Lake Elementaita Camping - 5 Best Campsites 2024

Lake Elementaita is a scenic soda lake and a UNESCO World Heritage Site 120 km north of Nairobi. This blog focuses on campsites in the Lake Elementaita and Lake Nakuru regions, but I’ve included some hotel and lodge options at the bottom for those who don’t want to sleep in a tent.

There are two types of camping in Kenya: the one where you pack up your car and head into the bush to spend the weekend in the company of clawed and hoofed animals, and the one with a swimming pool, café, kids’ playground, petting zoo, and pony rides. Lake Elementaita camping offers both.

Wild camp at Lake Elementaita at one of the Soysambu Conservancy campsites, gaze at flamingoes on Kikopey’s beach or glamp it up a little at the lovely Lemon Valley Farm. There are numerous Lake Elementaita camping options for those keen to spend the night under canvas.

About Lake Elementaita

Lake Elementaita is a soda lake in the Great Rift Valley about 120 km north of Nairobi. It sits in the middle of three rift valley lakes, with Naivasha to the south and Nakuru to the north. Lake Elementaita is a magnificently beautiful place of volcanos, pink lakes, flamingos, dusty plains full of game, escarpments coloured in shades of grey, and fields of candelabra and fever trees.

The lake has a huge bird population and has been named a heritage site together with Lake Nakuru and Lake Bogoria by UNESCO. The lake is famed for its flamingos, at one time up to 1.2 million. Sadly, the flamingo population is declining due to the arrival of birds that eat the flamingo chicks and eggs. In 1969, Lake Magadi tilapia was successfully introduced to the lake. This upset the ecosystem and attracted fish-eating birds such as pelicans, cormorants, waders, and storks.

Gilgil is the largest town near the lake. It is a popular enclave owing to the proximity of the well-respected Pembroke school.

Soysambu Conservancy at Lake Elementaita

Soysambu is a 50,000-acre ranch on the northern side of Lake Elementaita. It is a non-profit private conservancy that has zebra, antelope, buffalo, giraffe, warthog, and some lions and leopards.

Soysambu is home to some of the last Rothschild Giraffes. The Giraffe Centre in Nairobi took their original Rothschild Giraffe from Soysambu. (Read about the Giraffe Centre here).

Visit the enigmatic ‘Sleeping Warrior’, a mountain that, from a certain angle, looks like a man lying down. I love to watch the shadows play over his face throughout the day, highlighting his cheekbones and his craggy nose. Take a drive through Soysambu and visit him up close.

Lake Elementaita is derived from the Maasai word muteita, meaning “dust place”. The dust was undoubtedly a factor on our latest trip to Soysambu, where we were painted white with great clouds of finely-grained sand. The dust is particularly bad between January and March, but don’t let this put you off Lake Elementaita camping.

There is tons to do at Elementaita including two wildlife conservancies: Kigio and Soysambu, Kariandusi Museum, Utamaduni Village, historical caves, Gilgil War Memorial Graves, Kariandusi River, and southern lake hot springs at Kikopey.

Lake Elementaita Campsites

Lake Elementaita offers unparalleled views and camping experiences. You can camp high up on the ridge at Lemon Valley Farm, a campsite with sweeping views from Kikopey across to Nakura and over the lake to Sleeping Warrior. You could camp at a Soysambu Campsite (Simon’s Camp is my favourite) where you are close to the water and among the animals, or stick to the southern side of the lake and visit the hot springs.

Lemon Valley Farm

Lemon Valley Farm is a ray of citrus sunshine on the Kenyan Camping circuit. A full-service campsite and lodge with the most majestic views across Lake Elementaita. This Lake Elementaita campsite has it all: a magnificent pool, a hot tub, a spa with massages & mani/pedis pony rides (500 bob), a petting farm (pigs, rabbits, bunnies), a kids playground with giant chess, boxing ring, trampoline, and another kid play area inside the café with a mud kitchen and dolls house. The aforementioned café serves decent food, but at a very high price, i.e., a pot of tea is 400 bob. If you are watching pennies, I suggest you bring your own food and self-cater.

The place is incredibly well thought out, with little signposts, quaint décor, and thoughtful touches everywhere. I particularly loved the hot tub, with its massive stone fireplaces and pink Adirondack chairs. It is located at the highest point of the camp. If there is a better spot for sundowners in Kenya, I’m not sure where it is.

The campsite was small—with space for about three tents and only one firepit—so I’d be inclined to see if you can book it privately for your group. The site was spotless, with two huge canopies for shade and shelter. Chairs and tables, a sink and a BBQ, are provided, along with an electric socket. The toilets are clean, and the showers are hot.

Plenty of non-camping options exist from a family cabin, two-person bandas, and safari tents.

Costs 1500 KSH per adult / 50% for kids

Check prices and reviews for Lemon Valley Farm Here

Lemon Valley Farm Lake Elementaita Campsite

Kikopey Beach Camp

Kikopey located on the southern side of Lake Elementaita, is a small campsite with its beach offering fantastic views across the lake.

The campsite has a hot water shower, flushing toilets and an onsite restaurant (It also has a two-room cabin you can rent if you decide not to camp, and they will set up a table and cook for you if you choose not to cook!). The beach is hotter and dustier than hell in the summer, but trees shade the campsite and have many tables. The safe, open space by the beach is perfect for kids to kick a ball and admire the flamingos and nearby Sleeping Warrior—a lesser-known Lake Elementaita camping spot that I’ve visited but not camped at. Please send me your reviews if you visit, and I’ll add them to this post.

Camping cost: 500 KSH per person/ kids under 4 are free

Check out Kikopey Camp here

Simon’s Camp Soysambu

Soysambu has three campsites: Simons Camp, Monkeybridge Camp and Waterbuck Camp. Simons’s Camp is my favourite. It has the best views across the lake and is located in a forested area close to the water, where most of the game seems to be.

Soysambu is a vast conservancy with miles of flat plains and little shelter. In the hot months, the dust pools across the plains and spirals into the sky, forming 100 mini-twisters daily. The animals wisely stick to the shelter of trees and the lake’s water, and I suggest you do, too.

Simon’s Camp has three separate toilet blocks, two bucket showers, and a fire pit. This is wild camping, and the beauty of this spot is your proximity to animals and the magic of camping in a protected conservancy. Pitch your tent in the shade of acacia trees (watch out for thorns) and have sundowners on the banks of Lake Elementaita. Watch out for dangerous animals. There are many buffalo, hyenas, lions and leopards within the conservancy.

Costs: 600 KSH per adult / 300 KSH per child camping + 3000 KSH for private camping (mandatory during COVID)
Conservancy fees: 1200 KSH per adult / 600 KSH per child (resident rates)

Check out Soysambu Camping here

Oasis Eco Camp

Oasis Eco Camp has pretty campsites near the lakeshore under the shade of acacia trees. Oasis Eco Camp offers rustic self-catering cottages, bandas and safari tents, but the campsites are the winners here, with views all across the lake. Oasis Eco Camp is located on the southern side of the lake, close to Kikopey Hot Springs and Sleeping Warrior. The campsites have thatched bandas for shelter, cooking and washing up, hot showers and clean flush toilets. Facilities in the camp are very basic, but this is an excellent option for Lake Elementaita camping. You can also rent a tent and equipment if you want to camp but don’t have your own tent.

Costs camping: 500 KSH per person
Hire a two-man tent with two mattresses: 1000 KSH
Sleeping bags: 300 KSH

Check out Oasis Eco Camp here.

Eagles Point Camp

I haven’t been to Eagles Point Camp, but I’ve seen it raved about a lot on my trusty Kenya Camping page, so I asked about it and got lots of positive feedback. Eagles Point Camp is on the northeastern shore of Elementatia, near Sunbird Lodge, which I recommend visiting for lunch and views. Like Sunbird, it is perched on the lower mountain slopes and has fabulous views of Sleeping Warrior across the lake and over Soysambu. An onsite restaurant, bar, small bandas, and two campsites exist. The upper campsite has hot showers, flush loos, and better views. The lower campsite, down by the lake, has cold showers and flush loos.

Costs camping: 500 KSH per person
Tent hire: 1400 KSH
Sleeping bags: 350 KSH
Mattresses: 100 KSH

Check out Eagles Point Camp here.

Eagles Point Camp Elementaita — Credit: Eagles Point Camp

HOTELS AND LODGES IN LAKE ELEMENTAITA

Lake Elementaita Mountain Lodge

Right at the very top of the mountain that overlooks Lake Elementaita is the sleekly modern Lake Elementaita Mountain Lodge. It offers smart, luxurious rooms, a restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool with a crazy good view, a bar, a garden and a children’s playground.

Check prices for Lake Elementaita Mountain Lodge here

Lake Elementaita Camp — Credit: Lake Elementaita Mountain Lodge

Lake Elementaita Serena Camp

The bee’s knees of accommodation at Lake Elementaita, the Lake Elementaita Serena camp, is a luxurious tented camp on the shores of the lake—private tents with posh bathrooms, seating, squashy four-poster beds and Wi-Fi.

Lake Elementaita Serena Camp has a restaurant, bar, spa, gorgeous outdoor pool and views across the lake.

Check prices for Lake Elementaita Serena Camp here.