Equestrian tourism in wild Kenya

On this occasion we travel to Kenya, the “King of Safaris” country, where you can ride among the African wildlife.

Horse riding holidays in Kenya are synonymous with excitement. The equestrian programs in this country are for those of us who love adventure on routes that take us far beyond the well-trodden paths full of hordes of tourists who prefer the air-conditioning of their buses to the natural heat of the place we are visiting.

Some of the horse riding vacation packages are absolutely luxurious. Although most of the routes are for experienced riders, there are some tours that can accommodate riders with a lower level of riding ability.

Ride through vast expanses surrounded by national parks such as the Masai Mara or Amboseli National Park!

Kenya National Parks on Horseback

Masai Mara is probably the best known national park in Kenya and is named after its inhabitants, the Masai tribe, and its river, the Mara. It is located in the southwest of the country and is a continuation of the Serengeti in Tanzania. A proposal to consider in this place is offered by the provider Safari Unlimited.

Amboseli National Park is at the center of an ecosystem that extends over the border from Kenya into Tanzania. It has large wild animals and an incredible view of Mount Kilimanjaro. Another horse riding tour operator in Kenya, Offbeat Safaris, offers an equestrian program to explore this magnificent park and get to know its flora and fauna up close.

Safari Unlimited

They are located in a very privileged area near the Masai Mara National Park.

They are a provider of horse riding routes and safaris that have been in business for two generations and 45 years of experience offering their guests an intense experience of wildlife, landscapes and contact with the native inhabitants of the place.

A horse riding vacation with them is simply an unforgettable journey on horseback, where you can appreciate landscapes of incomparable beauty.

Their safaris are incredible and their professional team - including the guides, chefs, logistics, waiters, tent builders and their experienced safari staff - attend to the riders who visit them with great care and dedication. All their efforts make everything work.

They are not novices, most of their employees have been with them for more than a decade and some are second-generation employees.

Their smiles and warm spirit will make you feel at home as soon as you arrive, you will be immersed in a truly Kenyan atmosphere.

Their equestrian programs are incredible routes and trails and are done on trails in the wildest places on the continent richest in big game hunting possibilities, in one of the largest unfenced areas in Africa.

When you are so far from civilization, as here, the feeling of space and freedom is overwhelming.

Areas of great diversity in wildlife species, birds and landscapes will be the natural setting for each day you spend with them.

This wild corner of Africa is also home to the Maasai and Samburu, natives who roam the plains with their herds of cattle around them as they ride through this unspoiled paradise.

Where exactly are you going to ride? Below, by way of example, we are going to describe the route of two of their programs.

Maasai Mara

The beauty of the Mara nature reserve is one of the most authentic in East Africa. The landscape of rolling savannah and acacia forests, crossed by dark green veins of riverine forest on the banks of the Mara and Olare Orok rivers, is the most representative of this incredible place.

This wilderness is an extension of the Serengeti ecosystem (Tanzania) and is considered Kenya's best wildlife sanctuary, where animals can still be seen in large numbers.

While riding you will be able to observe large carnivores, antelopes, primates and rodents among other mammals.

One spectacle that you will only see here is the annual migration, more than a million wildebeest move every year making their presence felt, one of the best wildlife spectacles in the world and most impressive that you can witness.

The Mara is also home to the colorful and striking Maasai, an ethnic group that preserves its ancestral way of life and roams the area with their herds of cattle, as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. They are synonymous with the region.

Laikipia

Laikipia is a vast expanse of this country in the central highlands. It stretches from the snowy peaks of Mount Kenya in the east, across the equator to the Great Rift Valley in the west.

The very diverse landscape with open grasslands, basalt hills, escarpments, rivers and dense forests. It is one of Kenya's main safari destinations.

Its trails are a combination of abundant wildlife and exceptional scenic beauty, providing the basis for a unique equestrian experience.

The wildlife is free to roam between the conservation areas, the ranches and the community lands that surround the grasslands of northern Kenya, and they are part of the charms that you will discover as you follow the route that this program proposes on horseback.

You will be able to participate in the activities that the local communities offer to visiting riders. Seeing and getting to know local and ethnically diverse cultures up close, such as the Mukogodo Maasai, Samburu, Pokot, is the added experience that this program offers.

https://ampascachi-bucket.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/media/blogs/imagenes/africa/kenia/african-horse-riding-kenia.jpg"/> There is much more to consider when evaluating their equestrian tourism offer, more equestrian routes and programs, more experiences related by other riders who have already visited them. Get that information by visiting their website at: https://safarisunlimited.com

Offbeat Safari

Located in the vicinity of Amboseli National Park, they offer equestrian programs that take you on a tour of the park.

Offbeat Safaris was established in 1990 and when they started out they only offered horseback safaris of the star variety, that is to say they would set off from a fixed point, for example a hotel, and return there every day to spend the night. Programs lasting several days in which the rider moves from village to village, always traveling on horseback.

The founder of Offbeat Safari

Tristan Voorspuy, owner and founder of the company.

Tristan was born in South Africa but studied and grew up in Sussex, England. He spent a brief period at Agricultural College before joining the British Army in 1975 for a Short Service Commission in Kenya, which lasted three years and was extended for another three.

A total of six years in the army, including a two-year stint as a ceremonial mounted cavalry officer, inspired his passion for travel and a return to his native Africa.

After leaving the army in 1981, he rode a motorbike from London to Cape Town for nine months, looking for job opportunities in Africa.

Having heard about the mounted safaris started by Tony Church in Kenya, he applied for a job and spent six years guiding Tony before starting Offbeat Safaris in 1990.

Tristan led mounted safaris for 32 years in East Africa and rode in Botswana, South Africa, Ethiopia, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

He held a gold level certificate from the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association and is an honorary warden of the Wildlife Service.

His Safaris have become known worldwide for offering exceptionally high standards of quality in their guides, service, horses and accommodation, without compromising the true wilderness experience that is the idea of being on a safari.

Experiencing these unspoiled landscapes with such comforts is what makes their proposal so special.

They have several programs on offer, but in order to show something specific of what they offer, we have chosen the following two programs: the Amboseli Safari and the Laikipia Safari Tour.

Amboseli Safari Tour - “Riding under the shadow of Kilimanjaro”

Everything you imagine about riding in Africa is present in this program: trails, scents, the landscape and wildlife of Kenya, with the most impressive backdrop of Mount Kilimanjaro.

This is a program where you will spend 8 nights in Amboseli National Park, with daily 6-hour horseback riding trips through it.

This ride starts near the border town of Namanga, and crosses through Amboseli National Park en route to the Chyulu Hills to the east, with Africa's highest mountain, snow-capped Kilimanjaro, as an ever-visible witness to your experiences and horseback riding routes through the area.

You will stay in tents, but not the traditional ones for expeditionary adventures. Offbeat Safari will make you feel at home in the Mara, creating a private home-like evening even though you are in the middle of Kenya's incredible nature.

The heart of the camp is the main tent with its bar, dining room, living room, fireplace and forest terrace.

All the accommodation tents have bathrooms with sinks and traditional safari showers with hot water. Each tent has its own terrace and is carefully positioned to offer wonderful views and privacy.

Laikipia safari tour

The members of Offbeat Safari have been pioneers on Kenya's northern border, offering these Safaris.

Laikipia is an incredibly unique equestrian destination where you can cross the entire plateau on private land. This means that you are unlikely to meet other tourists and will have an exclusive adventure.

These characteristics, combined with the wildlife and spectacular landscapes that will accompany you on your horseback ride, make this Safari an unforgettable experience.

The private ranches through which you will travel on this program are the ones that will welcome you night after night, with no one else in sight and with the idiosyncrasies of the place making you feel at home.

Laikipia is a unique wildlife area and contains an enormous biodiversity ranging from the Big Five downwards.

It is famous as the last reserve of Jackson's hartebeest and is home to several rare species, such as the reticulated giraffe, Beisa oryx, Grevy's zebra, Gerenuk and Somali ostrich, among others.

In recent years, the various landowners in the area have moved away from traditional livestock farming to adopt these modalities of receptive Equestrian Tourism, which has brought the benefit of improving the survival conditions of large predators such as the lion and the hyena, which were previously in danger of extinction and are now more abundant than 25 years ago.

Riding through the area, you will encounter wildlife, large and small, on a daily basis. It is simply stimulating for the adventurous rider to come across elephants, giraffes, hippos and buffalo so close that you can almost touch them.

More proposals and equestrian safari programs from Offbeat Safari are available on their website: https://www.offbeatsafaris.com/