Encounter Mara

Guests at Encounter Mara are accommodated in chic safari tents, which blend comfort with motifs of African naturalistic design. The Super King-Sized beds provide hotel luxury within the wilderness of the savannah. Tent windows give superb views over the plains, and enjoy privacy afforded by their situation amidst a grove of acacia trees. Tents enjoy flushing toilets and heated safari bucket showers.

The site has two spacious triple tents, which comfortably fit travelling trios. The naturalistic deigns and subtle African motifs make these tents a delightful place to begin and end each day.

The Super King-Sized beds provide hotel luxury within the wilderness of the savannah. Tent windows give superb views over the plains, and enjoy privacy afforded by their situation amidst a grove of acacia trees. Tents enjoy flushing toilets and heated safari bucket showers.

The family tent comfortably accommodates four people on a family safari retreat. The naturalistic deigns and subtle African motifs make these tents a delightful place to begin and end each day. The Super King-Sized beds provide hotel luxury within the wilderness of the savannah.

Tent windows give superb views over the plains, and enjoy privacy afforded by their situation amidst a grove of acacia trees. Tents enjoy flushing toilets and heated safari bucket showers.

The camp offers dining under tented cover, or al fresco, enjoying the marvellous views for a truly beautiful dining experience. An open-air, sunset dinner brings a tangible air of romance to any evening meal, with exquisite food being served to guests in an unforgettable dining experience.

Further, the camp’s classic bar underpins a mainstay safari tradition, the sundowner! Nothing compares to the majestic equatorial sunsets with a glass of champagne in-hand.

Asilia runs game drives twice a day, around dawn and dusk when animals are more active. As Encounter Mara sits in a private conservancy, Asilia’s guides can drive off-road to get a closer look when they spot something in the bush.

We are also able to drive after dark, which brings the opportunity of encountering nocturnal animals. If you would like to experience the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve, Asilia’s staff can also arrange game drives there (at an additional cost).

Most of Asilia’s guides are from the local area and are more than happy to talk about their culture with guests. We can organise visits to local villages to extend that learning opportunity.

As dawn breaks, glide over the Masai Mara National Reserve in a hot-air balloon and watch the landscape change colour beneath you. Hot-air balloon excursions are not to be missed, especially if you’re celebrating a special occasion. Balloon flights are at an additional cost and subject to weather conditions.

Neighbouring Naboisho is home to one of Asilia’s specially modified photographic vehicles. The open vehicle allows keen amateurs and professional photographers alike to shoot at eye level with wildlife. It is equipped with all the gear to ensure award-winning shots — from beanbags and camera rests to 360° swivel seats. Please enquire to ensure availability of the vehicle and confirm any additional fees.

A night safari gives travellers the chance to see nocturnal animals in action. Asilia’s vehicles are equipped with special spotlights so you can have the thrill of watching predators such as lions, leopards, and caracals as they stalk their prey.

The Twende Porini project brings children from local communities to Asilia camps for a 5-day educational programme: “The programme teaches these children about conservation and wildlife in fun and interesting ways while treating the kids to a safari experience, too!”

The initiative shares Kenya’s incredible natural gifts with children who otherwise would not get to experience the wonders which bring people to their country from across the globe. The initiative instils a love of the environment in the younger generation, and acts as the first step in passing the torch onto those who will carry conservation efforts into the future.

In treating the children of the Twende Porini initiative as guests would be treated at the safari locations, the local children get to enjoy a transformative experience which is fed back into their communities. The children are treated to a taste of luxury which is so often enjoyed by outsiders, but rarely by native Kenyans themselves. The initiative creates a valuable bond between the youth of Kenya and the wildlife of their homeland.

The Maa Beading initiative provides an additional stream of revenue to Maasai families, and is an example of a successful project that is helping women gain financial knowledge and entrepreneurial skills.

The initiative has reached over 400 Maasai women, and gives them opportunity for commerce with tourists who visit safari desitnations: “One of the key goals of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy is to enhance opportunities for the local communities. Through these efforts, the Conservancy aims to strike a balance between protecting wildlife and improving the lives of people who live near the Conservancy borders.”

Asilia has paired with The Maa Trust to try and combat FGM in rural areas of Kenya. Asilia’s education programme is a proponent of alternative rite-of-passage celebrations which retain the cultural significance held by these traditional ceremonies, whilst augmenting them away from FGM practices, which are both psychologically traumatic, and often put young girls’ lives at risk.

As 78% of Maasai women between the ages of 15-49 have undergone FGM, it is imperative that tourism providers utilise their working relationships with rural communities to provide them with essential education to help put an end to practices which area violation of human rights.

As per UNICEF’s 2020 Profile of FGM in Kenya, initiatives for both ‘comprehensive and innovative community engagement’ and ‘Girls’ empowerment programmes’ are listed among its evidence-based strategies for combatting FGM, and it is very encouraging to see Asilia making strides in this work which align with the advice derived from analytical profiles such as this.

The Maa Honey Project is an initiative which preserves the native bee species and provides work for indigenous women. The ecological benefits that derive from this are not to be understated, as bees are key pollinators within the ecosystem. This initiative both provides ecological benefits, preserves bee populations, and provides employment and commerce for Maasai women.

Asilia’s Youth Empowerment initiative provides resources which assist local children to find their way in the modern world. Providing resources such as career advice, and CV writing tutorials, the Youth Empowerment initiative works with the younger generation to identify desired career paths and find appropriate training.

This conservation programme works towards sustaining populations of lion, cheetah, and leopard. As these species battle with loss of habitat, an ecosystem under huge pressure and life-threatening conflict with humans, conservation for these groups is integral for sustaining a balanced ecosystem in the Maasai Mara. The initiative has an emphasis of predator monitoring, and funding is allocated towards cameras and GPS satellite collars.

“Naboisho” is a Maasai war-cry, a call to “come together” in times of existential threat. Whilst there is no war raging, the Maasai recognize an existential threat in the loss of their homelands, and the onslaught of the climate crisis. The Naboisho Conservancy has secured 200km2 for a conservancy which challenges the limitations of pre-existing conservancy models, which have been insufficient in their distribution of the economic benefits throughout the local community, attained by land-lease payments, employment, and grazing lands.

The Naboisho model guarantees monthly income to the landowners as well as employment to the youth, contributing significantly to the local development. The scalable Naboisho model for responsible tourism can be replicated anywhere. The successes of the model are found in having provided a guaranteed income to almost 600 local Maasai households; impacted directly and indirectly over 10,000 people in the region; seen a 72% rise in the number of elephants between 2014-17. Being the overall winner of the 2016 Africa Responsible Tourism Awards, Naboisho was recognized as a conservancy that truly remarkably brings together communities and wildlife conservation.