Welcome to Campi ya Kanzi

Campi ya Kanzi means "Camp of the Hidden Treasure" in Kiswahili, and it is truly was born in 1975 when Luca first set foot in the Chyulu. It was a childhood dream for 20 years, and become a reality in 1995 when Luca & Antonella moved to the Chyulu permanently. It took a few years to build, during which time we lived in a small tent for more than 24 months… The toilet was a pit in the bush and the shower a bucket on a tree, with stars as the canopy… Luca misses it, Antonella still damages his credit card in retaliation!

For more than 20 years we enjoyed hosting wonderful friends (not just guests) from all over the world.

You can also enjoy the beauty of the Chyulu and the wonderful Campi ya Kanzi team by visiting Chyulu Club, the new lodge we built with and for Rosey Institute.

And you can book a safari with Luca, who does a camel safari and an air safari every year. Just contact us: bookings@maasai.com

Come and enjoy the Chyulu and Tsavo, with a stay at Campi ya Kanzi and Chyulu Club. You will have a deep connection with the Maasai community and you will enjoy the biggest wildlife ecosystem in Kenya

Campi ya Kanzi is widely recognized as one of the most inspiring and eco-friendly safari experiences in Africa. It is a luxury camp offering an incomparable combination of 5-star luxury, first class wilderness adventure, amazing wildlife, and authentic immersion in Maasai culture. This is truly the ultimate African safari.

This luxury lodge has been built in partnership with the Maasai community of the 283,000-acre Kuku Group Ranch.

Campi ya Kanzi has a unique commitment to community development and environmental sustainability: we are leaders in real ecotourism, engaging the local Maasai in benefiting from the wilderness with thriving wildlife, we are 100% solar and carbon neutral.

We offer luxurious comfort, thrilling outdoor adventure, memorable wildlife encounters, and authentic connection to the Maasai people.

In front of Kilimanjaro, with a Maasai warrior taking you on safari, among elephants and lions, you will experience your dream African adventure.

Situated at the foot of the legendary Chyulu Hills, Ernest Hemingway’s “Green Hills of Africa,” it is a luxury camp offering an incomparable combination of 5-star luxury, first class wilderness adventure, amazing wildlife, and authentic immersion in Maasai culture

Accommodation details

Campi ya Kanzi’s six luxury thatched cottages and two tented suites are breezy, cozy, and designed in the hallowed safari tradition. All are graced with ever-changing views of Kilimanjaro and the forests and plains below, and each has its own Maasai attendant. Kanzi House is a lovely villa ideal for larger groups and families who can dine in privacy, and the Pool Cottage features a large swimming pool from which to float while watching towering clouds float above Kilimanjaro.

Luxury Tented Cottage

The classic safari experience under canvas, with the luxury of a comfortable bed (4 tented cottages have twins, 2 have a king size bed) and a full ensuite bathroom.

Each of the six luxury tented cottages are named after the beautiful view of the specific hills that they face: Chyulu, Longitok, Elenyo Waite, Kilimanjaro, Oldonyo Oibor and Ololorami.

You can enjoy a view of the vast wildlife that visits our watering hole as well while you enjoy a cup of tea and bitings on your private porch. Make yourself at home in the midst of stunning wilderness!

The luxury cottages can accommodate a child in a safari cot.

Two of the cottages are close to each other and ideal of a family.

Room Facilties

rivate veranda
Custom Italian linens
En suite bathroom
Organic bath products
Bathrobes
Safe
Flashlight
Safari literature
24-hour solar electricity
Hot and cold running water
Laundry service

Hemingway & Simba tented suites

The classic safari experience under canvas, with the luxury of a comfortable bed and a full ensuite bathroom. Each of the luxury tented suites, Hemingway and Simba, provide two of the best views of our watering hole and of the hills surrounding the camp.

A perfect oasis to enjoy the vast wildlife such as zebras, giraffes, and lions that visit our watering hole while you enjoy a cup of tea and bitings on your private porch. Great for honeymooners, couples or any guest that would like to experience a home away from home while enjoying the wilderness right at their fingertips!

Room Facilties

Private veranda
Custom Italian linens
En suite bathroom with double sinks
Dressing room
Organic bath products
Bathrobes
Wardrobe
Sitting area
Safe
Flashlight
Safari literature
24-hour solar electricity
Hot and cold running water
Laundry servic

There are loads of activities on offer from Campi Ya Kanzi. Due to the camp’s location, it is able to provide plenty of experiences with wildlife! Chyulu Hills National Park is fantastic for the safari classics – game drives and guided walks.

All Big Five animals live here, in addition to cheetah, Grant’s zebra, Maasai giraffe, eland, reedbuck, bushbuck, bushpig, wildebeest, and many more. Birding, also, is brilliant.
The Chyulu cloud forest is a particularly interesting environment to explore, its jungle habitat supporting leopards, bushbuck and bushpig, as well as many beautiful birds and butterflies.
Other activities include horse riding, star gazing, and fly camping on the plains at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Guests who would like to learn about the culture of this spectacular place are well served via a visit to the village of their Maasai tracker. Other excursions take in local caves, Tsavo West National Park and Amboseli National Park.
You can even check out the camp itself, through a back-of-house tour. This is a great opportunity to appreciate all the work involved in running an eco-camp.

HIGHLIGHTS: The Chyulu Hills is what Ernest Hemingway referred to as "The Green Hills of Africa". Campi Ya Kanzi is noted for its variety of activities: authentic cultural visits with Maasai families, quality wildlife viewing, hiking in the renowned Chyulu Hills, horseback riding (for experienced riders), flightseeing, and more. It's the perfect place to get out from behind the wheel and experience real Africa. A perfect getaway for couples, families, honeymooners, or multi-generational parties.

All you need do is get to Nairobi International Airport, where a Campi ya Kanzi host will meet you and look after the rest! If early enough in the day, you can transfer direct to the camp, otherwise you’ll need to overnight at a Nairobi hotel.

You can transfer the 200 miles by 4WD by road (maximum 4 passengers) which takes approximately 6 hours: $600 one way per vehicle, plus $75 per person for the Tsavo National Park entrance fee.

Alternatively, take Campi ya Kanzi’s own air services - a 6-seat Cessna 206, which takes one hour and operates 7 days a week: $385 per person one way, with a minimum of 2 passengers and maximum total luggage allowance of strict 15 kg (35 pounds) per passenger, in soft duffle bags, not armoured cases or wheels.

Guests can even be transferred by private plane to/from other destinations such as a Maasai Mara trip witnessing the Great Migration, Mombasa or Malindi.

Campi ya Kanzi staff can organize all aspects of your safari from arrival in Nairobi, including hotel reservations, transfers, flights and bookings at other camps and lodges in East Africa.

Conservation fees directly support the projects of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust:
Luxury tented cottages & luxury tented suites: $116 per adult per night and $58 per child per night Kanzi House and the Swimming Pool Suite: $151 per adult per night and $76 per child per night

Included: Accommodation, full board, drinking water, wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks, laundry, airstrip transfers, and safari activities: game drives, guided walks and hikes, bush meals and picnics, Maasai village visits, birdwatching, horseback riding.

Excluded: Flights, champagne, special wines and spirits, optional excursions to national parks, fly camping, gratuities. Guaranteed hosting and guiding by Luca Belpietro costs $1,800 per party per day.

Chyulu Club: All-inclusive of meals and transport during your stay.
Per Person Per Night: Single Occupancy - US$1050; Double Occupancy - $825

Children

Attitude towards children

The camp is very child-friendly and the family often have their own children around (aged 5, 7 and 11) when not at school. Campi ya Kanzi runs a school in camp where the owners’ younger children attend. Some local children also board there.

Property’s age restrictions

None

Special activities & services

Children can join in with most activities. They may also want to visit the Campi ya Kanzi boarding school. Football games are often arranged with local children.

Equipment

Baby cots and high chairs are available, Generally recommended for children

OPINION

Although the owners are naturally child-friendly, the atmosphere in the public areas is quite adult and we feel this camp would be best suited to older children with a well-developed respect for and appreciation of the wilderness and local community.

5 Night Safari with us!

If you wonder how a safari would unfold, here is an example of how a safari of 5 nights with us would be, exploring the Chyulu Hills, Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks!

Day 1:

Leave Nairobi Wilson in the late morning, for a 1-hour flight to Campi ya Kanzi. The airstrip is 10-minute game drive from the lodge. Campi ya Kanzi staff, with Claudia and Luca, will be welcoming you and give you a briefing of where we are and what can be arranged for you.
Lunch will be at cozy at Tembo House, the heart of the lodge.
In the afternoon, you can do a game walk of about 90 minutes, with a local Maasai guide, who will take you to Longido, a magnificent look-out hill, more than 500,000,000 (yes 500 hundred million!) years old. Then a dusk game drive back to the lodge, for a 5-course candlelight Italian dinner.

Day 2:

After tea or coffee brought by a Maasai attendant to your tent, enjoy a game drive in Kanzi Conservancy, where lions, cheetah, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, impalas, hartebeest roam plentifully. Then you could enjoy a game walk, or experience the special pleasure of riding a horse next to zebras and giraffes. Breakfast could be served in the bush or at Tembo House.
Another possibility would be flying to Amboseli National Park, where the elephant experience is simply superb.
The afternoon could be spent relaxing at the swimming pool, or enjoying a massage, or with a beautiful game drive to Okoikuma, a hill dominating the plains from Mt. Kilimanjaro. Then a dusk game drive back to the lodge.

Day 3:

After breakfast al fresco, under a huge fig free outside of Tembo House, a game drive will take you up into the Chyulu hills, where you could enjoy a stroll or a hike in the Cloud Forest. The forest is spectacular, with an immense diversity of trees, shrubs, flowers, birds, and wildlife.
You will return to Campi ya Kanzi for lunch and the afternoon could be spent with a lovely walk to a special place, which could be reached also by horse-back riding or with a game drive. We will surprise you with an unforgettable dinner!

Day 4:

You will leave Campi ya Kanzi, heading to Chyulu Club, in Tsavo. This morning could have many different choices of activities: a scenic flight to either Kilimanjaro or over Tsavo, a game drive or a cultural immersion in the Maasai village, with the option to visit Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust HQ, to learn about its programs. Lunch will be al fresco, at the Acacia Cafè of Chyulu Club, which is the first lodge in Africa to not just be carbon neutral, but carbon negative, with an afforestation program.
Afternoon will be spent with a lovely game drive in the marvelous Olpusare Conservancy, where we often see elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, lesser kudu, oryx, eland, cheetah, leopard, and lion.
Dinner under the stars in front of the spring, at Chyulu Club.

Day 5:

We will spend this day in the endless wilderness of Tsavo, visiting the splendid Mzima spring, where hippo, vervet and Syke’s monkeys are the landlords. During this game drive is possible to see rhino, as well as very many species of mammals and birds. Our record is 33 different species of mammals during this trip! Try to beat it! The geology of the landscape is mindboggling: from rocks more than a billion years old, to Shaitani – a lava flow just a couple of centuries old.
Dinner at Chyulu Club will have a special Maasai farewell.

Day 6: