Encounter Mara: Our full report
Encounter Mara is a classic tented camp, opened in 2011.
It is tucked in a shady forest of orange-leaf croton and Euclea trees on the edge of a vast open plain in the recently created Mara Naboisho Conservancy. There are no permanent structures at the camp and thus never anything but canvas between you and the bush. The camp is comfortable and stylish, however, and certainly aimed at those who appreciate a bit of simple luxury.In 2015, Encounter Mara was taken over by the long-established and renowned camp owners Asilia, effectively making it the sister camp of nearby Naboisho also in Mara Naboisho Conservancy as well as Rekero located further away in the Masaai Mara National Reserve.
Pathways laid with elephant-dung link Encounter Mara's parking area with the camp's central areas and tents - dry elephant dung is in plentiful supply in the conservancy and beds down to a soft, springy ground covering that is a pleasure to walk on. The main areas at Encounter Mara consist of two separate tents, one for dining, with a large communal dining table, and one as a lounge, furnished with comfortable, yet contemporary chairs and sofas. This lends a modern, slightly minimalist feel to what is a new camp, and it works really well. The lounge tent has a scattering of interesting coffee-table books and fresh flowers, and a charging point for batteries. For much of the year, and depending on guests' preferences, meals are taken outside: on the lawn for breakfast or brunch, or in a shady spot nearby for lunch and dinner – both thoroughly enjoyable locations. That said, it may sometimes be more comfortable to have dinner in the dining tent, as it can get chilly in the evenings, especially in the slightly cooler months between June and September.
A short distance away from the main area is a thatch-covered deck overlooking a salt lick, frequented by elephant, buffalo, and even the odd lion! It's a lovely spot to take a drink and sit with a pair of binoculars between activities, and occasionally meals are served here too.
The contemporary style has been carried through to Encounter Mara's 11 tents, which includes a family tent, and are classic in design, with flaps that open up almost entirely at the front, and with one wall made entirely of mosquito screen. The tents are bright and airy, with plenty of room for the king-sized beds, flanked by modern and stylish bedside lights. Each tent can be a double or a single, or if necessary can accommodate a double bed and two singles. Soft furnishings are in muted safari tones. Every tent has a large wooden lock-up chest for safeguarding valuables and there is plenty of storage space for clothes.
The fully-plumbed bathroom is located at the back of the tent, with a flush toilet, twin washbasins and shower. Eco-friendly toiletries are provided in lovely glass flasks, as is filtered drinking water. A jug of hot water is provided every morning for washing.
Outside on a shaded veranda are two directors' chairs and a large and comfortable day bed. Most tents also feature a hammock hanging beneath a nearby tree. In short, there are plenty of spots to while away your siesta time – and all of them look out over the plains in front of the camp.
A variety of game-watching activities is on offer at Encounter Mara. Most guests head out twice a day on game drives around the extensive earth roads and bush tracks of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy – from 6.30am to 10.30am (or back earlier if you prefer) followed by brunch, and again in the late afternoon, usually leaving at about 4.00pm after you've had tea and cake, returning to camp as night falls at about 6.45pm. Again this can be a little earlier or later if you prefer. Game drives are in open-sided Land Cruisers with canvas roofs that can be rolled back. Their usual practice is to drive with a guide, and on night drives, a spotter joins as well to direct the lamp.
At one end of the camp is a wonderfully peaceful wooden viewing deck overlooking the surrounding bush, it is a great spot for birding.
As well as day-time game drives, Encounter Mara offers night drives. Night drives normally incorporate a sundowner drink and a return to camp for a late dinner, or (by special request) they set off after dinner for a couple of hours, slowly driving through the Mara Naboisho Conservancy's exciting bush and savanna environment before returning at about 10.00pm.
A more recent addition to activities at Encounter Mara are game walks. The walks go out with an experienced armed guard, carrying a .308 rifle, and are either a nature walk, for families with young children, in the immediate surrounds of the camp or a bush walk for around an hour (minimum age 12); or a longer bush walk. If you are looking for a more substantial walk however then you are better off at Encounter Mara's sister camp Naboisho. Although safety is an absolute priority, on the longer bush walks you are quite likely to encounter elephants and big cats - at a respectable distance!
Encounter Mara also offers visits to a local Maasai village, Enooronkon, a 20-minute drive away. These visits last an hour or two and cost US$25 per adult, which is paid to the camp managers and passed on to the community via the conservancy's community liaison. Although we didn't experience this visit ourselves, the managers assured us that this is a much better experience than the average Maasai village visit, with no heavy pressure to buy souvenirs.
Our view
Encounter Mara camp is a simple set-up, which still feels much like a tract of wild bush where the camp has temporarily settled. With its new owners having an outstanding reputation, we think this very reasonably priced option, with its delightful bush-camp feel, is one of the best choices in the Maasai Mara ecosystem if you're looking for a keenly priced camp.
Kenya expert
Geographics
- Location
- Maasai Mara Conservancies, Kenya
- Ideal length of stay
- At least three nights to explore this part of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy
- Directions
- The nearest airstrip is Naboisho (also known as Ol Seki) which is less than half an hour’s drive away.
- Accessible by
- Fly-and-Transfer
Food & drink
- Usual board basis
- Full Board & Activities
- Food quality
- Meals are tasty and well prepared. To some extent the day's meal pattern will depend on what everyone is doing in terms of drives or other activities.
During our visit in February 2019, we were not here long enough to have a meal, but on a previous visit we were offered an early breakfast with tea or coffee and light bites, returning to camp for a lunch of delicious salads, stir-fry noodles and quiches.
For afternoon tea, expect sweet and savoury snacks, sandwiches and cakes.
Our dinner started with a very good pumpkin soup, followed by fillet of beef with peppercorn sauce and vegetables, and rounded off with a creamy mango mousse. - Dining style
- Group Meals
- Dining locations
- Indoor and Outdoor Dining
- Further dining info, including room service
- Private meals can be arranged in alternative locations, such as on the viewing deck.
- Drinks included
- Local soft drinks, beer, house wine and spirits are included. Imported drinks, including premium spirits, premium wine and champagne, are extra.
Filtered water is provided in the tents.
Special interests
- Solo Travel
- This camp does not apply a single supplement outside of high season, so Encounter Mara becomes great value for a solo traveller wanting to focus on the excellent wildlife of the Mara ecosystem, in the privacy of the Maasai-owned Naboisho Conservancy.
- See ideas for Solo Travel in Kenya
Children
- Attitude towards children
- Encounter Mara welcomes children with the understanding that young children will require supervision.
- Property’s age restrictions
- 6 years or older
- Special activities & services
- The team at Encounter Mara will happily teach children how to use a bow and arrow, make fire and they will also take young ones on a nature trail around camp.
- Equipment
- There are baby cots and a few board games, but no children’s club or dedicated guide, and no babysitters are available.
- Generally recommended for children
- Encounter Mara is fine for children, but is basically an adult camp, so parents will need to be constantly responsible for their children.
- Notes
- The camp is very bushy and, although the camp is fenced, small game does still roam around and parents need to supervise young children at all times.
Our travellers’ wildlife sightings from Encounter Mara
Since mid-2018, many of our travellers who stayed at Encounter Mara have kindly recorded their wildlife sightings and shared them with us. The results are below. Click an animal to see more, and here to see more on our methodology.
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
100% success
89% success
75% success
20% success
0% success
0% success
0% success
0% success
Communications
- Power supply notes
- Lights work 24 hours a day in the tents, but all charging of devices is done in the main mess tent.
- Communications
- There is a designated WiFi tent and cellphone coverage is also pretty good so guests can use smart phones or dongles with their laptops. However, the camp requests no phone use except in tents. Guests may use the camp’s cellphone if urgently needed.
- TV & radio
- No TV or radio.
- Water supply
- Borehole
- Water supply notes
- Toilets are flush and cold water is available 24 hours. Hot water is provided on request for safari showers.
Health & safety
- Malarial protection recommended
- Yes
- Medical care
- The managers are trained first aiders and so are the guides. There is a first-aid kit in each vehicle and also in camp. The nearest doctor is via ISAA, a medivac organisation based in Nairobi.
The nearest doctor is in Talek, a 45-minute drive away. - Dangerous animals
- High Risk
- Security measures
- Guests are escorted at night between main areas and their tents.
- Fire safety
- Fire extinguishers are positioned at every tent and in main areas. Staff are trained to use them.
Activities
4WD Safari
Birdwatching
Cultural excursion
Fly-camping
Hot air ballooning
Night drive
Extras
- Disabled access
- On Request
- Laundry facilities
- Laundry, hand washed and line dried, is included in the rate. No female underwear can be taken, but soap powder is provided in the bathrooms.
- Money
- There are lock-up boxes in the tents. No currency exchange is possible.
- Accepted payment on location
- Cash payments may be made in US dollars, euros, pounds sterling or Kenyan shillings. Visa and Mastercard are acceptable, with a 4.5% surcharge.
Other lodges in Maasai Mara Conservancies
Alternative places to stay in this same area.
Kicheche Bush Camp
Kicheche Bush Camp is a smart and intimate tented camp with a relaxed atmosphere and the perfect base in the Mara for keen photographers.
Kicheche Mara
Kicheche Mara Camp has just ten tents and a rustic and comfortable feel. It is set by a stream in a pretty area of the Mara ecosystem's Mara North Conservancy.
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley is a boutique tented camp in a wooded district of the Mara ecosystem's Naboisho Conservancy, with plenty of wildlife in the area.
Naboisho Camp
Naboisho Camp is one of the most luxurious of the handful of camps in the Naboisho Conservancy. It offers day and night game drives, game walks and full creature comforts in the bush.
Offbeat Mara
Offbeat Mara is a small traditional camp that appeals to safari traditionalists, located in one of the Maasai Mara’s quiet conservancies.
Elephant Pepper Camp
Elephant Pepper Camp is a small 10-tent bush camp, put together in the traditional "campaign" style, and including a large honeymoon/family tent.
Serian
Serian is a luxury tented camp on the east bank of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy. It is the sister camp of Ngare Serian, on the west bank.
Mara Plains Camp
Mara Plains is one of the very best camps in the Mara ecosystem. Located in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, just outside the Mara reserve, it has access to three wildlife-viewing areas.
Kicheche Fly Camp
Kicheche Walking Wilderness Fly Camp is a temporaray dome tent camp set up for participants in Kicheche's two-day walking safari between Kicheche Valley and Kicheche Bush Camp.
Basecamp Eagle View
Basecamp Eagle View is a community-focused safari camp in the Naboisho Conservancy, with a strong emphasis on responsible tourism and a spectacular location.
Hemingways Ol Seki
Magnificently located tented lodge on a bluff looking south across the Naboisho Conservancy toward the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Saruni Wild
Saruni Wild is a rustic and traditional safari camp in the Lemek Conservancy, with just three tents and limited electricity.
Porini Lion Camp
Porini Lion Camp is a pioneering, community focused eco-camp, with excellent guides and game viewing, in the predator-rich, Olare Motorogi Conservancy.
Offbeat Ndoto
Small and intimate, Offbeat Mara is set in a valley above the (often dry) Olare Orok River within the Mara North Conservancy.
Porini Mara Camp
Porini Mara Camp is a small, pioneering eco-camp in the first private conservancy in the Mara region, with comfortable accommodation and a range of activities.
Ngare Serian
The luxurious Ngare Serian and its sister camp Serian face each other across the Mara River on the western side of the Mara North Conservancy
Basecamp Leopard Hill
With six beautiful tents, Basecamp Leopard Hill is a smart safari camp in the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
Karen Blixen Camp
Karen Blixen Camp sits on a meander of the Mara River in the Mara North Conservancy, just beyond the northern boundary of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Cottars 1920s Camp
Cottar's 1920s Camp is a classic, luxury tented camp with a 1920s safari theme, located in its own conservancy on the southeast border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
Leleshwa
Leleshwa was a delightful, boutique safari camp on the picturesque banks of a tributary of the Talek, with an extensive, little visited game area on its doorstep.
Mahali Mzuri
Mahali Mzuri is a strikingly modern tented camp in the Virgin Limited Edition group, in a remote part of the Mara ecosytem's Olare Motorogi Conservancy. It has lovely views and all the luxuries of a five-star hotel.
Saruni Mara
Saruni Mara is a luxurious permanent lodge, on the remote northern edge of the Mara North Conservancy, with stunning views, good guiding and very private and comfortable rooms.
Mara Nyika
Mara Nyika is one of the newer additions to the Naboisho Conservancy and offers a luxurious and exclusive safari.
Basecamp Wilderness
Basecamp Wilderness Camp is a simple, traditional tented camp, set in a remote valley in the Naboisho Conservancy in the Mara ecoystem.
Mara Bushtops
Mara Bushtops is a luxury safari hotel on a private concession, outside the Maasai Mara National Reserve, with the emphasis on comfort, relaxation and good food and wine.
Mara Toto Tree Camp
Mara Toto Tree Camp is located on a wooded bend of the Ntiakatek River, 1km south (as the pied crow flies) from its sister camp, Mara Plains. It's the offspring of the original "Mara Toto" which was swept away in floods.
Cottars Private House
Cottar's Private House is one of the few truly luxurious, modern private houses in the Mara ecosystem, spoiling its guests with first-rate staff, a swimming pool and wonderful views.
Entumoto
Entumoto is a high-end tented camp, with a swimming pool, situated in a very pretty location on the east side of the Maasai Mara ecosystem.
