Chyulu Hills, Kenya

Kenya’s Chyulu Hills stretch across the plains where Amboseli meets Tsavo, a rugged outcrop of volcanic rock gently blanketed in green, with elephants, zebras, and giraffes roaming along the horizon. A short hop via bush plane from Wilson Airport in Nairobi, Chyulu Hills served as the muse for Ernest Hemingway’s “Green Hills of Africa” and is a favorite destination for those seeking unobstructed views of Kilimanjaro without having to book an additional flight to Tanzania.

Last year, a pilot project partnership between Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and the local community deployed a fleet of four electric vehicles to aid in conservation work. It’s the first step in a larger effort to curb environmental pollution in the area and will foster quieter patrols for anti-poaching rangers and zero-emissions transport for community firefighters.

ol Donyo Lodge, a Relais-Chateaux camp – one of three in Kenya – by renowned photographers Dereck and Beverly Joubert, sits nestled in the hills, and offers visitors quiet luxury. The eight-room lodge was partially renovated during the pandemic and offers each guest their own DSLR camera, a sunken hide adjacent to a watering hole to see the last great tuskers of the world up close, and horseback riding treks across the Kenyan savannah. A maximum capacity of 16 guests at the conservancy’s only lodge ensures a personalized experience for every traveler on 270,000 acres of untouched African wilderness owned by local Maasai community members.

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