About Cottar's 1920s Camp
The Cottar family have guided Kenya since 1919, and their cream-canvas camp — gramophones, butlers, private wilderness on the Serengeti border — is living safari history.
The area: Olderkesi Conservancy
A vast, wild conservancy on the reserve’s remote southeastern boundary, bordering Tanzania’s Serengeti. The Cottar family have guided here since the 1920s and anchor its conservation funding.
What it's like
Frontier Mara: huge private wilderness, walking safaris and a genuine sense of having the plains to yourself, minutes from the reserve and the Sand River crossings.
Getting there & fees
Cottar’s private airstrip or a 45-minute drive from Keekorok.
Conservancy fees (typically US$100–150 per adult per night) are bundled into camp rates here and paid to Maasai landowning families; reserve entry fees apply only on days you cross into the reserve itself.
Plan around this stay
Seasons, wildlife and reserve fees are in the Masai Mara park guide. The year is broken down in the best time to visit the Masai Mara, and this price tier sits in context in what a Kenya safari costs in 2026. How this conservancy compares with the reserve is covered in conservancies vs the reserve.