Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy
Ol Jogi is 58,000 acres, or 235 square kilometres, of Laikipia plateau about 225 kilometres north of Nairobi, at roughly 6,000 feet and in what the conservancy describes as a malaria-free zone. It became Kenya’s second privately owned rhino sanctuary in 1980, it holds over a hundred rhinos, and it is the least visitable of the major Laikipia conservancies. Understanding why is the most useful thing a traveller can take from this page.
Kenya’s Second Private Rhino Sanctuary
The property has existed as a conservation operation for more than sixty years, and its rhino history is longer than almost anything else on the plateau. In 1980 it became the second privately owned rhino sanctuary in Kenya, at a point when the national black rhino population was collapsing towards the approximately 384 animals Kenya Wildlife Service recorded by 1989.
In 2005 the sanctuary was expanded from a fenced enclosure to cover the entire conservancy, with specialised fencing around the whole 235 square kilometres. That is the arrangement today: the rhinos are not in a sanctuary inside the property, the property is the sanctuary.
Ol Jogi states a healthy population of over 100 rhinos, both eastern black and southern white. The black rhino population is classified as a Key 2 population under the African Rhino Specialist Group’s system, and conservation partners have described Ol Jogi as holding over 6 per cent of the world’s in-situ eastern black rhino. The land is contiguous with other conservancies in the wider Laikipia landscape, so the animals are part of a connected regional population rather than an island.
The Rescue Centre and the Veterinary Clinic
What distinguishes Ol Jogi from its neighbours is not the wildlife but the infrastructure behind it. A Wildlife Rescue Centre was established in 1986 to take in injured and orphaned animals, and a veterinary clinic was opened in 1995. Both still operate.
Very few private properties in Kenya carry that capability. It means Ol Jogi functions partly as a regional facility rather than purely as a landholding, taking casualties from a wider area than its own fence line, and it is the reason the conservancy’s profile among conservation organisations is higher than its profile among travellers. The conservancy also runs a wildlife education programme for Kenyan schoolchildren.
Wildlife
Ol Jogi carries the Laikipia species set: black and white rhino, elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, African wild dog, reticulated giraffe and Grevy’s zebra.
The Grevy’s are the significant ones. The Grevy’s Zebra Trust’s 2018 count put the global population at 3,042 animals, with 2,812 in Kenya and 230 in Ethiopia, against around 15,000 in the late 1970s, and the surviving Kenyan animals are confined to Samburu, Marsabit and Laikipia counties. Reticulated giraffe are assessed as Endangered, with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation putting the population at 20,901.
Why You Probably Cannot Just Visit
Ol Jogi does not publish a conservancy entry fee, does not describe day access on its own website, and does not operate public gates. It is not a national park, so no Kenya Wildlife Service fee schedule applies. Anyone planning to include it in an itinerary should treat access as something to be arranged and confirmed in advance rather than assumed.
Ol Jogi functions as a private, exclusive-use property rather than an open conservancy. That is a materially different proposition from Ol Pejeta down the road, which publishes a tariff and admits self-drive day visitors, and it is also different from Lewa, Borana and Loisaba, which are stay-only but run multiple camps with ordinary availability.
For most travellers building a Laikipia trip, the practical conclusion is that Ol Jogi is a conservation story worth knowing about and not a destination to plan around. The Laikipia guide sets out which conservancies on the plateau are actually open and on what terms.
Getting There
The conservancy sits on the same axis as the rest of the plateau, north of Nanyuki and reached from Nairobi by the Thika and Nanyuki road, roughly four hours on tarmac before the turn-off. Fly-in access uses airstrips on the plateau. Neighbouring destinations on a northern circuit are Mount Kenya to the south and Samburu and Isiolo to the north.
Questions Travellers Ask About Ol Jogi
Can I visit Ol Jogi?
Not in the way most conservancies can be visited. Ol Jogi publishes no entrance fee, no gate hours and no day-visit arrangement, and it operates as a private property rather than an open conservancy. Anyone wanting to go should approach the conservancy directly and treat a positive answer as the exception rather than the default. Ol Pejeta is the Laikipia conservancy set up for visitors arriving under their own steam.
How many rhinos does Ol Jogi have?
The conservancy states over 100, both eastern black and southern white, without publishing a split between the two. The black rhino population is classified as Key 2 under the African Rhino Specialist Group’s framework, and conservation partners have put Ol Jogi’s share at over 6 per cent of the world’s in-situ eastern black rhino.
What is the difference between Ol Jogi and Ol Pejeta?
The names are similar and the properties are not. Both are large Laikipia conservancies with substantial rhino populations, both sit north of Nanyuki, and both date their conservation work to the same era. Ol Pejeta is 90,000 acres, publishes a full tariff, runs public gates and takes day visitors, and holds the last two northern white rhinos. Ol Jogi is 58,000 acres, is privately held, publishes no tariff and does not operate as an open destination. Travellers who confuse the two generally mean Ol Pejeta.
What does the wildlife rescue centre do?
It takes in injured and orphaned animals, and it has done so since 1986, with a veterinary clinic added in 1995. Very little private land in Kenya carries that capability, so the centre serves a wider area than the conservancy itself. It is not a visitor attraction in the way an elephant orphanage is, and it should not be planned around as one.
Is Ol Jogi malaria-free?
The conservancy describes its own ground as a malaria-free zone at around 6,000 feet, which is a claim about altitude rather than a guarantee, and it is not a substitute for medical advice. Risk across the Laikipia plateau is low rather than absent, and antimalarial decisions belong with a travel clinic.
No operator on the marketplace currently lists a safari to Ol Jogi Wildlife Conservancy.
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