A small place,
beside a very large one.
Mara Silalei is family-run, Maasai-run, and built to sit quietly in a landscape that does not need any help being impressive.
We are located next to the loveliest game reserve on the continent.
That is not our line — it is what visitors have said about the Maasai Mara for the better part of a century, and we have never found a reason to disagree. Mara Silalei Camp sits right on its edge, in Narok County, a short drive from the gate.
The camp fits nicely into the natural environment and offers a unique opportunity to explore the natural beauty of the Mara. We built it the way people here have always built: thatch and earth for the manyatta, canvas in the open field, and a solid house for those who would rather have walls.
Even after returning from a day out on safari, the feeling of wilderness is still maintained. That is the whole design brief, really. You should not have to leave the Mara to go to bed.
“Silalei” carries the sense of blessing in Maa. It is the name we hope guests take home with them.
- 4
- Ways to stay
- Tents, manyatta & guest house
- 450+
- Bird species
- Recorded in the greater Mara
- 1,510
- km² of reserve
- On your doorstep
- 24/7
- On site
- Family-run, always someone here
Tourism only works here if it works for the people here.
The Mara is not empty land. It is grazing, it is home, and it has been looked after by Maasai families for a very long time. How we run this place follows from that.
Light on the land
We build in the local idiom with local materials, and we keep the footprint small. The manyatta is thatch and earth for a reason — it works.
Maasai-run
Our guides, cooks and hosts are from here. The knowledge you get on a drive is not learned from a book, it is learned from a childhood.
Money that stays
Village visits, produce and staff wages go into households in this community rather than out of it.
Schools & youth
We host school groups, youth camps and church families at rates that put the Mara within reach of Kenyan families.
The people who will actually answer.
No call centre. When you ring Mara Silalei, someone who works here picks up.
