ol Donyo Lodge
Luxury lodge · Chyulu Hills, Mbirikani Ranch, about 44 km from the park · Great Plains Conservation
Top-end
Outside the gate
Safari company
Great Plains Conservation's lodge in the Chyulu Hills, on Mbirikani Ranch, which is owned by 4,000 Maasai, between Tsavo and Amboseli and about 44 km from the Amboseli boundary. It is often sold as Amboseli, but the stay revolves around the ranch: horseback safaris, walks, game drives and rooftop star beds with Kilimanjaro across the plains. Eight deluxe suites and the two-bedroom Sambu Suite each have a veranda and a private pool. The rate of $1,590 per person includes drinks, activities, laundry, airstrip transfers and Big Life conservation fees, plus scheduled flights on a stay of two nights or more. Choose it for a fly-in stay on community land; its page does not say whether drives enter the national park.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Fully inclusive, with Big Life conservation fees in the rate
- Horseback safaris and walks on the ranch
- Rooftop star beds
- Private pool at every suite
- Young Explorers programme for children
Cons
- From $1,590 a person, among the priciest stays near Amboseli
- About 44 km from the park boundary
- No published minimum age; child rates on request
- Flights included only on a stay of two nights or more
What's here
- Swimming pool
- Family rooms
- Spa or massage
- Laundry
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
- Guided walks
Read from ol Donyo Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Amboseli National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entryThe non-resident rate, per entry of up to 24 hours, flat all year since 1 October 2025.
- $90per person, per day
- VehicleKSh 600 a day for a car under six seats, about $4.60 at KSh 129.45 to the dollar.
- $5per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $555 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
Leaving the park and driving back in buys a new ticket, so a lodge outside the gate can mean more fee days than nights.
The full fee schedule for Amboseli National ParkRates at ol Donyo Lodge
From $1,590 pppn. From $1,590 per person sharing per night in a Deluxe Suite, read 4 October 2026, fully inclusive of scheduled activities including horseback riding, meals, the star bed, Big Life conservation fees, daily laundry, return Chyulu airstrip road transfers and drinks including premium spirits and champagne. Scheduled seat-in-plane transfers from Nairobi Wilson or from properties in the Chyulu Hills and Amboseli region are included on stays of two nights or more. KWS park fees are not mentioned; if you visit Amboseli National Park, the conservation fee is $90 per non-resident adult per day (October 2025 card). Single, child, family-suite and private-vehicle rates on request.
All inclusive. The rate covers meals, drinks, activities and the transfers named below. Park fees are charged separately.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked on 4 October 2026 from each property's own website or rate card and from KWS's October 2025 conservation-fee card and 2025 Mbugani Homes rate card. Angama's 2026 rate comes from an archived copy of its rate page (captured August 2025), because the live site blocks automated reading. None of the figures is a reseller or agent rate; where a property publishes nothing, the entry says Rates on request, and the Budget, Mid-range or Top-end label then follows the style the property describes rather than a price. Booking.com was not checked for any property. Watch the basis: most camps quote per person sharing, the KWS units per unit and Kibo Villa per villa, and the KWS conservation fee of $90 per non-resident adult per day (October 2025 card) is extra almost everywhere, plus conservancy fees at the conservancy camps.
Questions about ol Donyo Lodge
Is ol Donyo Lodge in Amboseli National Park?
No. It stands on private land in the Chyulu Hills, on Mbirikani Ranch, about 44 km from the Amboseli boundary. Great Plains' page does not say whether its game drives enter Amboseli National Park.
What does the ol Donyo rate include?
From $1,590 per person sharing: accommodation, scheduled activities including horseback riding, meals, the star bed, Big Life conservation fees, daily laundry, return road transfers from Chyulu airstrip and drinks including premium spirits and champagne. Scheduled flights from Nairobi Wilson are included on stays of two nights or more.
Is ol Donyo Lodge good for families?
It has a two-bedroom family suite and a Young Explorers children's programme. Child rates are on request and no ages are published.