A luxury Kenyan safari can be a wonderful experience, but it can also paint a rather superficial, Hollywood view of Kenya. Our Forest of the Lost Child and Maasai Homestays journey aims to offer a different, more realistic, view of southern Kenya and contemporary Maasai life. During this varied journey you will spend time being hosted by a local Maasai family in a first of its kind homestay experience, head deep into a remote corner of the Masai Mara for a night of bush camping, hike around the beautiful, and little known, Loita hills and forests and spend time birdwatching and cycling around Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley. In addition to all of this, you will also become a member of the local Maasai community by helping them take the livestock out to graze, attend church services and school sessions, and you will visit a number of local community improvement projects.

Far removed from the world of safari tourism, the Loita hills, which is a stunning region of stumpy acacia woodlands, wide open plains, rich green farmland and cool, drizzly plateaus, is the last remaining corner of traditional Maasai culture in Kenya. Travelling east from the Masai Mara, the hills become mountains and soar two kilometres into the sky and it’s here that the Naimina Enkiyio forest – or Forest of the Lost Child – can be found. One of the most unique environments in Kenya, this wild region of dense rainforest pocked with thinly vegetated mountain summits gained its evocative name through a legend about a young Maasai girl who got lost in the forest whilst walking with her livestock. Despite an extensive search neither she, nor the livestock, were ever seen again.

Very few Kenyan’s, let alone foreign visitors, are aware of the existence of these hills and forests, and a visit to the Loita Hills and the Forest of the Lost Child is a true adventure into one of the most magical corners of East Africa.

This very special journey – which is offered by no other safari company – came about through our deep sense that there was more to the Masai Mara and southern Kenya than sunset drinks and migrating wildebeest (although don’t worry we include a bit of that too). To come up with this journey and make the required contacts involved spending many months in this part of Kenya building up the confidence of local communities. It even involved spending six weeks hiking and bush camping across a great swathe of southern Kenya! But, by putting in the time and gaining the trust of local communities we have been able to create a truly unique adventure.