Ol Donyo Lodge

ol Donyo Lodge stands on the slopes of the Chyulu Hills, on 275,000 acres of Maasai-owned land between Amboseli and Tsavo West national parks, with Mount Kilimanjaro filling the horizon from every suite. Eight deluxe suites and a two-bedroom Sambu Suite are each built around a private plunge pool, with indoor and outdoor showers and a rooftop star bed where guests can sleep outside under the mountain. Two hides sunk at the waterhole below the main lodge let you watch elephant and buffalo come to drink without moving from your seat.

This is also some of the last country in Kenya with wild-roaming black rhino, hiding out in the dense thickets of the Chyulu range, and guides lead day and night game drives, horseback safaris and guided walks in search of them. Mountain-biking routes cross the volcanic plains below, and a visit to a nearby Maasai village rounds out a stay built as much around the community that owns this land as the wildlife on it.