Kenya’s Ol Pejeta: Where Rhino Conservation Meets the Caucasus Traveller’s Itinerary

By Safari News — Africa Calling Safaris, Partner desk, Nairobi · 23/10/2025

Updated 23 October 2026

North-west of Nairobi on the Laikipia Plateau, a 90,000-acre conservancy called Ol Pejeta has become one of the most closely watched sites in global wildlife conservation. Spread across grassland, acacia woodland and riverine forest along the Ewaso Ng’iro River, it holds the largest black rhino population in East Africa, over 110 animals, protected by more than 300 rangers using camera traps, tracker dogs and aerial patrols funded largely through tourism revenue.

Ol Pejeta’s singular claim to fame, however, is grimmer: it is home to Najin and Fatu, the only two northern white rhinos left on the planet, both female, kept under round-the-clock armed guard since the death of the last male, Sudan, in March 2018. Unable to breed naturally, the pair are the focus of an IVF programme using harvested eggs and stored sperm from deceased males, which has already produced a viable embryo intended for a southern white rhino surrogate — a last-ditch attempt to prevent the subspecies’ complete disappearance.

Beyond the rhino story, the conservancy offers reliable Big Five sightings, resident cheetah and African wild dog, and East Africa’s only chimpanzee sanctuary, Sweetwaters, home to more than 40 animals rescued from the bushmeat and pet trade since 1993. Nanyuki airstrip, roughly a 45-minute flight from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport, makes Ol Pejeta an efficient add-on for travellers routing through Nairobi from Tbilisi or other European gateways, with camps recommending a minimum two-night stay.

Based on reporting by Safari News, the travel desk of Africa Calling Safaris (Nairobi), GTour’s partner for East Africa. Read the original there.