Il Ngwesi is a magical place: remote, breath-taking and spectacular. Best of all you get to spend time with the Maasai people and know that you are giving something back, as all the profits are invested back into the community. The rooms themselves are like nowhere else and you really feel part of this incredible landscape. Just go!

A few hours drive north of Nanyuki, the lodge is located in a conservancy for the Il Ngwesi people, a Maasai tribe who run the lodge and it is simply a magical place once which I will never forget

From the location itself, to the safari walk in the bush and the visit to the Maasai village the Il Ngwesi people give you a very special welcome and make you feel completely at home.

The lodge itself is set on a small hill with just a small number of bandas (rooms) dotted around the edge. In the room we had the bed rolled out onto the balcony so that you could count the stars before falling asleep. Our balcony also looked out onto the watering hole and we had sightings of giraffe and antelope during our stay.

At the lodge itself there is a swimming pool to cool down in, from which you can take in the beautiful scenery.
The staff are excellent, very friendly and happy to talk about their community and culture of which they are rightly proud.

The safari walk in the morning is an opportunity travelers to Kenya do not get very often: to walk in a conservancy among the animals. A guide from the lodge and a ranger with a gun take you for a walk where you can see giraffe, antelope, bushbuck, dik-diks and on my trip very recent evidence of elephants. Very different from being stuck in a car for a usual safari.

The visit to the village and being shown around by members of their own community was a great insight into the way of life, history and culture of the Maasai. At the end of the village tour there is an opportunity to purchase some of the bead-work made famous by the Maasai, like everything else to do with the lodge, it is all run by the local people with all proceeds going back to the local community.

So, what are you waiting for? Just go already!

What I should be doing instead is keeping it all to myself!

This place really is one of those hidden gems that can be hard to find, but reward you with a truly awe-inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime experience. I went with a big group of friends and we stayed just for a couple of nights. I could have stayed forever. Il Ngwezi lodge is run by and for the Maasai Community, and they really could not be more welcoming.

During our short stay we were welcomed warmly, fed like kings, and truly came to feel at ease in a place surrounded and infused by nature. From our open-sided banda we watched giraffes and baboons at the watering hole. From the gorgeous swimming pool we sipped cold beers under an enormous expanse of stars. And it was truly special to be led through the bush by local Maasai only to discover that a delicious breakfast had been laid out for us in a beautiful glade.

A very special highlight was visiting the local Maasai village where we were shown around, talked about the history and culture of the Maasai, and witnessed the famous dancing. And thanks to the livelihoods project for the women bead-makers in the village, I was also able to pick up wonderful, unique (no two the same) gifts for folk back home.

I apologise for gushing so much about this place, but trust me, you will never regret going to Il Ngwezi.

I have just spent a second weekend in this beautiful lodge that is nestled into the environment as though it might have grown there naturally. Run and owned by the maasai community, the lodge offers everything you could possible want in a holiday; wonderful food, amazing service, stunning scenery... I could run out of adjectives! The Maasai staff have an effortless way of making you feel relaxed and comfortable, and completely in safe hands. James and David, our guides on the bushwalk and game drive, were knowledgeable and interesting, full of information about the countryside and the birds and animals that live there.

The accommodation was perfect, drinks appeared when needed, (home baked cookies with tea) and the maasai dancing and singing was great entertainment. We learned something of maasai life, and an understanding of how man and nature can co-exist in harmony.

A unique experience, and one I am sure I will never forget..