Solio Lodge Solio Game Reserve

Solio Lodge is an internationally recognized, exclusive luxury retreat offering one of the most mind-blowing rhino viewing experiences in East Africa. Tucked in the picturesque valley between the lofty slopes of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Mountains, it holds the ultimate privilege of being the only guest accommodation on the incredible 45,000-acre Solio Game Reserve.

With a thriving population of over 200 black and white rhinos, guests can experience intensely exclusive wildlife sightings, frequently spotting up to 40 rhinos at a time. Blending contemporary architectural design with immersive natural greenery, Solio Lodge delivers an unforgettable, highly personalized Kenyan safari filled with thrilling adventures and profound tranquility.

Location & Accessibility

The lodge is uniquely situated within a 19,000-acre private conservancy, completely surrounded by the sprawling 45,000-acre Solio Ranch in the stunning Laikipia highlands of central Kenya.

By Road (Travel Hubs & Key Attractions)

✓ Nairobi City Center: Sits directly south of the lodge, requiring a straightforward, scenic 4-hour drive on well-maintained tarmac roads
✓ Nanyuki Town: The nearest major highland hub, located roughly 45 minutes away and serving as the primary gateway to Mount Kenya
✓ Aberdare National Park: Located just next door, offering easy access for full-day excursions into dramatic moorlands and cascading waterfalls

By Air (Flights & Transfers)

✓ Solio Private Airstrip: Allows guests to fly via private charter directly into the conservancy for immediate lodge access
✓ Wilson Airport (Nairobi): The primary departure point for domestic scheduled flights heading into the Laikipia and Mount Kenya region
✓ Nanyuki Airstrip: Scheduled domestic flights land here, where guests are met by a guide for a beautiful 45-minute road transfer back to the lodge 

Accommodation

The lodge offers just five exceptionally spacious luxury cottages (six units total), spread out along the southern tip of the conservancy. They are thoughtfully positioned to showcase floor-to-ceiling glass views of Mount Kenya, providing guests with an incredibly intimate and secluded retreat.

Luxury Double & Twin Cottages

Spaced well apart and surrounded by natural foliage, these cottages offer sumptuous sleeping and relaxation spaces. High thatched roofs and large glass windows bring the outdoors in, allowing you to wake up to spectacular sunrises over Mount Kenya and grazing wildlife.

✓ Views: East-facing views of Mount Kenya and the game sanctuary
✓ Capacity: Up to 2 guests (extra child bed available upon prior arrangement)
✓ Highlights: Private outdoor sundecks and a cozy open fireplace in the bedroom
✓ Bathroom: En-suite with double sinks, a huge walk-in rain shower, and a double-ended freestanding bathtub
✓ Bedding: Configurable as twin or double beds (Cottage 3 is highly recommended for limited mobility/wheelchair access)

Interconnected Family Cottage

Designed specifically for larger groups or families who want to stay close, this expansive unit comprises Cottages 5 and 6, brilliantly joined by a shared central lounge. Surrounded by flat, safe garden space, it is the perfect base for children to play and adults to unwind.

✓ Capacity: Up to 4 guests (extra child bed available upon prior arrangement)
✓ Bedding: One large double en-suite room and one large twin en-suite room
✓ Views: Uninterrupted views of the game sanctuary and distant mountain peaks
✓ Bathroom: Two en-suite bathrooms, each featuring freestanding tubs and large walk-in rain showers
✓ Highlights: A shared central lounge with a crackling fireplace, perfect for socializing and evening board games

Room Features & Amenities

✓ Complimentary Wi-Fi
✓ Electronic in-room safe
✓ Dedicated laundry service included
✓ Torches and insect repellent provided for comfort
✓ Yoga mats provided for private sundeck meditation
✓ Plush cotton dressing gowns, slippers, and flip flops
✓ In-room open fireplaces for cooler highland evenings
✓ Two-way radios available upon request for emergencies
✓ Premium handmade Kenyan toiletries by Cinnabar Green
✓ High thatched roofs and massive floor-to-ceiling glass doors

Dining & Culinary Experience

Dining at Solio Lodge is a highly flexible, farm-to-fork experience. Meals are crafted using vibrant, seasonal ingredients and can be enjoyed wherever your itinerary takes you, from the lodge decks to deep inside the bush.

The Main Mess & Sundeck

A spacious, contemporary open-plan dining area featuring high ceilings and beautiful indoor/outdoor seating.

✓ Vibe: Peaceful al fresco breakfasts and lunchtime feasts
✓ Cuisine: Fresh, vibrant, and nutritious farm-to-fork cuisine
✓ Setting: Wooden sundeck on the front lawn overlooking a wildlife watering hole

The Solio ‘Shamba’ (Kitchen Garden)

The lodge’s dedicated organic, pesticide-free garden bursts with fresh herbs, vegetables, and famous local chilies.

✓ Setting: Located just behind the family cottage
✓ Menu: Supplies the kitchen with 100% organic, seasonal ingredients
✓ Vibe: Guests and children are welcome to take a guided stroll to see where their food is grown

Bush Breakfasts & ‘Jolene’ the Mobile Bar

Take your dining out into the wild. Enjoy a hot breakfast cooked on pull-out stoves during a morning game drive, or meet ‘Jolene,’ a lovingly upcycled horsebox transformed into a fully stocked mobile bar for magical evening sundowners among the rhinos.

✓ Vibe: The ultimate golden hour ritual and classic safari adventure
✓ Menu: Chilled gin and tonics, crisp wines, and freshly prepared canapés
✓ Setting: Secluded acacia groves and scenic plains across the conservancy

Experiences & Activities

Activities at Solio Lodge are incredibly diverse, offering unparalleled flexibility and exclusivity. Whether you are an avid wildlife photographer seeking massive rhino herds, an active adventurer wanting to explore on horseback, or a family looking for cultural immersion, the lodge’s expert team tailors every day entirely to your pace.

Signature Wildlife Encounters

✓ Exclusive Solio Game Drives: Enjoy peaceful, uncrowded game viewing in one of Kenya’s least busy private reserves. Vehicles are equipped with unique rooftop viewing benches, ponchos, and binoculars, and your private 4×4 allows you to spot four of the “Big Five” (elephants are fenced out to protect rhino habitats) alongside lions, leopards, and reticulated giraffes. Sightings of up to 40 black and white rhinos at a time are a common occurrence, with flexible timings across morning, afternoon, and evening.

✓ The Solio Rhino Orphanage: Located just a five-minute drive from the lodge, this rescue and rehabilitation center cares for abandoned baby rhinos and plains game. Guests have a deeply educational, hands-on opportunity to watch the orphans play in the mud, help feed them, and accompany them on a stroll. Feeding times start every two hours from 07:00 to 17:00.

Dining in the Wild

✓ Al Fresco Bush Breakfasts: Set out at first light to watch the bush wake up under the golden silhouette of Mount Kenya. Your guide will select the perfect scenic spot where chefs use pull-out vehicle stoves to cook a hot, customized breakfast complete with fresh coffee, eggs to order, and pancakes right in the middle of the wilderness.

✓ Safari Sundowners with ‘Jolene’: A classic golden-hour ritual with a quirky twist featuring a lovingly upcycled horsebox transformed into a fully stocked mobile bar. Watch the sky turn pink and gold from a secluded acacia grove from 17:30 Hours onwards, enjoying freshly prepared canapés, crisp wines, and chilled gin and tonics as rhinos graze nearby.

Active Wilderness Explorations

✓ Horseback Riding: Explore the breathtaking landscapes outside the core rhino sanctuary from the saddle. The lodge stables house six well-trained horses suitable for all levels, allowing you to ride alongside relaxed plains game like zebras, impalas, and giraffes during flexible morning or late afternoon sessions.

✓ Mountain Cycling: An invigorating, slower-paced way to connect with the wild year-round. Grab a well-maintained mountain bike and follow an expert guide through scenic, flexible circuits across the conservancy’s gentle hills to enjoy the crisp mountain air and panoramic views.

✓ Guided Walking Safaris: Slow down and engage all your senses on a walking safari across Solio Ranch. Expert guides teach guests how to identify animal tracks, read scent trails, spot diverse birdlife, and understand the traditional medicinal uses of local highland flora on a flexible schedule.

Aerial Adventures & National Park Excursions

✓ Epic Helicopter Excursions: Gain a whole new perspective on Kenya’s incredible landscape with customized, flexible scenic flights. Fly between the jagged, snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya, glide through dramatic rocky gorges, or land beside shimmering glacial lakes for high-altitude trout fly-fishing (available for guests aged 2 and above).

✓ Aberdare National Park Day Trips: Contrast the open plains of Solio with a full-day excursion to a 767 square kilometer park covering misty, heavy forests, cascading waterfalls, and rolling moorlands. This high-altitude ecosystem is a haven for rare mountain bongos, melanistic serval cats, and giant forest hogs.

Wellness & Family Enrichment

✓ Wellness in the Wild & Wood-Fired Sauna: Unwind with pampering massage and beauty treatments performed in the comfort of your private cottage using premium Healing Earth and Cinnabar Green products. Afterward, visit the custom-built, glass-fronted wood sauna to detoxify while watching rhinos and giraffes wander past the window on a flexible schedule.

✓ Curated Children’s Activities: Enjoy fun, educational, and hands-on activities designed to engage curious minds. Kids can learn basic bushcraft and track identification, join chefs in the kitchen, harvest vegetables in the shamba, play garden games, or take exciting evening torchlight walks to spot glowing chameleons and genet cats.

Local Farm & Community Immersions

✓ Kimathi University Coffee Farm: Take a 45-minute drive to a working coffee plantation and agricultural research facility. Walk through lush fields, discover the science of roasting in the university’s research lab, and enjoy a fresh tasting session overlooking the farmland on a flexible schedule (closed Sundays).

✓ Cinnabar Green at Carissa Farm: Travel just over an hour to the slopes of Mount Kenya to go behind the scenes of a thoughtful natural body care brand. Tour organic herb gardens, view the copper steam distillation stills, and learn about sustainable, carbon-neutral craftsmanship Monday through Friday between 10:00 Hours and 16:00 Hours.

✓ Tambuzi Flower Farm: Visit a stunning local farm specializing in traditional scented garden roses to invigorate the senses and learn about their innovative ecological measures alongside health and education initiatives in the community during flexible daytime hours.

✓ Community Projects & School Visits: See the Footprint Trust in action with a rewarding visit to the Laburra or Charles Wickham Primary Schools during term time. Guests can engage with students and see the life-changing impacts of funded school lunches and newly constructed classrooms.

Facilities & Guest Services

Solio Lodge offers exceptional levels of personalized, full-board service designed to cater to every need, from high-adventure planning to deep relaxation in the wild.

✓ Dedicated baby listening services for parents
✓ Exclusive private safari vehicles allocated to every group
✓ A stunning custom-built, glass-fronted wood-fired sauna
✓ Flexible daily schedules tailored entirely to the guest’s pace
✓ Fully inclusive of meals, standard drinks, and daily laundry
✓ In-room massage and beauty treatments using Healing Earth products
✓ A curated boutique gift shop featuring handcrafted Kenyan artisan goods
✓ Fully accommodating to limited mobility and special dietary requirements

Camp Highlights

✓ Sweeping, uninterrupted views of Mount Kenya’s jagged peaks
✓ Custom 4×4 safari vehicles featuring unique rooftop viewing benches
✓ Globally recognized as a premier black and white rhino breeding sanctuary
✓ The only guest accommodation on a spectacular 45,000-acre private reserve
✓ Immersive wellness experiences, including a sauna with a view of grazing rhinos
✓ Deeply committed to sustainability, organic farming, and community development
✓ Totally exclusive, uncrowded game viewing with four of the “Big Five” (no elephants)
✓ Incredible variety of non-vehicle activities, including horseback riding, biking, and walking 

Solio Lodge Solio Game Reserve Non-Residents Rates Per Night Include

✓ Walking
✓ Laundry
✓ All meals
✓ Game drives
✓ Horse riding
✓ Local farm visit
✓ Mountain biking
✓ Airstrip transfers
✓ Bush breakfasts and sundowners
✓ House wines, house soft drinks, house beers, house spirits
✓ Excursions to the Aberdare National Park (park fees extra, currently standing at 60 US Dollars per adult)

Notes

* This property is bookable for a minimum of two nights
* 4 Days 3 Nights Kenya Helicopter Flying Safari Package | Click Here
* Christmas Supplement Per Person Per Night 23 December 2026 – 01 January 2027 Inclusive 150 US Dollars
* Children are ages 3 to 15 years inclusive. 16 years and over is an adult. 2 years and under is an infant. Infants stay free of charge
* CLOSURE Solio Lodge is closed from 01 November to 15 November 2026 inclusive. These dates are subject to change, and there is flexibility with closure dates
* Check-Out Time: Guests need to be out of their rooms by 1000 Hours, although they can continue to use the rest of the lodge facilities. Please note that extra lunches are charged at 46 US Dollars per person

Solio Lodge Solio Game Reserve Non-Residents Rates Per Night Exclude

* Tips
* Conservation Fees
* Health insurance
* Massage treatments
* Scenic helicopter ride
* Extra Lunch – 50US Dollars
* Entrance to the Aberdare National Park
* Champagne, luxury spirits, selected wines
* Visit Cinnabar Green and personal effects
* Exclusive Use of Vehicle Per Day 600 US Dollars
* Conservation Fees – Adult – 122US Dollars,  Children are aged 3 to 10 years inclusive- 61 US Dollars
* Professional Guide Room Per Person Per Night Exclusive of Conservation Fees- 190 US Dollars per day

Solio Lodge has 5 individual cottages. The 5th cottage is a family unit with 2 en-suite bedrooms, sleeping up to 5 people. Each cottage is very large and can comfortably accommodate 2 adults and 2 children, with extra beds available. Extra beds are available on request only.

The en-suite bathrooms have a bath and shower with a separate loo. Each cottage has a private lounge area with an open fire, vast floor-to-ceiling windows, and private decks with panoramic views of the nearby hills and Mount Kenya.

Healthy meals prepared with fresh ingredients from the Solio Lodge’s own organic vegetable garden are served in the dining area or outside under the stars within sight of grazing waterbuck, zebras, and impalas.

The cool evenings make dinner a very cozy affair with bonfires, low light, and candlelit tables. Guests can sit around the large fireplace or exchange stories of the day as they enjoy cocktails on the expansive verandah overlooking the Kenyan mountains and open plains.

Guests can also enjoy in-room spa services, including massages and other beauty treatments.

Activities at Solio Lodge include: game drives, horseback riding, guided walks, fishing, helicopter flights, birdwatching, sundowners, night game drives, and excursions to Mt. Kenya.

Children’s activities include basic bushcraft skills and enlightening them with interesting facts about wildlife, such as the simple tracks and markings of the wild.

Mobile: + 254-721-242-711
WhatsApp: +254-721-242-711
Reservations: +254 718-179-967
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://africanspicesafaris.com