Saruni is the deluxe, intimate lodge set in a private conservation area outside the Masai Mara National Reserve, the most famous game park in Africa. Established in 2003 by a group of friends who shared their passion for Africa (Riccardo Orizio, Pia-Sophie Wool, Paolo Barberis Canonico and Davide Barberis Canonico), Saruni accomodates 12 guests at the main lodge and six at our nearby tented camp, Campi ya Tembo. Set in a remote valley at the heart of the most exciting wilderness of Kenya, the lodge offers a new concept of African safari: a real adventure lived in harmony with the Maasai warriors coupled with high standards of style and comfort.
Designed and built by Kenyan architect Mark Glen, Saruni has six large cottages, where one can experience both the elegance and safety of a permanent accommodation with the thrill of sleeping in close contact with nature. The rooms are furnished with colonial antiques, Persian carpets and African art. The atmosphere at the camp is informal but elegant. Each cottage has hot and cold running water, 220 volt electricity, elegant Italian bathroom fittings, polished wooden floors, and large bathrooms where the canvas front can be totally open to offer you an amazing “shower with a view”. Décor is unique for each cottage and from the large verandahs one enjoys a unique view of the Mara plains and can watch the many wild animals that come to our waterhole. Your safari actually starts on our massive cedar beds, from where you can see in total privacy elephant, leopard, waterbuck, bushbuck and impala traversing freely and peacefully in the grounds of the camp.
Kuro House is the common dining area and is a mixture of old-fashioned Africa and modern design. Its huge fireplace is the focal point of life at Saruni and it is here that our guests exchange memories of the day’s safaris. While reminiscing they can start to savour the exceptional cuisine that is served around our long table and uses fresh, locally grown and organic produce in inventive ways. Alternatively meals can be taken in the bush among the wild animals, with birdsong and animal calls as a backdrop. By separate arrangement a candlelight dinner can be served on your own verandah
A unique feature of Saruni is its collection of books and its library, the most beautiful in the African bush. With thousands of rare books and its very private location, Saruni’s library is a place where to meditate, to rest, to think.
Saruni has a low impact on the environment thanks to the use of solar power and the recycling of waste.
The word “safari” means to be out and away, to be on a journey or travelling in remote areas. It is both a physical and spiritual journey that can be undertaken in many ways. For our safaris we use comfortable, fully-open Land Rovers, specially designed to give you maximum visibility over the landscape and the animals. On our foot safaris we walk, on the plains and in the mountains and hills, that surround Saruni.
In the Land Rover you are accompanied by your professional guide and by a tracker, a team that will help you to read the book of nature. We don’t rush while on safari and there will be time to observe the wild animals, to see how they interact and to study their behaviour and their habitats. Days can be hot or cold, sunny or rainy but the wildlife of the Masai Mara is always in action. We will not only take to the famous spots but also to the secret corners where you never meet another vehicle. It is the Masai Mara without the minibuses, as the first hunters and explorers discovered it.
We’d love to take you to our secret spots, especially for bush dinner or bush lunch. Deep in the forest or by the river Mara overlooking a “hippo beach”, a nicely decorated table is waiting for us, providing us with the thrilling experience of a gourmet meal in the middle of the bush.
If you are passionate about birds, we are more than happy to help you identify new species among the 500 plus that live in the Mara. Our guides are birdwatchers by instinct and by training. They can recognise these beautiful creatures by their calls and songs as well as by their plumage. Above all, they share your love for birds.
We always carry field guides and binoculars in our vehicles.
On a game walk you will feel, touch and smell the trees, the bushes, the rocks and the tracks – and even the animal droppings – that make our area unique. To walk with the Masai warriors in the African bush is a fantastic experience and you will learn how they use the berries and the leaves, about their traditions and about their life.
Wildlife is most active either early in the morning or in the late afternoon and evening. These are the two magic moments of a safari. After dawn, the light is perfect for photography and the sounds of the African bush start filling the air. This is the moment when we will explore the special, secluded areas behind Saruni, where no other tourists go. The only other people that we shall meet will be the Masai, armed only with a spear and bow and arrows, guarding their herds of cattle. Later in the day, just before sunset, we will stop and think about the day that is about to end while drinking a sundowner. We will be right in the middle of “nowhere” that is right in the centre of everything, surrounded on all sides by life and death, hunting and escape, sleeping and eating, mating and playing.
Many safaris are not focused on wildlife but on homo sapiens and are what some people call “cultural tourism”. We call it “meet the neighbours”. With you, we visit the Masai homes and villages and, because they are our neighbours and friends, we will be allowed to share moments of their life in a genuine way. They own the land we show you that we feel that it is important for you see how they live, why they protect the environment and in what way they are different from the other African tribes. They will ask you questions as they will be curious about you, too. It is an exchange of ideas and information.
