A sacred feeling surrounds Mount Kenya, Africa’s second-highest peak. The local population has always revered the country’s namesake pinnacle, believing it to be the snow-capped seat of their god. Many tribes in Kenya, including the region’s Kikuyu, believe divinity lies in nature—the rainbows, the stars and the swaying acacia trees—and that it is invoked when the balance between humans and the environment is disrupted.

I consider that as I weave through the dark forest of the 314-hectare Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary, tracing the footsteps of my guide, Mophene Leev. “Over there,” she whispers, pointing to a large antelope with a tawny coat and white stripes. While most people come to Kenya to spot the Big Five (African buffalo, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses and elephants), we’re hiking to catch a glimpse of one of the world’s rarest animals: the mountain bongo. The species has been on the brink of extinction for decades, and recent wildlife censuses show there are still fewer than 100 in the wild.

Thanks to an ambitious bongo-reintroduction program led by the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, the population of this critically endangered African antelope is finally rebounding, with 2023 seeing the births of two new calves in the sanctuary.

It’s estimated that by 2025, the conservancy will rewild about 50 bongos. Tracking the elusive species is one of the perks of staying at the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, a 41-hectare estate that straddles the equator. The former hunting lodge and Hollywood enclave was founded by actor William Holden and his friends in 1959 and is now a hub for conservation—and one of three Fairmont hotels in Kenya. I’m on the Canadian-founded hospitality brand’s new three-stop tour, which also includes stays at the tented Fairmont Mara Safari Club in the legendary wildlife conservation area Masai Mara and the landmark Fairmont The Norfolk in Nairobi. The properties are steeped in heritage, but change is afoot: The colonial-era interiors have been refreshed through partnerships with local artisans, rare species are being rewilded and more women than ever are leading conservation efforts.

After tracking bongos in the forest, Leev leads us to a picnic breakfast and tells us about her path to working as an ecologist, which is still considered an unconventional career for women in the nearby town of Nanyuki. “My mother wanted me to do something very different—nursing or education,” she says. “But I’m happy I pursued my dream. I’m a nurse to animals, I teach local students about their ecosystems and I’m doing what I love.”

Kenya may be evolving, but reminders of the past are everywhere. Back at the hotel, I curl up by the roaring fire in the main bar, where Ava Gardner likely sipped gin and Ernest Hemingway told tales of big-game hunting. Elephant tusks, photos of Holden’s pet lion and a guest book signed by Winston Churchill are just a few of the relics around the property. Some years before Kenya became the first African nation to ban big-game hunting in the 1970s, the Mount Kenya Safari Club transitioned into a conservation hub, attracting the likes of Jane Goodall, who opened her Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary nearby. Today, the grounds are home to reticulated giraffes, roaming llamas and an animal orphanage that cares for rescued lion cubs and leopards. Now owned by Kenyan billionaire Humphrey Kariuki Ndegwa, the hotel blends old- world glamour and conservation. Rare golden zebras graze on its nine-hole golf course, the equestrian stables offer horseback safaris and the dining rooms feature locally made ceramics and recycled-blown-glass lamps.

While it would be easy to spend a whole month in Holden’s original cottage (the property often hosts creatives for long-term stays), it would be a shame to miss the next stop on this grand tour: the legendary Fairmont Mara Safari Club, just an hour’s flight away.

Famous for its annual Great Migration, the Masai Mara sees more than a million wildebeests traverse its vast savannahs every July through October. But visiting during the winter also has its perks, including fewer mosquitoes and less-dense foliage, the latter of which makes it easier to spot animals on the Ol Choro Oiroua Conservancy. As one of the first conservancies in Kenya belonging to local Maasai communities, the 6,900-hectare expanse boasts an unparalleled symbiosis between people and nature.

“In our language, the word mara means ‘spotted land,’” says our guide, Mike Saitoti, gesturing toward the desert date trees that dot the savannah. A member of the pastoral tribe that has stewarded these lands for millennia, Saitoti says he was born a conservationist. “The Maasai always lived alongside wild animals—they never hunted them for food.”

Our first game drive feels like a scene from The Lion King, with a coalition of cheetahs wrestling in the grass, giraffes nibbling leaves and dozens of elephants cooling off in a watering hole. Later, we enjoy a sundowner by a bonfire as members of the Maasai tribe invite us to partake in adumu, a traditional jumping dance.

The next morning, I feel a fire blazing above me and then the euphoric sensation of floating. A sunrise hot-air balloon safari over the Masai Mara is a bucket-list experience for most travellers in Kenya. And as we drift above the country’s crown jewel, I marvel at its scale. After we indulge in a post-flight champagne breakfast, Saitoti takes us on a game drive back to camp, where we zoom into a clearing in the bush—he’s spotted two lions mating. Part of the thrill of a safari is you never know what you’ll see, and being on a private conservancy gives you the freedom of off-road and crowd-free game-viewing.

The conservancy is also home to the last two southern white rhinos in the Mara, which remain under 24-hour watch. Poaching incidents have dropped in recent years, and there’s a new focus on educating youth, says conservancy manager Doris Nabaala, who is part of the Maasai tribe. “They’re the next generation of landowners,” she says as we watch the sunset from the top of Aitong Hill. “They need to be able to appreciate this wildlife area so they can take care of it.”

The focus on conservation is spreading throughout Kenya— even in the bustling capital of Nairobi, where I spend the last few days of my trip. In the leafy Karen district (named for Out of Africa author Karen Blixen), I shop for beaded purses and woven wall hangings at the House of Treasures, a boutique carrying pieces by local designers like Linda Camm, who works with Maasai artisans to create her accessories. (Kate Middleton sported one of Camm’s belts during a Royal Tour in Canada.) Nearby, farm-to-table restaurant Cultiva’s open-air dining space with upcycled decor draws a fashion-forward crowd.

At the Fairmont The Norfolk, which is housed in a building that dates back to 1904, I sip my morning coffee on a terrace overlooking the property’s tropical garden, which is filled with monkeys, butterflies and fire finches. Nairobi is surprisingly lush thanks to Kenya’s Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization that was started by environmental activist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai and encourages women to work together to grow seedlings and trees to improve soil health, provide food and firewood and receive payment for their work. It’s also the only capital city in the world with a national park, Nairobi National Park, which is where I join one final game drive before my flight home. As dusk hits, I finally hear the sound I’ve been waiting for: a lion roar. Three big cats approach our jeep and pause in the glow of the headlights. As if they know why we came, they allow us to admire their beauty for a few minutes before disappearing into the divine wild.

Read more:
Where To Travel This Summer, According To Your Star Sign
How to Spend 48 Hours in Mexico City
This Remote Getaway Defines Tropical Bliss