The Cottar family provide genuinely stunning wildlife and wilderness experiences, engaging in the original spirit and essence of ‘safari’: an abundance of wildlife, a guarantee of privacy, and the highest standards of professional guiding, in a luxurious and authentic safari environment.
Cottar’s activities are tailored to give you the most authentic African safari experiences with a guiding style that is different from other safari operators. We emphasize the quality not the quantity of the wilderness and wildlife, the emotional intelligence of the guide to become your friend in a short time, and to have our guests appreciate and join the pace of the wilderness.
We also strive to maintained balance between a prosperous business and sustainable conservation, social entrepreneurship, and community development and all our activities are centered around this.
Activities
- Balloon Ride over the Maasai Mara
- Coffee Tasting Experience
- Cottar’s famous traditional canvas bush bath
- Wildlife Drives
- Wilderness run/walk with a Maasai Warrior
- Maasai Warrior singing and dancing
- Pool time
- Photoshoot on Safari Experience
- Spa treatments
- Stargazing Experience
- Swimming and or fishing at the waterfall
NEW EXPERIENCES
The Cottars’ have developed unique, purpose-driven experiences that contribute to sustainability. Louise Cottar, co-owner, explains: ‘Luxury safaris and the Big 5 wildlife experience have become commonplace. We believe that travellers still value these elements, but that they also want to participate in a more purposeful safari.
As such, we have spent the last year developing safari experiences that have a positive impact on the client, to the complex and unique biodiversity that surrounds us and to the local Maasai community as we move forward into the next 100 years of providing safari and conservation services.
Some of those experiences include engaging and learning about vulture rehabilitation, spending time with the only all-female conservation ranger unit in the Maasai Mara, learning about the unique medicinal plants of the area, foraging and tasting local wild food, touring the community-owned private conservancy and participating in a reforestation seed disbursal bushwalk experience.
ACTIVITIES THAT ENGAGE & POSITIVELY IMPACT
Please note: some of these activities attract additional charges and need to be booked a minimum of 48 hours in advance.
CLICK HERE for more info on all of our ACTIVITIES that Engage and Positively Impact
- A conservation helicopter flight with the Mara Elephant Project (MEP) over the Maasai Mara
- Beading with Mamma Naishuru Batian
- Carbon footprint, recycle and upcycle talk and experience
- Foraging and medicinal walk
- Immersive Raptor Experience with Kenya Birds of Prey Trust (KBOPT)
- Maasai warrior school
- Medicinal and foraging walk
- Mara cheetah educational experience
- One hour learning with female conservation rangers
- Reforestation seedball dispersal activity
- Visit our local Maasai village
- Scenic Helicopter Flight over the Maasai Mara
- Kids Entomology Safari
Highlights
Award Winning Camp
Cottar’s 1920’s Camp has won numerous accolades including ‘Best Tented Camp in the World’ (Tatler Magazine), ‘Top Guides of Africa’ (Conde Nast Traveller), ‘101 Best Hotels’ (Tatler Travel Guide), ‘Best Trip of a Lifetime’ (Fodors), among many others. Cottar’s Bush Villa won Africa’s Leading Luxury Private Villa 2016 ~ World Travel Awards 2016
Location, Location, Location
Cottar’s 1920s Camp and Bush Villa are located in the famous ‘seventh’ natural wonder of the world, the Maasai Mara which has the largest concentration of terrestrial wildlife on earth – the immense wildebeest, zebra and plains game migration that numbers over to 2.5 million animals with some of the highest success rates of big five sightings in the business.
Highest Standards of Guiding
We have the highest number of Gold (the highest professional level) Safari Guides within one camp in Kenya. All of our guides are chosen for their unique skill set, great personalities and a full understanding of the Cottar’s guiding ethos.
Multi-Generational Family Run
The camp is run by the oldest established and continuing safari family in Africa spanning over five generations. The family are in the service of making lifelong memories for our guests and providing the right mix of adventure and adrenaline and comfort.
Global Ecosphere Retreat
Cottar’s 1920s Camp and Bush Villa is only one of ten accredited Global Ecosphere Retreats (GER’s) within the world. GER’s directly manage or influence a natural area of significant global conservation value, and, demonstrate their ability and commitment to achieve sustainability through the 4Cs (conservation, community, culture and commerce). We take sustainability seriously. The camp is also rated Gold by the Ecotourism Society of Kenya and has won a Green Globe Award from the World Travel Market.
Community Partnership
The Cottar family works in partnership with the Maasai community towards sustainable ecosystem management through conservation. We solely support the 7,000-acre Olderkesi Wildlife Conservancy which supports a critical migratory corridor for wildlife. The camp is situated on Maasai owned land and employs members of the Maasai community and supports numerous initiatives including a school, medical facilities, water supply and ambulance service.
Privacy
Situated in an untouched and exclusive concession bordering the Serengeti and Maasai Mara National Reserve we are the only camp situated in the 7,000-acre Olderkesi Conservancy. No hot air balloons flying overhead, no minibuses buzzing around, no nearby lodges and no low-flying aircrafts to disturb.
The Maasai Experience
We work hard to provide authentic and respectful cultural experiences and have developed some unique engagements such as ‘The Maasai Warrior School’, cultural visits, Maasai wedding blessings and invitations to certain Maasai ceremonies
Accommodation
Safari under cream canvas tents in the 1920’s style or in the modern Cottar’s Bush Villa with its own 25 metre swimming pool. Our accommodation choices are authentic and luxurious.
Something for Everyone
Our camp is situated over one kilometre. We have designed the camp so that honeymooners or families can stay and have their own space, experience and fun without necessarily disturbing others. From our family tents, to our honeymoon suite, to our Bush Villa that accommodates 10, to private dining, to children’s menus, we can serve all guests respectfully.
