Ngare Serian

There are just 4 tents at Ngare Serian, scattered along the banks of the Mara River and equipped with every comfort and luxury you could need. Raised on polished hardwood decking, they offer lovely views of the river and hippo pods.

Each tent is furnished with a Zanzibar four-poster bed, armchairs, carved tables and oriental rugs, and comes with an adjoining bathroom. A bathtub is set into the decking so you can follow the hippos’ lead by taking a nice long soak and hearing the sounds of nature go by.

Ngare Serian caters all meals for its guests but their dinners are what they are known for. They believe wholeheartedly in preserving that ancestral tradition of coming together around the fire and eating together, of relishing in our social natures and innate capacity to share. This is the time for re-telling the day’s excursions to your fellow adventurers and winding down for the peaceful night ahead.

The essence of the safari experience at Ngare Serian is game drives. Each group has their very own dedicated guide and spotter, and their own open-top safari Land cruiser, ideal for wildlife photography. Nkorombo’s guides know these areas like the backs of their hands – they know all those special places to visit, where the animals like to go and what they like to do depending on the season, and all about the habitats that maintain it all.

You’ll have total flexibility and freedom to make the most out of your stay. Whether it’s a full day drive with picnics or an adventure that gets you back in time for sundowners by the fire before dinner, you get to go wherever the day takes you!

Taking a walk on safari is the epitome of your chance to withdraw from the hard-trodden trails and tracks and experience the wilderness in a brand new way. There are simply some things that you can’t fully appreciate on a game drive, so once you slow down your eyes will be opened to all these new things you hadn’t noticed before. Only by getting up close are you able to fully appreciate the role of every little piece of the ecosystem.

If you’re looking to really get close to nature and get a little taste of the nomadic life, you can easily incorporate some flycamping into your stay at Ngare. Spend a couple of days walking through the untarnished wilderness and the nights sleeping under a lightweight tent in a makeshift camp before moving on the next morning.

Taking a step back from game drives and ‘glamping’ tents can add a completely unique dimension to your safari experience that not many people are lucky enough to encounter.

As the sun rises take to the skies for one of the most iconic and romantic safari experiences. Glide silently over the Mara plains and take in the beautiful scenery and undisturbed wildlife below. After landing, guests will be treated to a champagne bush breakfast to finish your day with a flourish!

The MPCP is an organisation that works to protect the predator populations of the Greater Maasai Mara ecosystem, with central focus on the 3 main predators of the region – the lion, the cheetah, and the leopard.

It is their aim to help those in the surrounding communities understand the value and role of these predators in the ecosystem and to support healthy, safe populations of Kenya’s feline residents. Alex Walker’s Serian is able to arrange amazing photography/survey safaris with Niels Mogensen, Senior Programme Scientist the MPCP, and award-winning photographer, Trai Anfield, and all proceeds then go straight to the MPCP.

Alex Walker’s Serian helped to launch the Mara Predator Project, an initiative to protect lion populations, and the Serian Camp was the base of the Project for 3 years. From this prime location, the MPP was able to conduct research and collect data on lions in the area to help inform their strategies for the conservation of lion prides.

The Mara North Conservancy (MNC) has one of the lowest densities of tourism and vehicles in the Maasai Mara, and accommodates just 12 camps, which are all managed in a sustainable way that benefits the surrounding communities and natural habitats.

Numbers of beds/tents and safari vehicles are limited to a fixed amount of land, i.e. 1 tent per 700 acres of land. This ensures that tourism and pollution stay at a minimal level but also offer a highly exclusive safari experience for those staying in the MNC.

In the 80s and 90s, the expansion of land fragmentation began to lead to the ‘environmental degradation of the Maasai Mara ecosystem’. A partnership between the Maasai landowners and the private tourism sector was hugely important for creating a mutually beneficial system that ensured sustainable and effective wildlife conservation and stability in local communities.

In 2008, the founding members of the Mara North Conservancy began working with local Maasai landowners to begin developing this system and 750 landowners leased their land to the MNC, which was officially established in 2009. The camps within the MNC pay the landowners a fixed rate each month for the privileges of carrying out safari drives within the area.

Solar energy is the main source of power for the Alex Walker Serian camps and their facilities. This has a really beneficial impact on the environment because solar energy is the most efficient renewable energy source, reduces air pollution in replacing fossil fuels and it doesn’t require water to make energy. Reliance on solar power also prevents use of non-eco-friendly appliances such as washing machines, air conditioning units and microwaves.