Elerai Camp, Amboseli

Where Elerai Camp is

Elerai Camp stands on elevated ground in the 5,000 acre Elerai Conservancy, about 12 km south-east of Amboseli National Park (the camp's own figure), at the foot of Kilimanjaro. The conservancy lies in the Kitenden Corridor, which links the Kilimanjaro forests in Tanzania with Amboseli so elephants, lions and cheetahs can move between them. The camp looks down over the park in one direction and up to the mountain in the other.

Staying in a private conservancy gives you activities that are restricted inside the park. The camp lists night game drives, game walks and bush sundowners on the conservancy, alongside game drives into Amboseli National Park. Park drives go through Kimana Gate, about 30 minutes from camp by Google Maps, though tour operators quote anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes depending on the track. The marshes are further inside, so a park outing is a full morning or a full day.

Getting to Elerai Camp

Because the camp sits on a conservancy south-east of the park, allow extra transfer time on arrival and departure days. Park drives enter through Kimana Gate, around 30 minutes from camp. We confirm the exact road or airstrip transfer timing for your dates when you book, and we plan your first and last game drives to suit it.

Kilimanjaro views, honestly

The camp describes itself as the closest camp to Kilimanjaro, and the tent verandas face the mountain, with the lounge and pool looking the same way. Sitting closer to the mountain than the park lodges, the camp has a big view of it. Cloud still decides the day. Kilimanjaro rises across the border in Tanzania, and Amboseli is one of the best places in Kenya to see it. The first hours after sunrise and the hour before sunset give the clearest views, because cloud tends to wrap the summit by late morning. The dry months of January to February and June to October give the best odds, and March to May, the long rains, is the cloudiest stretch.

Tents and rooms

The camp has 12 deluxe tents with raised cedar wood floors, acacia poles and makuti thatch roofs. Each has an en-suite bathroom with a shower and a toilet looking toward the mountain, and a large veranda with a day bed. There are also 5 cottage rooms, built of natural rock and acacia wood, with sliding doors onto a balcony over the plains and the park, and a bathtub and shower in the bathroom. Agent listings agree on 12 tents and 5 cottages. The camp was formerly called Satao Elerai Camp, so older listings, articles and agent price lists may still use that name.

Facilities and meals

Facilities include a lounge facing the park and the mountain, a pool with a view of Kilimanjaro and a waterhole that draws elephants, giraffe and zebra. Dinners are served a la carte using locally grown produce, and on clear nights tables are set on the terrace under the stars.

A typical day at Elerai Camp

Mornings start with a drive into Amboseli National Park for the swamps and the herds. At midday you return to the camp for lunch, a swim and a watch at the waterhole. In the late afternoon the conservancy is yours for a game walk or a bush sundowner, and dinner is served a la carte, outdoors when the sky is clear.

Who Elerai Camp suits

It suits couples, photographers and travellers who want a small, private camp with the mountain close at hand and the freedom of a private conservancy for walks and sundowners. It fits our honeymoon safari and photography safari well. See how it differs from the others on our lodge comparison.

How Elerai Camp fits our packages

Elerai Camp suits our quiet, scenery-first safaris:

• Amboseli Luxury Safari: four days and three nights with a private guide and an unhurried pace.
• Amboseli Honeymoon Safari: four days and three nights built around quiet drives and a candlelit dinner.
• Amboseli Photography Safari: dawn and dusk shoots positioned for elephants and the mountain.
• Amboseli Fly-In Safari: fly from Wilson Airport and start your game drive within the hour.
• 3 Day Amboseli Safari: two nights, with a full day at the swamps and Observation Hill.

Rates at Elerai Camp

Typical published rates: roughly USD 265 to 365 per person per night depending on season, including the conservancy fee, ask us for the current rate. Rates are per person sharing a room on full board and change with the season, so we confirm the price in writing before you pay.

Book Elerai Camp with us

Message us your dates and who is travelling. We confirm the camp, the conservancy activities and the park drives, and plan the whole safari.