Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is one of Africa's most celebrated and influential conservation areas — a 62,000-acre private sanctuary at the base of Mount Kenya on the southern edge of the Laikipia Plateau. Internationally recognised for its groundbreaking approach to community-based conservation, Lewa has served as a model for responsible wildlife management across Africa and was inscribed as part of the Mount Kenya UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. The conservancy was established on a former cattle ranch in the 1980s as a black rhino sanctuary, and has since expanded to protect a remarkable diversity of threatened species while channelling the majority of tourism revenues into surrounding community programmes covering education, healthcare, water provision, and alternative livelihoods for over 50,000 people. Lewa's landscape encompasses rolling savannah, acacia woodland, montane forest patches, and dramatic views of Mount Kenya's snow-capped peaks. The Lewa Safari Marathon — one of the world's most iconic charity running events — is held annually within the conservancy. Lewa's conservation successes have been replicated and built upon by numerous partner conservancies across Kenya and beyond, establishing it as the intellectual heartland of Kenyan community conservation.