We offer our new hiking route: the Grand Samburu Tribal Trek. Within this multi-day route you will track along traditional Samburu paths and settings,, together with a local Samburu guide.
This Samburu Tribal Trek includes a hike into Kirisia Forest, where wild elephants still roam freely. In Kirisia Forest you will visit the Singing Wells and meet Samburu herders with their lifestock. After this hike you will come back to Ngari Hill Ecolodge. The next morning you will be guided to hike a beautifull route in Poro and hike to the escarpment of the Rift Valley. In our cozy cottage in Poro you will spent the night and you will have the surrounded nature all for yourself.
Walk alongside the Samburu herders with their many goats, sheeps and cattle. Learn about their semi-nomadic lifestyle and the way how they take care of their lifestock in drought.
The Samburu guide will tell you about their ‘Warrior’ traditional lifestyle and how they become the so called Morans. It’s the most vibrant (and colorful) period of their lives!
Kirisia forest is a a 92,000 hectares (ha) forest reserve n the Samburu heartland, with lichen-like old man’s beard hangs from the trees. It is not only a home for wildlife but also provides livelihoods and cultural meaning for the Samburu people who depend on it for wild product harvesting, such as honey, and as a sacred ground for cultural practices.
In Kirisia Forest you will visit some Samburu ‘Singing Wells’. The name ‘Singing Wells’ comes from the way how Samburu gather their lifestock during dry season.
As the sun rises, Samburu people begin to gather around deep wells which are dug into the parched river bed. As they begin to pull water from these wells, they start singing – from each well comes a different, simple song. As the songs begin, herds of cows and goats appear from out of the bushes down to the river bed. Each herd recognises the song of ‘their well’ and makes their way towards it to drink.
Poro – View Suguta Valley
After a good rest at Ngari Hill Ecolodge you will go to Poro, just 40 minutes away, together with our Samburu guide. Here you will descent into Suguta Valley and pass through various ecosystems on your way down.
This hiking route will take you from our cottage in the mountains, to the Phokot homested and to the barely witnessed beauty of “Malasso number two” (as the locals call it).
On your way you’ll be greeted with Samburu tribesmen herding their cattle, pass through a patch of preserved rain forest and look down the waterfall that shaped this part of the valley. You will follow the same pastoralist footpath that has been used for centuries. After enjoying the view, the path leads you all the way down into the valley. This is the country of the Phokot Tribe, which you will undoubtedly meet. After enjoying a packed-lunch on the banks of the river, the route then ascents the escarpment, past “Malasso number two”. Cold drinks and a lovely dinner will await upon your return to the mountain cottage.
