Baraka is an elderly blind black rhino who has lived at Ol Pejeta for many years after losing his sight through a chronic eye condition. He is one of the conservancy's most recognisable and beloved residents — keepers have worked with him daily for decades, making him habituated to human presence. Visitors can enter a supervised enclosure to touch and photograph him at close range. The encounter is included in the standard Ol Pejeta entry fee (no additional charge).

Ol Pejeta Conservancy Day Trip from Nairobi

A full-day Ol Pejeta Conservancy day trip from Nairobi — two Big Five game drives, a visit to the last two northern white rhinos on Earth, Baraka the blind black rhino, and Kenya’s only chimpanzee sanctuary, with an equator photo stop on the way.

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Review

Overview

Itinerary

Cost

FAQs

Review

Overview

This Ol Pejeta Conservancy day trip from Nairobi gives you a full day inside one of East Africa’s most extraordinary wildlife properties — 90,000 acres of private conservancy in Kenya’s Laikipia region that holds more Big Five wildlife per square kilometre than most national parks, and two animals that exist nowhere else on Earth.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is home to the last two northern white rhinoceros on the planet: Najin and Fatu — a mother and daughter — both female, both living under 24-hour armed guard inside a dedicated 700-acre enclosure. Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, died at Ol Pejeta on March 19, 2018, leaving the subspecies functionally extinct from a natural breeding standpoint. Scientists are working through the BioRescue programme to produce northern white rhino embryos using preserved genetic material from Sudan and other individuals, with southern white rhino surrogates at Ol Pejeta serving as potential hosts. Visiting Najin and Fatu is one of the most sobering and significant wildlife encounters available anywhere in Africa — you are in the presence of what may be the last of their kind. The visit to their enclosure costs an additional USD 70 per person on top of the conservancy entry fee.

Beyond the northern white rhinos, Ol Pejeta holds over 165 critically endangered black rhinos — the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa — alongside the full Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo. The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, established in 1993, is Kenya’s only chimpanzee sanctuary. It houses rescued chimpanzees from Central Africa — animals confiscated from illegal trade or rescued from conflict zones — in large naturalistic enclosures with guided viewing from a raised platform. This is the only place in Kenya where you can see chimpanzees.

Baraka is one of Ol Pejeta’s most famous residents: an elderly blind black rhino who can be visited in his enclosure for a hands-on encounter. Having lost his sight through an unknown disease, Baraka has lived at Ol Pejeta for decades and can be touched and photographed at close range under the supervision of his keepers.

The day begins at 5:00 a.m. from Nairobi to beat the morning traffic, stops at the equator crossing near Nanyuki for a photograph at the latitude 0° marker, then enters the conservancy for two game drives separated by lunch at the Serena Sweetwaters Lodge watering hole.

Trip Highlights

See Najin and Fatu — the last two northern white rhinos on Earth — in their dedicated enclosure at Ol Pejeta (optional visit, USD 70/person)
Meet Baraka — Ol Pejeta's famous blind black rhino — and see over 165 black rhinos in the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa
Visit the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary — Kenya's only chimpanzee sanctuary, with rescued chimps from Central Africa
Track the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino) across 90,000 acres of private conservancy in Laikipia
Stop at the equator crossing near Nanyuki for a photo at the latitude 0° marker — where the northern and southern hemispheres divide
Watch wildlife come to the Sweetwaters Lodge watering hole at close range during the lunch break
Return to Nairobi the same day — no overnight stay required

Day 01 :

Nairobi to Ol Pejeta Conservancy and Back

Depart Nairobi at 5:00 a.m. to beat the city’s morning traffic and drive north on the A2 highway through Thika, Nyeri, and Naro Moru toward Nanyuki. Stop at the equator crossing — a well-known monument on the Nanyuki road at exactly latitude 0° — for a photo at the line that divides the planet’s two hemispheres. Continue 15 minutes to Ol Pejeta Conservancy’s gate and enter by approximately 8:15 a.m.

Begin the first game drive (approximately 2 hours) across the conservancy’s northern zone: 90,000 acres of open grassland, fever tree woodland, and riverine bush along the Ewaso Nyiro River. The conservancy is home to the Big Five — elephant herds, lions, leopards, buffalo, and over 165 critically endangered black rhinos. Cheetahs and wild dogs are also present. Your guide uses radio contact with other conservancy vehicles to locate predator sightings. The first game drive routes to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary viewing platform, where rescued chimpanzees from Central Africa — the only chimps in Kenya — are observed in large naturalistic enclosures. A keeper explains the sanctuary’s rescue and rehabilitation programme.

Arrive at the Serena Sweetwaters Lodge by midday. The lodge’s open terrace faces a permanent waterhole that draws elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, and other plains game throughout the day — one of the most relaxed wildlife photography sessions of the trip, no vehicle required. Resident vervet monkeys move through the lodge grounds. Lunch is available at the lodge’s buffet restaurant for approximately USD 25 per person (optional, not included in the package price).

The afternoon game drive begins at 2:00 p.m. and routes to the eastern sector of the conservancy — home to Baraka, the elderly blind black rhino. Baraka lost his sight through a chronic eye condition and has lived at Ol Pejeta under keeper care for decades. Visitors enter a supervised enclosure for a hands-on encounter — you can touch and photograph Baraka at close range, one of the most intimate large-mammal experiences available anywhere in East Africa. The afternoon drive also proceeds to the dedicated 700-acre northern white rhino enclosure (if the optional USD 70/person visit is booked). Here, Najin and Fatu — the last two northern white rhinoceros on Earth — move freely in their vast enclosure under constant armed guard. An interpreter from Ol Pejeta explains the BioRescue programme’s scientific effort to produce embryos and potentially restore the subspecies through assisted reproduction. The afternoon game drive concludes at 4:00 p.m. Begin the return drive to Nairobi, arriving at your hotel by approximately 7:00 p.m.