focused eco-camp, with excellent guides and game viewing, in the predator-rich, Olare Motorogi Conservancy.
Saruni Wild
Saruni Wild is a rustic and traditional safari camp in the Lemek Conservancy, with just three tents and limited electricity.
Offbeat Ndoto
Small and intimate, Offbeat Mara is set in a valley above the (often dry) Olare Orok River within the Mara North Conservancy.
Basecamp Leopard Hill
With six beautiful tents, Basecamp Leopard Hill is a smart safari camp in the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
Porini Mara Camp
Porini Mara Camp is a small, pioneering eco-camp in the first private conservancy in the Mara region, with comfortable accommodation and a range of activities.
Ngare Serian
The luxurious Ngare Serian and its sister camp Serian face each other across the Mara River on the western side of the Mara North Conservancy
Karen Blixen Camp
Karen Blixen Camp sits on a meander of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy, just beyond the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Cottars 1920s Camp
Cottar's 1920s Camp is a classic, luxury tented camp with a 1920s safari theme, located in its own conservancy on the southeast border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Leleshwa
Leleshwa was a delightful, boutique safari camp on the picturesque banks of a tributary of the Talek, with an extensive, little visited game area on its doorstep.
Saruni Mara
Saruni Mara is a luxurious permanent lodge, on the remote northern edge of the Mara North Conservancy, with stunning views, good guiding and very private and comfortable rooms.
Mahali Mzuri
Mahali Mzuri is a strikingly modern tented camp in the Virgin Limited Edition group, in a remote part of the Mara ecosytem's Olare Motorogi Conservancy. It has lovely views and all the luxuries of a five-star hotel.
Mara Nyika
Mara Nyika is one of the newer additions to the Naboisho Conservancy and offers a luxurious and exclusive safari.
Basecamp Wilderness
Basecamp Wilderness Camp is a simple, traditional tented camp, set in a remote valley in the Naboisho Conservancy in the Mara ecoystem.
Mara Bushtops
Mara Bushtops is a luxury safari hotel on a private concession, outside the Maasai Mara National Reserve, with the emphasis on comfort, relaxation and good food and wine.
Entumoto
Entumoto is a high-end tented camp, with a swimming pool, situated in a very pretty location on the east side of the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
Cottars Private House
Cottar's Private House is one of the few truly luxurious, modern private houses in the Mara ecosystem, spoiling its guests with first-rate staff, a swimming pool and wonderful views.
Basecamp Mara Houses
Basecamp Mara Houses consists of three private houses located in the northernmost part of the Mara North Conservancy.
Mara Toto Tree Camp
Mara Toto Tree Camp is located on a wooded bend of the Ntiakatek River, 1km south (as the pied crow flies) from its sister camp, Mara Plains. It's the offspring of the original "Mara Toto" which was swept away in floods.
