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Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley
Kicheche Valley

Reviews of Kicheche Valley

Wildlife sightings and reviews

65 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Kicheche Valley and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa

Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jan-2019, 56 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Kicheche Valley.
Lion

100% success

Leopard

76% success

Cheetah

96% success

Wild dog

9% success

Giraffe

100% success

Wildebeest

100% success

Zebra

100% success

Buffalo

98% success

Spotted Hyena

96% success

Hippo

96% success

Elephant

95% success

Eland

94% success

Striped Hyena

9% success

Black Rhino

6% success

Aardvark

5% success

Pangolin

2% success

Showing 31-40 of 65
Duration
Arrival date
Mr R.
Cambridge

"Kicheche Valley review"

4 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2022
"Very skilled and experience guide made this a special few days

Staff at the camp were knowledgeable and protective, which was helpful given the abundance of wildlife every night

Birthday celebration Maasai dance one evening before dinner was unexpected, but great fun." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya; 7n in Zanzibar
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mrs A.
S. Carolina

"Kicheche Valley review"

4 nights Arrived 28 Sep 2022
"We loved Kicheche Valley.

Everything was terrific - staff, accomodations and our driver, Mika and animal sightings.

Would stay there again!" See all these reviews: 5n in Rwanda; 4n in Kenya; 4n in Tanzania
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Striped Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Mr P.
Cambridge

"Kicheche Valley review"

3 nights Arrived 16 Sep 2022
"Minni and all her staff were brilliant, Made us feel very welcome and nothing was too much trouble, we were thoroughly spoiled!

The camp itself was very comfortable with a great ambience, spotlessly clean and just a wonderful place to stay. Wildlife continually walked the the camp grounds.

Our guide Mika was a treasure, and worked tirelessly to find us a leopard in a tree and we consequently observed leopard for some time on our own, fantastic!" See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Elephant

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Miss R.
United Kingdom

"Kicheche Valley review"

3 nights Arrived 9 Sep 2022
"Exceptional. Kicheche Valley was everything you hope for from a safari experience. The view from the tents were stunning, and the rooms themselves were fab. The staff were all friendly, welcoming and so so helpful. Also, the food was excellent.

Being an unfenced camp we got multiple sightings during the day, including giraffes literally wandering through camp at lunch.

During our safaris we were paired with Bernard, an absolutely exceptional and very knowledgeable guide. We witnessed some incredible sightings including a pregnant giraffe, lions and cheetahs hunting, three male lions crossing the plains at dawn, and elephant family protecting their babies. We also got multiple sighting of leopards with their babies, and an aardvark, both of which are apparently highly elusive.

We would 100% return if we are lucky enough to go on another safari." See all these reviews: 7n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

2 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

5 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

3 sightings

Lion

6 sightings

Spotted Hyena

5 sightings

Wild dog

2 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs BP
Surrey

"Kicheche Valley review"

3 nights Arrived 20 Aug 2022
"Kicheche Valley camp is a beautiful camp in a great location.

On arrival we were welcomed by relief manager Rachel - an amazing lady. Born in Kenya, she was very interesting and interested, we had lots of chats!
She and all the staff were delightful. On hand all the time to answer questions and provide us with everything we needed.
On our 3rd morning Minnie (camp manager) returned. Also a charming, friendly and helpful lady.

Our guide, Bernard, was excellent. Once again, very knowledgeable, a lovely man and a good communicator. Mindful to go at a pace that suited us and our desire to see the birdlife.

Naibosho has more water than Olare so was much greener, especially in areas near the rivers.
Bernard took us to different areas of the conservancy, always finding a riverside spot for our breakfast. Consequently we saw lots of different birds and lots of hippo! (I do love a Hippo!)
He was also happy to talk about his culture and family life, something we are both very interested in.

The highlight at Valley was our night drive. This was something we had specifically wanted to do. The infrared allowed us to observe the animals at close quarters.
We were lucky to see Genet, Bat eared Fox, hippos out of the water and a special treat - a very large porcupine!

The two camps, Bush and Valley are similar in the size and the quality of accommodation, staff and guides in both camps is outstanding.

They are different in other ways.
The location of Valley on the hillside means it has wonderful views from every part of the camp, especially the lounge and dining area.
The tents feel more permanent as they are on wooden decking (possibly because of the sloping ground) and are slightly bigger.

We preferred eating communally at Bush (we had separate tables at Valley) but the make of guests in the camps was different (there were 2 families with youngish children at Valley.
I'm sure this varies a lot throughout the year.

I am pleased that we visited both camps. If we could only go to one I would have difficulty choosing!" See all these reviews: 8n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

3 sightings

Elephant

5 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

6 sightings

Lion

4 sightings

Spotted Hyena

5 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Mr & Mrs H
Surrey

"What can we say … this camp is amazing! "

3 nights Arrived 15 Jul 2022
"What can we say … this camp is amazing! Minni is a wonderful host and lovely lady. Maurice and Nelson were brilliant - friendly, attentive, and very thoughtful. We were very well looked after.

The food is absolutely delicious and they went above and beyond making sure our a fussy teenager didn’t go hungry! Mika our guide was fantastic, he made the safari drives a wonderful experience. He’s a very special man.

A life changing experience!

The sighting form below doesn’t allow you to say how special some of our sightings were - the two baby giraffe, sitting in unison watching us, watching them waiting for Mum to return. Herds of elephants with babies of various ages at the waterhole. The two pride of lions with baby cubs a month old. Two male lions of the same pride together that we followed for a while - even Mika took a video as it was a very unusual sight. The storks that took flight when threatened by an eagle - an amazing spectacle to see over 40 storks take to the sky. We saw two types of kingfisher - have never seen a kingfisher in the uk! And lots more." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

2 sightings

Cheetah

2 sightings

Eland

2 sightings

Elephant

6 sightings

Giraffe

5 sightings

Hippo

3 sightings

Leopard

1 sighting

Lion

5 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

2 sightings

Mr R.
Oldham

"Kicheche Valley review"

1 night Arrived 23 Jun 2022
"Excellent in all respects.
Great location with wonderful panoramic view." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

2 sightings

Cheetah

1 sighting

Eland

1 sighting

Elephant

1 sighting

Giraffe

2 sightings

Lion

2 sightings

Spotted Hyena

1 sighting

Wildebeest

2 sightings

Zebra

2 sightings

Mr & Mrs B
Belfast

"Kicheche Valley review"

3 nights Arrived 26 Feb 2022
"This was our first time to the Valley camp although not to the Naboisho conservancy which we visited in 2014. The raised tents on wooden platforms are probably the most luxurious of the three Kicheche camps in the Mara. The beds are extremely comfortable with lovely views overlooking the valley. As with the other camps there are solar powered showers which provide ample hot water.

Minnie, the camp manager, along with Maurice, Joyce and the rest of her team made our three night stay very enjoyable indeed. The food was excellent, picnic breakfast, buffet lunch and then a more formal sit down dinner in the evening, the same as the other camps. Nothing was too much trouble and a special word of thanks to Minnie for assisting with the production of the Passenger Locator Forms which we required before returning to the UK. This was much appreciated and emphasised the need for internet access in order to complete the Covid formalities currently required by the UK.

Our guide for the three nights was Bernard, along with Stella who was training as a guide. Bernard proved very adept at finding the animals, including a leopard on the first evening and a pride of some dozen plus lionesses and cubs crossing over the river into the next conservancy. In addition he managed to find bat-eared foxes which we had never seen and two separate sightings of a male and female serval cat which was the icing on the cake. A lovely way to finish off our trip." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

1 sighting

Eland

3 sightings

Elephant

2 sightings

Giraffe

3 sightings

Leopard

2 sightings

Lion

3 sightings

Spotted Hyena

2 sightings

Wildebeest

1 sighting

Zebra

3 sightings

Ms. N
Montana

"Kicheche Valley review"

4 nights Arrived 21 Feb 2022
"Oh my, how shall I begin? Right after picking me up at the airport, we spotted lions.... Bernard had me open the door and lie on the floor of truck to take a low picture.... he really knows how to help a person with photo taking. He is the very first guide to assist me in such a way. The female guide, intern, Stella was a delight to have in the car. Every time that we ventured out, we saw many animals and many birds and created a long list of new birds. We saw baby hyenas and watched leopards maneuver their baby wildebeest carcass around the tree branches. I could not have asked for more sightings!! We even saw the Verreaux owl one night and then again, two owls talking to one another. This is the most game I have seen on any of my trips and I shall return. This camp also supports the surrounding community and students. I visited with Hudson, who is the liaison between the community and the camps. He is so articulate and is so caring. It was a pleasure to meet with him and learn about the foundation. Thank you.
I appreciate the robes, the flashlights and the yoga mat in the room. After being in the truck all day, it feels good to stretch and help my old bones recuperate.
The only reason I did not see the ellies at this camp is because we were staying in the areas to see the leopards and the cheetahs and lions and hyenas." See all these reviews: 11n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Black Rhino

Multiple sightings

Buffalo

Multiple sightings

Cheetah

Multiple sightings

Eland

Multiple sightings

Giraffe

Multiple sightings

Hippo

Multiple sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

Multiple sightings

Spotted Hyena

Multiple sightings

Wild dog

1 sighting

Wildebeest

Multiple sightings

Zebra

Multiple sightings

Steve H
Cumbria

"Kicheche Valley review"

3 nights Arrived 5 Feb 2022
"Due to heavy evening thunderstorms, the trek and fly camping expedition was cancelled and I transferred to Kicheche Valley Camp one night early. The transfer arrangements were, as always, very smooth and efficient.

With typical Kicheche attention to detail, on arrival Relief Camp Manager Rachel told me that she had assigned a special tent for me. Knowing of my passion for birds, I was shown to tent 2 ("Are" in Maa) where African Paradise Flycatchers were nesting alongside the decking of my tent. What a generous and thoughtful gesture - and what beautiful birds!

The wildlife was as good as ever, and Mica was a skilful and expert driver/guide. Sightings included 2 Small Spotted Genets sleeping together in daytime hideout and a Serval. Catering and hosting again superb as always." See all these reviews: 10n in Kenya
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Sightings Report

Buffalo

10 sightings

Cheetah

3 sightings

Eland

10 sightings

Elephant

10 sightings

Giraffe

10 sightings

Hippo

10 sightings

Leopard

Multiple sightings

Lion

10 sightings

Spotted Hyena

10 sightings

Wildebeest

10 sightings

Zebra

10 sightings

Showing 31-40 of 65
99%
65 reviews of Kicheche Valley by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
61
4
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0
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