Is Samburu Game Reserve Safe For Tourists?

Is Samburu Game Reserve Safe For Tourists? Samburu National Reserve is one of the famous safari destinations in East Africa as well as Kenya, this incredible Kenya safari destination is located in Northern Kenya and is situated on the banks of the Ewaso Ng’iro river.

The reserve is a vast expanse of remote pristine wilderness spanning 165 square kilometers in area and borders the Ewaso Ng’iro River to the south which separate it from the Buffalo Springs National Reserve.

Samburu National Reserve is a unique wildlife conservation haven famous for an abundance of rare species of animals which are referred to as The Samburu Special Five (Grevy Zebra, Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and the Beisa Oryx).

In addition to the Samburu Special Five, the reserve is home to a huge population of elephants with close to 900 elephants, there are also large predators such as lions, leopards and cheetahs.

Samburu National Game Reserve is the most popular reserve in northern Kenya and home to a rich variety of wildlife with abundance in rare northern specialist species such as the Grevy Zebra, Somali Ostrich, Reticulated Giraffe, Gerenuk and the Beisa Oryx “these species are also known as The Samburu Special Five”.

Also, the reserve is home to large herd of elephants and four of the big five. The reserve offers excellent wildlife viewing through the year and most big safari animals which are easy to spot during game drive.

For most of the many tourists planning to visit Samburu, personal security is most important as evidenced by one of the most frequently asked question being “Is Samburu a safe place to visit?”.

Samburu National Reserve is a safe destination to visit for a Kenya Safari, the park is well protected by professionally – trained Park Rangers and wildlife Wardens and is located hours away from the urban areas of Kenya where safety is more of a concerned.

Here are some of the reasons why Samburu National Reserve is one of the safest parks to visit for a safari in Kenya.

 Location: Samburu National Reserve is located away from towns and cities, at the southeastern corner of Samburu District, this area is basically in the wilderness hence naturally peaceful and with a low human population. It is also worth noting that Kenya is generally a safe country to visit and travel advisories usually mention exercising caution in parts of urban cities such as Nairobi or Mombasa.

National Importance: with tourism being of the leading source of revenue in the country, the Kenyan Government as a priority has put in measures to ensure the personal safety of tourists visiting Kenya national parks and reserves. Samburu National Reserve is a premier reserve in Kenya attractin a huge number of tourists from all across the world and making it a big income earner for the country. It therefore receives keen attention in terms of security from the Government of Kenya.

Management of the Reserve – Samburu National Reserve is managed professionally by a combination of local Country administrations which in turn have deployed highly trained park and wildlife rangers, some of whom may be armed. Teams of these personnel patrol the reserve on a constant basis. To further ensure your safety, virtually all the hotels, camos and lodges in the reserve have their own guards around the clock monitoring movements of wild animals in and around their properties as well as ensuring the safety of their guests/tourists. As wild animals can be dangerous, there are a set of park rules which visitors are asked to adhere to for their own safety, one of these being to stay in your vehicles not allowed in the reserve and all the visitors must exit the reserve or return to their camps or lodges by dusk usually 6.30pm. Night game drives are also not allowed inside the main reserve.

 Every year, literally thousands of tourists visit and stay overnight in Samburu National Reserve every year and it is rare to come across any safety or security related incidents. These numbers indicate how safe Samburu National Reserve is for visitors.