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Serian The Original

Masai Mara, Kenya - Part of the Alex Walker's Serian collection

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Serian The Original

Part of the Alex Walker's Serian collection

PROPERTY FACILITIES

Eco-Friendly

AVAILABLE SERVICES

Personal Chef

Room Service

COMFORT LEVEL/PRICE RANGE

Luxury

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Is the Serian The Original for Me?

Serian was the first of Alex Walker’s camps, and it perfectly captures the essence of its name: meaning ‘peaceful, calm, serene’ in the Masai language. It is designed to be a retreat from the bustle of contemporary life, and a chance to experience untamed Africa in traditional tented manner.

It lies in the private Mara North Conservancy, and the beauty of this location is that only 10 other camps have access to it – so the feeling of having your own personal piece of Africa is a luxury that Serian has in spades.

Serian consists of five vast marquees perched on beautiful hardwood decking – one of which is a family suite. Each is unique in its own way, but all are furnished with elegant simplicity, complemented by countless thoughtful little personal touches that make it feel like home. You get a private vehicle with your own safari guide while staying at this camp.

There is no wi-fi or phone reception at the camp.

Serian The Original Photo Gallery

Serian The Original Rooms

The Serian The Original has 5 rooms. Select a room for more details.

Marquee Tent

Family Suite

Room facilities

Coffee/Tea

Gowns

Mosquito Net

Outside Shower

Lounge Area

Pure Cotton Linen

Activities offered by Serian The Original

Activities on site

Night Game Drives

Game Drives

Walking Safaris

Horse Riding

Child-Friendly Activities

Bird Watching

Fishing

Activities off site

Cultural Tour

Hot-Air Balloon

Serian The Original Videos

More about Serian The Original

Game Drives

The cornerstone of a safari experience at Serian is that each group has their own open-top safari vehicle, and their own dedicated guide and spotter. The freedom this grants you is key to getting the most out of your stay: go where the day takes you, without the limitations of fixed schedules, or fitting in with other peoples’ plans. Nothing but personal desire need dictate what you do.

Our vehicles are specially customised to be a climbing frame, and a photographer’s extra tool. They are comfortable, able to handle the terrain, and cover the distance…. And were designed for sun, rain, wind, and above all, the feeling of having as little as possible separating you from what’s out there.

Our guides and spotters are intimately familiar with these special places, so they know all its secrets and the ways the animals interact with it, from the subtle changes of the seasons, to the stages of an animals lifecycle, to the flora that sustains it all – they are the key that can unlock it all for you.

Walking Safaris

Although ‘Walker’ really is Alex’s surname, being born to such an identity turns out to have been a self-fulfilling prophecy. Spending his childhood days out on foot with his father’s trackers, then turning this into a full-time career as soon as he possibly could, Alex’s passion is walking, and it is without a doubt his preferred method of accessing the bush.

Walking safaris epitomise the golden chance to get away from the trails and beaten tracks, and immerse in the environment in a way that the noise and speed of vehicles don’t permit. Once you slow down, there’s a whole world that you never noticed before. The beauty of walking is that it engenders an appreciation of an ecosystem’s sheer perfection: every tiny element has its place, and plays its role.

Stripping away the layers between you and an untamed setting beckons forth your primal instincts: your hearing, sight and smell all sharpen in response – and your appreciation of what you perceive is heightened as a result.

At Serian, we walk in our own private conservation area – a strictly no-vehicle zone that only we have access to. Here, you are likely to have close encounters with elephant, buffalo, hippo as well as more rare species like Chandler’s Mountain Reedbuck, klipspringer and oribi.

We employ scouts whose job it is to patrol the area and look out for snares, and walking in their company yields an insight into the land from the point of view of someone who roams it every day and knows it intimately.

Flycamping

First off, a disclaimer: flycamping has nothing to do with flying. Rather, it takes its name from sleeping in the bush under nothing more than a flysheet, as was the camping tradition before the luxury-laden era of ‘glamping’ arrived.

The premise is that you spend the days walking, and the nights sleeping out in light weight tents, in a makeshift camp that moves each day – the end of each day’s walk brings you to your new site for the night.

Flycamping can easily be incorporated into your stay with us, with some nights spent in our main camp before and after – and in fact, we can’t recommend it enough. It can add a whole new dimension to your experience, and a taste of the wilderness that few others ever encounter.

Night Game Drives

For so many, the definition of a night drive has come to be a quick scan around with spotlights en route back to camp after sundowners. For us though, it’s an exploration of the enigmatic nightlife that we are oblivious to as we sit around the dinner table and proceed to bed. Nocturnal creatures emerge, the heavens are festooned with stars, and the landscape mutates into a whole other world by the light of the moon.

Take a flask of soup and a picnic dinner, and set out with a spotlight: if nothing else, the solitude and silence by starlight is reason enough in itself. Using red-filtered bulbs to avoid dazzling the animals, scan the plains for that pride of lion looking ready to hunt.

Once you’ve spotted them, switch to infrared floodlights, and watch the scene unfold through our infrared cameras. This is as close as you’ll get to invisibility, watching the wildlife without the fact of your presence affecting it.

Hot Air Ballooning

An early morning departure from Serian will see you at your launchpad. Suspended in a basket beneath the balloon’s canopy, you float over the plains and above the forest alongside the Mara River, checking out hippos, crocodile and elephant from high above.

The flight time is generally in the region of one hour and ends with a champagne breakfast in the open grassland within the reserve. An unbeatable start to the day!

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