Laikipia is a plateau district, straddling the equator north west of Mount Kenya. Lewa Wildife Conservancy is one of the gems of Laikipia. The plains stretch from the Rift Valley to magnificent escarpments which drop to the Northern Frontier District. Nanyuki is the main town of the Laikipia region, and there are two rivers, the Ewaso Nyiro and Ewaso Narok, which wind through the region giving life to frequently very dry areas. Altitude varies from about 1500 to 1950m, and the environment includes open grasslands, acacia bushland, basalt hills, cedar forests and kopjes.
Due to the diverse range of habitats, Laikipia hosts an abundance of wildlife which is second only to the Masai Mara in Kenya. It has significant populations of predators and also the "big five", with over 50% of Kenya’s Black and White Rhinos, thousands of elephants, about 25% of the world’s Grevy Zebras, and an increasing population of Wild Dogs. The focus of wildlife viewing here is in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.
Laikipia is also home to diverse tribal communities including Maasai, Kikuyu, Pokot, Samburu, Turkana, Meru and Europeans.
The region is made up of a mixture of community group ranches and privately-owned ranches, which between them include commercial cattle ranches, agricultural enterprises of various sizes, wildlife conservancies and pastoralist grazing lands.
Laikipia is at the forefront on ecotourism in Kenya, and indeed, a pioneer in world terms in this sphere, mainly due to the leadership shown by Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. It has a high proportion of community-owned tourism properties, and indeed even many of those not owned by local communities still bring a benefit to the communities in a variety of significant ways.
