Lewa Wilderness

Since 1922, the Craig/Douglas family ran Lewa Downs as a cattle ranch encouraging the large number of resident wildlife to co-exist with the ranch cattle. In 1972, they began hosting visitors – the first private ranch in Kenya to do so. In 1990, David and Delia Craig retired and their son, Will and his wife, Emma, took over the running of the lodge.

Lewa Wilderness is today still the family home of Will and Emma Craig where, with the help of Karamushu and his wife Fatuma and the wider team, they proudly continue to entertain guests and provide a truly unique and personal safari experience.

The beauty of Lewa Wilderness isn’t just in the incredible scenery and wildlife explored daily with game drives – but in the wealth of activities and experiences to be had at every turn. Situated on the edge of one of Kenya’s most private wildlife and environmental conservation projects, the wildlife-rich Lewa provides guests a home-away-from-home experience that’s hard to find these days.

When you arrive at the lodge, you’ll immediately feel like you’re with family. Just nine exclusive rooms dot the Lewa Wilderness landscape. Six cottages are tucked into the hillside overlooking the sprawling Eastern Marania Valley, plus a further three garden cottages that are cozy yet expansive are set amongst the beautiful lawn.

At Lewa Wilderness we go beyond the game drive, with exceptional wildlife and wilderness viewing opportunities. From the traditional game viewing vehicles (we’ve recently converted one of our Landcruisers to be 100% electric), to guided walks and breathtaking scenic flights in our retro yellow WACO bi-plane to unforgettable horse riding safaris for all ages and levels and even camel riding and fly camping.

As a guest with us, you are automatically supporting the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, renowned for both its pioneering conservation initiatives as well as community and education programs.