From
$6,663
Tented Camp · Maasai Mara, Kenya
&Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp
On a private Maasai concession where the Oloololo Escarpment meets the open plain: &Beyond's legendary western Mara camp, with night drives and walking safaris
Kichwa Tembo means “head of the elephant” in Kiswahili. This name signals both the camp’s deep relationship with the Maasai Mara‘s elephant population and the scale of presence this landscape demands. The camp sits on a private concession leased from Maasai landowners in the remote western Mara, accessible almost exclusively by light aircraft and bordered by the Oloololo Escarpment to the west and the open plains to the east. It is a position of genuine rarity: within the greater Mara ecosystem but on private land, giving guests access to the full wildlife spectacle of one of Africa’s greatest game areas while benefiting from the freedoms that national reserve boundaries do not allow.
Those freedoms matter significantly at Kichwa Tembo. Night drives, off-road game viewing, and guided bush walks are all available on the concession — activities that the Maasai Mara National Reserve’s regulations prohibit within its boundaries. The concession’s private status also means that vehicle density at sightings is controlled: during the Great Migration, when the central Mara can become crowded with game drive vehicles, Kichwa Tembo’s guests experience the wildebeest crossings and the predator concentrations that follow them in relative peace.
The camp itself is set where the Sabaringo River threads through the base of the Oloololo Escarpment, its banks lined with lush riverine forest that gives way abruptly to the open Mara plains — a contrast of habitats within metres of each other that produces extraordinary wildlife diversity. Forty tented suites are laid out across this terrain in three distinct configurations, each with screened private decks, oversized beds, and Maasai-inspired interiors of stained cypress furniture, tribal decorations, and locally sourced textiles. The communal spaces are exceptional by any standard: a split-level lounge with massive windows that invite the Mara inside, an interactive kitchen with its own organic garden, and a rim-flow swimming pool positioned on the escarpment’s edge with one of the most extraordinary views in African safari travel — the plains stretching unbroken to the Tanzanian horizon below.
Every guest at Kichwa Tembo is given a complimentary pair of Swarovski Optik binoculars for the duration of their stay — a gesture that speaks to the camp’s understanding of what the Mara’s wildlife actually requires of its observers.
Sprawled along the Sabaringo River at the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment, where emerald riverine forest meets the golden sweep of the Maasai Mara plains, &Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp has been one of Kenya's most beloved luxury safari addresses for decades.
Why Stay Here
- Private concession — night drives, walking safaris, and off-road game viewing unavailable in the national reserve
- Rim-flow swimming pool on the escarpment's edge with panoramic views across the Mara plains
- 40 Maasai-inspired tented suites with complimentary Swarovski Optik binoculars for every guest
- Great Migration route — wildebeest, zebra, and the predator concentrations that follow them
- Organic kitchen garden, interactive kitchen, and an all-inclusive dining programme of genuine ambition
- Female Maasai safari guides — pioneering representation in an industry that has been slow to change
Our Commitment to Conservation
&Beyond is one of Africa's most committed conservation operators — the group's Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, and Care of the People philosophy underpins every property in its portfolio, and Kichwa Tembo is no exception. The camp's private concession is leased directly from Maasai landowners, with rental payments providing a consistent and significant income stream to the community in per
Rooms & Accommodation
40 tented suites at Kichwa Tembo are distributed across three distinct categories of accommodation, each with screened-in private decks with daybeds, oversized beds with quality linens, and en-suite bathrooms with indoor shower, flush toilet, hot water, hairdryer, and designer toiletries. The Maasai-inspired interior design runs consistently through all tent categories — stained cypress furniture, tribal decorations, warm neutral palette, and the kind of considered craftsmanship that rewards close attention. Classic Tents are nestled in the riverine forest with views over the Sabaringo River; Superior Tents are positioned among the trees with glimpses of plains or escarpment; Superior View Tents command unobstructed panoramic views across the open Mara. 3 family suites within the Superior category connect two tents via private walkways.
Classic Tent
Twelve Classic Tents are nestled in the forested section of the camp along the Sabaringo River, offering a more enclosed and adventurous atmosphere than the plains-facing tents above. The riverine forest setting creates its own wildlife theatre: birdsong at dawn, the occasional hippo in the shallows, and the sounds of the bush at its most intimate.
Screened private deck with daybed · River or forest views · En-suite bathroom with indoor shower · Maasai-inspired interiors · Swarovski Optik binoculars · Complimentary laundry · Wi-Fi
Superior Tent
Twenty Superior Tents are the camp's most popular configuration — larger than the Classic Tents, positioned among shady trees on the escarpment side of the camp with views through the forest to the plains or escarpment beyond. The additional space makes a meaningful difference for guests spending several nights: room to spread out, a more generous bathroom, and the same screened dec
Screened private deck with daybed · Forest or escarpment views · En-suite bathroom · Larger footprint · Swarovski Optik binoculars · Complimentary laundry · Wi-Fi
Superior View Tent
Eight Superior View Tents occupy the finest positions in the camp — arranged along the escarpment from just beyond the swimming pool, each with an unobstructed panoramic view across the Maasai Mara plains below. Waking to this view, with the plains lit by the first light of a Mara dawn and the sounds of the bush assembling below, is as close to perfection as any tented camp in Kenya delivers.
Panoramic Mara plains views · Screened private deck with daybed · En-suite bathroom with indoor shower · Swarovski Optik binoculars · Maasai-inspired interiors · Complimentary laundry · Wi-Fi
Experiences & Activities
Every moment at &Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp is crafted to immerse you deeper in the wild.
Night Game Drives on Private Concession
The single most significant advantage of Kichwa Tembo's private concession status: night drives into wildlife that the national reserve's regulations keep hidden after dark. Leopard on the hunt, lion moving between territories, aardvark foraging, serval cats and civets
Great Migration Game Drives
Kichwa Tembo sits directly within the Great Migration corridor along the western Mara, and the camp's guides — experienced, deeply knowledgeable, and famously including female Maasai driver-guides pioneering representation in an industry that has been slow to change
Hot Air Balloon Safari
A dawn launch from the western Mara, drifting silently above the plains as the first light finds the wildebeest herds and the river below, concludes with a champagne breakfast served in the open savannah
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Dining
The dining programme at Kichwa Tembo operates at a level of ambition and variety that the all-inclusive format tends not to produce at lesser properties. An interactive kitchen with an on-site organic garden supplies fresh herbs, vegetables, and salad greens that appear at every meal — guests are welcome to tour the garden at any point during their stay. Breakfast is served in the open-air dining room or taken in the bush as the morning drive concludes; lunch in the main lodge or at the pool terrace; dinner by candlelight in the dining room or under the open sky of the concession. High tea — with freshly baked pastries and the day’s first debrief between guests — is a Kichwa Tembo ritual that guests find themselves looking forward to with surprising enthusiasm. The wine and beer selection is broad and well-curated; most dietary requirements can be accommodated with advance notice. Bush dining setups — breakfast on the Mara River bank, dinner by firelight on the escarpment — are arranged for small groups seeking something beyond the main lodge.
Gallery
Best Time to Visit
The Kichwa Tembo private concession is accessible and productive year-round, and the camp operates without seasonal closure. The Great Migration peaks between July and October along the western Mara corridor — a period during which Kichwa Tembo’s position on the concession, away from the vehicle concentrations of the central reserve, becomes particularly valuable. The wildebeest crossings occur along the Mara River with an unpredictability that makes every visit different; August and September are statistically the most active months. Advance bookings of six to twelve months are advised for this period.
Outside migration season, the concession’s resident wildlife delivers year-round game viewing of genuine quality. The dry season from January to March offers clear skies, short vegetation, and excellent predator sightings. The short rains of November and December bring brief afternoon showers, lush scenery, and dramatically reduced vehicle density across the Mara. April and May see the long rains; the landscape greens entirely, rates are typically the most accessible of the year, and the concession’s solitude reaches its most pronounced. Night drives, walking safaris, and off-road game viewing are available on the private concession across all twelve months, regardless of season.
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Location & Getting Here
Destination
Maasai Mara, Kenya
Conservation Area
Kichwa Tembo Private Concession / Maasai Mara
Nearest Airstrip
Kichwa Tembo Private Airstrip
Transfer Time
30 minutes by game drive vehicle from Kichwa Tembo Airstrip
Getting Here
&Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp is located on the Kichwa Tembo private concession in the western Maasai Mara, Kenya, at the foot of the Oloololo Escarpment alongside the Sabaringo River. Access is by two daily scheduled flights from Nairobi's Wilson Airport to the camp's private airstrip — approximately one hour in the air — followed by a 30-minute scenic game drive transfer to camp.
Safaris That Include This Lodge
Explore handcrafted itineraries where &Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp forms part of the journey.
