Built by hand from local stone and timber on the southern slopes of Mount Nyiru, high above the Horr Valley, Desert Rose is one of the most remote lodges in Kenya, reached by a roughly ten-hour drive north from Nairobi. Its five individual houses, hosting up to twelve guests, look out over the valley toward the mountain the Samburu consider their most sacred site.
Five separate stone-and-timber houses, each with an en-suite bathroom open to the sky and a private patio.
Home-style meals are served in the shared central area, with views down into the valley below.
Guided hikes on Mount Nyiru, with the possibility of encountering greater kudu, baboon and, after dark, leopard, serval and aardvark; the lodge also serves as a staging point for onward overland travel toward the Suguta Valley and Lake Turkana.
The mountain forest holds a different cast of subjects to Kenya’s better-known parks, rewarding patient, quiet walking rather than vehicle-based game drives.
Every design element at the lodge, from the furniture to the fireplaces, was made by hand on site, giving photographers as much to shoot up close as out across the valley.
Built and run in partnership with the local Samburu community, the lodge supports the surrounding area as one of the only sources of tourism income in this remote corner of the Rift Valley.
To arrange a tailor-made journey to this lodge, speak with your Kipekee Journey Lead.
