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Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara

Reviews of Kicheche Mara

Wildlife sightings and reviews

95 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kicheche Mara and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Aug-2018, 65 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Kicheche Mara.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

68% success

Cheetah

91% success

Wild dog

4% success

Buffalo

100% success

Elephant

100% success

Giraffe

100% success

Hippo

100% success

Spotted Hyena

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Eland

92% success

Striped Hyena

6% success

Black Rhino

5% success

Aardvark

0% success

Pangolin

0% success

Showing 11-20 of 95
Duration
Arrival date
Stefano
New York

"Magical memories in the Mara Conservancies"

1 night Arrived 5 Mar 2024
"Like the other Kicheche camp we visited before (Laikipia) , Kicheche Mara is a wonderful , well managed camp. It is larger than the Laikipia camp but the tents are spread out and you only meet the other guests in the public areas for drinks and meals. ( except for Humphrey the resident hippo who showed up in front of the tent) .

The tents are huge and very comfortable and the staff at camp is always friendly and impeccable. The meals are very tasty and the bush breakfasts are heavenly.

Our guide, Paul was outstanding. He always managed to position the car in the best spots for wildlife viewing and photography : in the middle of a herd of elephants or surrounded by a pride of lions.

With Paul, we also went fly camping. It is by far the best experience we had in any safari in Africa . The fly camping is located in the Naibosho Conservancy, so we got to visit that area too. We started with a bush walk accompanied by Paul and Peter ( an armed ranger) . While walking , you are totally attuned to your surroundings and to the wildlife that is curiously looking at you. We arrived at the camp that had been set up by the staff of Kicheche Valley and were hosted by Esther, Keke and Julius(?) .

We had a dome tent with comfortable and warm cot beds. Washroom facilities consist of washbasins, bucket shower tent and drop loo tent. A campfire is lit up and sundowners and dinner were served : soup, stew, ugali and baked potato. Delicious! During the night , lions were active in the vicinity of the camp but we enjoyed the thrill of it. The next morning we went on a morning drive before breakfast in the Naibosho Conservancy .

Fly camping is really a not to be missed experience. It is comfortable in its simplicity, totally authentic and far from anybody else." See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

2 sightings

Lion

5 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

CB from Iowa
USA

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 31 Jan 2024
"Loved the Kicheche Mara.

Beautiful faciities; the service was awesome, the food delicious!" See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

HLG
Manitoba

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 31 Jan 2024
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

6 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

4 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

7 sightings

Spotted Hyena

5 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms M.
USA

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 31 Jan 2024
"Wonderful - pure and simple.

Everything - the tents, lodge, guides, meals, and staff were exceptional." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Dr W & Dr D
Leeds

"Kicheche Mara review"

7 nights Arrived 25 Jan 2024
"Our favourite camp and as good as ever." See all these reviews: 13n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

2 sightings

Eland

4 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

8 sightings

Leopard

4 sightings

Lion

9 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

T&J
London

"Kicheche Mara review"

2 nights Arrived 8 Jan 2024
"Slightly bigger than other but maintains the same high standard. We were upgrade to family tent which was amazing: a home. Again, food, service, guides all excellent.

Feels slightly less accessible that others because tracks are much more rough and we had unusually heavy rains. We actually had to switch airstrip to leave but Andrew, manager, took care of it all.

Lots of big cats to see but make sure to head to Mara river for Hippos, birds and different landscape." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

N&C
Poole

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 7 Jan 2024
"We have stayed in a lot of safari camps and this is definitely one of the best we have encountered.

Very nice first impressions - a lovely oasis in the bush.

Well spaced tents with ample privacy.

All in all a first class camp - the food was really good as was the guiding." See all these reviews: 20n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

CB&BB
USA

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 19 Dec 2023
"We didn't think it would be possible to top Laikipia but Mara North might just have done it. We were greeted at the airstrip by a smiling, enthusiastic guide Paul who immediately made us feel at home there in the Mara. He offered to take us on a game drive or drive straight away to the camp. We of course chose the game drive and were taken on an amazing introduction to the truly extraordinary Mara North and could see why Paul had gotten into being a guide 10 years ago inspired by his brother who was also a guide.

We were greeted by Anne, our house manager, Charles (our server in the dining area), Frank (bartender) McKenna and so many friendly outgoing faces and voices that were a part of the Mara welcome crew. Charles almost immediately started teaching us both swahili and Masai ways to say common phrases and told us some more local culture and history of what he was clearly proud of with the Masai tribe. We had continued amazing food, drink, desserts, snacks everything this time from a couple of female chefs that were constantly checking in to make sure what they were providing met our satisfaction. There was never a doubt as our expanded waistlines can attest to.

Our tent was Kanga and we appreciated being one of the closer tents to the main area of Kicheche Mara. The velvet monkies immediately showed interest in our tent so we learned the importance of keeping things zipped up and tight as they showed themselves to be very curious and mischievous. That was a special part of staying at Mara, with no fences you could hear the animals and see the animals that enjoyed being within a safe and respectful distance to your tent. A few cute bush bucks stayed close by and grazed behind our tent on the fresh green grass. Similar to KL we were greeted with cards, flowers and beautiful facilities at our tent. We were always comfortable and took advantage this time of the fans, water bottles at night and laundry service which was so helpful to keep things fresh and clean after our rides and adventures.

Paul had a truly special gift of being able to communicate and understand the thoughts, movements and reactions for all creatures great and small. We trusted him from the beginning and were thrilled at how we literally felt like observers in their day to day life not bothering them but rather there to appreciate them. We had so many special encounters with so many animal families, babies and even solo wanderers. He was determined for us to see everything including the leopard but despite valient efforts the leopard will be something we return to try and see.

He took us to a special Thursday market day and again made us feel so at ease and privileged to get to meet and understand the people he had grown up with and still clearly stayed close with in the Masai tribe. We learned so much in a such a short amount of time and we were constantly asking questions and probing Paul for even more info and he was always so gracious to share it all. He had such a joy every day whether it be early in the morning or later in the evening after a long day. We always felt like he truly wanted this to be the most amazing adventure for us. It absolutely was!

Every staff person we interacted with made it their goal each day to talk to us about what we'd seen, how we were doing or share some special tidbit of information that just added to our great adventure. These Kicheche camps truly set themselves apart from any place in the world we've ever been in terms of hospitality, quality of stay (soup to nuts) and leaving us wanting more and more." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Dr G & Dr E
UK

"Kicheche Mara review"

3 nights Arrived 24 Nov 2023
"It was largely the sightings and guide from our first visit here that convinced us to do a last minute wet season safari. The tents have been refurbished and are lovely. They feel much more spacious and have a hotel room like feel. The camp has also given up on communal dining of the entire camp, as it was becoming unmanageable. They now have smaller communal or individual tables, which was a vast improvement and made it much easier to keep up with conversation.

We arrived 6 and a half hours later than scheduled, as the flight was unable to land in Laikipia to pick us up, due to the weather. Consequently, we were exhausted when we stepped off of our game drive transfer. Andrew, the camp manager and Lucy, the head of housekeeping anticipated this. We were taken straight to our room to have a hot shower, rather than a welcome drink and going through the health and safety form etc. This was completed later at dinner, which was served on a table for two, very fast, so that we could get an early night. We were shocked when we got back to the tent to see that my rather slap dash unpacking had been redone and every item of clothing folded neatly. This continued for our entire stay. Anything that we left even remotely untidy or out of place would be moved on our return. This is only place we have ever stayed that provided such a service. It was a lovely surprise and made packing a cinch.

The following morning we were back to the usual safari routine. Johnson, our guide, was younger and less experienced than the others. Although we specified an interest in birds, he did not seem to share this. His lack of photographic experience was also stark when compared to our other two guides. However, we quickly noted this and directed his vehicle placement for photography or asked him to stop for unusual birds where necessary, so it all worked out ok. He was however, very good at noticing where the action was and got us to kills (really attempted hunts) amongst the first vehicles on several occasions.

Food and drink was again excellent. For meals we were grouped with a photographic safari tour, run by the co-owner, Paul Goldstein. I don't know if this was because we were from the UK or into photography, but it worked out well, once the ice was broken. Mealtimes were certainly memorable. It was very interesting seeing his shots from sightings that we had also been at, to compare with ours. Having not met him before, it was an experience as he is a larger than life character. We got to see a very shy male leopard and despite arriving as the last vehicle, managed to get the best position twice as we followed it, with shots comparable to his!" See all these reviews: 12n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

5 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Ms J from FL & IL
USA

"Kicheche Mara review"

4 nights Arrived 24 Oct 2023
"Awesome.

Caring staff truly concerned with our having a WONDERFUL experience.

Food was AMAZING -- quality, taste, presentation.

Even the nighttime guards were helpful, willing to take me for star gazing & night photography.

I was so shocked at the beauty of my tent accommodations." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

7 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

8 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

7 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Showing 11-20 of 95
99%
95 reviews of Kicheche Mara by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
89
5
1
0
0
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Other lodges in Maasai Mara Conservancies

Alternative places to stay in this same area.


Kicheche Bush Camp

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100% (104 reviews)
Kicheche Valley

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Naboisho Camp

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Offbeat Mara

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Encounter Mara

Encounter Mara

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Serian

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Mara Plains Camp

Mara Plains Camp

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Kicheche Walking Wilderness

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Basecamp Eagle View

Basecamp Eagle View

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Porini Lion Camp

Porini Lion Camp

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Ngare Serian

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Basecamp Leopard Hill

Basecamp Leopard Hill

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Karen Blixen Camp

Karen Blixen Camp

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Cottars 1920s Camp

Cottars 1920s Camp

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Leleshwa

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Saruni Mara

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Basecamp Wilderness Camp

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Mara Bushtops

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Mara Toto Tree Camp

Mara Toto Tree Camp

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Entumoto

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