The Asilia Edit, our collection of set departure, small group tours, currently features four carefully curated safari itineraries. Each Edition of The Asilia Edit encourages total immersion into the experience of the journey and is enriched with thoughtful extras to further elevate the unique safari offering.
With four different options to choose from, there may be some uncertainty around which Edition is best suited to you, or what it is that sets each Edition apart from the others. In this series of blogs, we will unpack each Edition, providing insight into the experience, the regions and camps it covers, and what can be expected from the itinerary.
The Signature Edition
Why is this Signature?
Offering access to three unique ecosystems and utilising our most exclusive and luxurious property in each, The Signature Edition is our flagship itinerary within The Asilia Edit. Carefully curated to create the perfect blend of spectacular game viewing in exclusive environments, balanced against award winning lodges that offer the highest levels of service and attention to detail. This multi-country itinerary offers the ultimate East Africa safari experience, making it worthy of its title.
Who is this best for?
For the safari connoisseur seeking exclusivity, unparalleled comfort, and a rich wildlife experience in East Africa. Equally, The Signature Edition may appeal to the first-time safari goer that wants to experience three unique locations across East Africa, each offering an elevated blend of comfort and game viewing. From the exclusivity of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy to the big cat country of Namiri Plains and culminating in the vast expanse of Ruaha National Park, this itinerary offers a remarkable journey through three beautiful and diverse ecosystems.
What to expect from the experience?
The Signature Edition begins with a restful and relaxing night in Nairobi at the Emara Ole Sereni, before flying to the exclusive Mara Naboisho Conservancy. Located adjacent to the Maasai Mara Reserve, this private conservancy offers world class game viewing without the crowds for a unique wildlife experience. From Naboisho, the journey crosses into Tanzania, and into the eastern corner of the Serengeti National Park.
Namiri Plains is an iconic landscape of short grass plains dotted with termite mounds and granite kopjes, favoured by cheetahs and lions respectively. This is big cat country. The journey continues south into the expanse of Ruaha National Park, where enormous herds of elephants dig for water in dry riverbeds, and super-prides of lion lounge beneath baobabs, watching and waiting for their next meal.
Unpacking The Signature Edition
The Signature Edition tracks three of Asilia’s Reserve tier properties across three diverse locations, ensuring a consistent level of luxury amongst changing eco-systems and phenomenal wildlife.
Nairobi: Emara Ole Sereni
On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, an Asilia representative will meet you and transfer you to the Emara Ole Sereni. Conveniently located between the international and domestic airports, the hotel offers a relaxed and comfortable space in which to unwind after a long haul flight, and prepare for the primate adventure in store.
Mara Naboisho Conservancy: Naboisho Camp
Adjacent to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the 200km2 Mara Naboisho Conservancy is a ground-breaking success story of conservation and community development. The conservancy experience boasts a variety of activities amidst spectacular year-round game viewing with high concentrations of predators, combined with authentic community interaction.
In the heart of it all lies Naboisho Camp, a stylish haven with nine elegant tents, offering a level of safari solitude almost unheard of so close to the Maasai Mara. Explore the conservancy through daily game drives, walking safaris, and night drives for a varied safari experience. Between activities, enjoy the views from the seclusion of your private veranda, relax in the solar-assisted swimming pool, or book a massage to ease the tension from tired muscles.
Serengeti National Park: Namiri Plains
In the eastern corner of the Serengeti National Park, Namiri Plains holds a spectacular position opposite a permanent water source and surrounded by open grasslands. Each of the 11 elegant and spacious tents features a veranda and private outdoor bath, providing the perfect location from which to enjoy the wildlife that congregates here to drink. Granite kopjes and termite mounds dot the landscape, favoured by lions and cheetahs for the vantage points they offer for surveying the surroundings for prey.
This is big cat country, supported by the variety of plains game that graze across the open grasslands. Smaller cats are also frequently sighted amongst the grasses, including civets and servals. Enjoy game drives and walking safaris across the plains, an early morning hot air balloon safari, massages and relaxation alongside the swimming pool for the ultimate Serengeti safari experience.
Ruaha National Park: Jabali Ridge
The expansive Ruaha National Park provides a fitting location for the culmination of a safari built around exclusivity. Offering a rare combination of exceptional wildlife, beautiful landscapes, and surprisingly low visitor numbers, it is not uncommon to feel as though you have the entire wilderness to yourself.
Built around a rocky outcrop, Jabali Ridge is a sophisticated retreat boasting spectacular views over baobab forests and the infinite landscape of Ruaha. Jabali offers a range of activities including game drives, walking safaris, and night drives, alongside opportunities to relax and unwind in the infinity pool, in the spa, or in the private sunken lounge outside your suite.
What does The Signature Edition include?
Game drives in Naboisho, Serengeti, and Ruaha
Game drives are a key ingredient in the safari adventure and are the primary environment for our guides to showcase their talent and knowledge of the East African wilderness. The range of a vehicle allows for wider exploration of the diverse landscapes these regions offer.
Walking safaris in Naboisho, Serengeti, and Ruaha
Exploring the wilderness on foot creates an entirely different perspective compared to the elevated vantage point of a vehicle. Your senses dial in to the sounds of the bush, and your focus shifts to the smaller ecosystems, insects, and birdlife that the new perspective brings.
Night game drives in Naboisho and Ruaha
Driving through the wilderness under the cover of darkness is an entirely different experience to that of a game drive during daylight hours. Your vision becomes tied to tracking the spotlight through the surrounding bush, watching for the tell-tale glint of an eye or the flick of a tail in the undergrowth. When the vehicle stops and all lights are extinguished, the stars come alive in their numbers while the sounds of the night create the perfect audio accompaniment.
Hot air balloon safari
From Namiri Plains, set out in the pre-dawn darkness and make your way to the launch site for a hot air balloon safari over the plains of the Serengeti. Glide low over the plains and watering holes or climb high into the skies for a unique vantage point of this phenomenal landscape.
The Asilia Spa at Naboisho, Namiri Plains, and Jabali Ridge
A 30-minute massage is included in your journey, which can be redeemed in any of the properties. Additional treatments can be booked directly in the camps.
Positive Impact
Your stay with Asilia directly contributes to the conservation of wildlife and key wilderness areas in East Africa. Each night spent in an Asilia camp generates US$20 for conservation initiatives, while park fees contribute to the employment of rangers and ongoing anti-poaching initiatives.
Asilia was instrumental in the foundation of the Mara Naboisho Conservancy, a collaboration that saw landowners choosing to unite their land for conservation instead of continuing with over grazing and subsistence farming. By staying in Naboisho Camp you are contributing to the surrounding communities and actively encouraging conservation.
The Mara Elephant Project works to protect elephants and conserve the ecosystem they rely upon across the Greater Maasai Mara. Human-wildlife conflict, poaching, diminishing space and restricted access to migratory corridors are some of the ongoing challenges faced by elephants. The Mara Elephant Projects aims to mitigate conflict through education and careful monitoring of wildlife, especially in areas close to community settlements. Spend a morning with the researchers at the project, learning more about their work and gaining first-hand insight into wildlife conservation.
From Namiri Plains, learn about cheetah research and conservation from a member of the Serengeti Cheetah Project through an intimate evening presentation and discussion. The project monitors the movements of cheetah throughout the area, studying and documenting their range, family dynamics and health in one of the longest running cheetah monitoring projects in Africa.
The Southern Tanzania Elephant Program (STEP) operates around the fringes of the southern national parks, working closely with local communities and farmers in the pursuit of human-elephant coexistence. They work to protect age-old migration corridors that are under threat from human encroachment, which results in human-wildlife conflict.
STEP practices monitoring and research into behaviour, movement, and ranges to combat crop-loss, while working with communities to create education and awareness around best practice, improved elephant deterrents, and the importance of conservation. In Jabali Ridge, enjoy the opportunity to connect with a researcher from STEP for an in-camp presentation on the important work and research being performed in the surrounding area, deepening your knowledge and understanding of the challenges faced by both wildlife and local communities.
If you are looking for a multi-country journey that features exclusive properties, unparalleled comfort, and a rich wildlife offering, look no further than The Signature Edition for the ultimate East Africa experience.
