A Private Mara Villa With Rare Conservation Access
Five nights in an exclusive-use private villa in Kenya's Olderkesi Conservancy, with five en-suite bedrooms, a 25-metre pool, wood-fired hot tub, private chef, dedicated guide and safari vehicle reserved entirely for your party. Days move between private balloon flight, time with Maasai guides and warriors, wellness treatments, foraging, a forage-to-fork dinner and a conservation helicopter flight with the Mara Elephant Project.
This experience is for a group that wants the Maasai Mara entirely on its own terms. The villa becomes the private base for a safari shaped around access, space and exceptional hosting, with every meal, drive, treatment and transfer arranged only for your party. The larger moments are rare, but never performative, a balloon flight at first light, a helicopter flight with the Mara Elephant Project, and time in the field with Maasai guides whose knowledge brings the conservancy into focus.
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Cottar's Bush Villa is a 10,000-square-foot exclusive-use villa with five en-suite bedrooms, expansive viewing decks, a 25-metre pool, private massage room and outdoor hot tub. It is designed for one family or private group, with space to gather, swim, dine and look out across the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.
The stay includes rare access arranged around your group. A private balloon rises over Olderkesi at first light, while the Mara Elephant Project helicopter flight brings guests into active conservation work with MEP rangers and leadership.
Maasai guides and warriors are part of the experience throughout. Guests walk, forage, learn medicinal plant use, understand tracking and spend time with people whose knowledge of this landscape has been carried through generations.
5 Nights • Maasai Mara, Kenya
Families, private groups, multi-generational travel, couples travelling together, photographers and guests who want an exclusive villa with strong guiding, cultural depth and rare conservation access.
Cottar's Bush Villa. An exclusive-use private villa with five en-suite bedrooms, generous living spaces, expansive decks, private 25-metre pool, wood-fired hot tub, private massage room, dedicated staff, chef, guide and safari vehicle.
Up to 10 guests. Exclusive-use only.
Five nights at Cottar's Bush Villa, all meals and drinks, exclusive-use villa, private vehicle and guide throughout, private balloon flight, Champagne bush breakfast, Mara Elephant Project helicopter flight, forage-to-fork dinner and two wellness treatments.
Additional wellness treatments, private photographic support, children's activities, conservation talks, seedball dispersal, extra game drives, bush baths, special celebration dinners, premium wines, private musicians, Maasai village visit, beading session, private charter flights to the Mara and extended Kenya itineraries.
Cottar's Bush Villa was introduced as the first luxury private villa in the Maasai Mara. It remains one of the most private ways to experience the region, with the full villa reserved for one group only.
The villa has five en-suite bedrooms, generous shared spaces and expansive decks facing the conservancy. It works beautifully for families, two families travelling together or a private group of up to 10 guests.
The pool faces the open conservancy and becomes a natural centre of the day. It gives the villa a sense of ease between drives, flights, walks and private meals.
The outdoor hot tub is prepared privately for the evening. It is best after the helicopter day, a long drive or a late dinner under the open sky.
The villa includes dedicated staff, a private chef, private guide and exclusive-use vehicle. The result is a safari shaped around your group rather than the rhythm of a shared camp.
At first light, a private balloon rises over Olderkesi. From above, the conservancy opens into river lines, acacia pockets, open grassland and wildlife moving through the morning.
After landing, breakfast is served in the field with Champagne. It keeps the morning close to the landscape before returning to the villa for the pool, wellness and a slower afternoon.
A Maasai guide leads a private foraging and medicinal walk through the conservancy. Guests learn what grows here, what it is called, how it has been used and how that knowledge still belongs to daily life.
Guests spend time with Maasai guides and warriors through walking, tracking and practical field knowledge. It is not a performance, but a closer way to understand the land through the people who know it.
The helicopter flight with the Mara Elephant Project brings rare access to active conservation work. Guests follow elephant movement from the air with MEP rangers and leadership, then land for a private briefing and refreshments.
Two wellness treatments are included at the villa. They are placed around the larger experiences, so the stay keeps its sense of space.
Meals are prepared by your villa chef and served where the day suits best. Dinner might be on the terrace, beside the pool or under the open sky after returning from the field.
This is not a stay built around shared camp life. The villa, chef, staff, guide, vehicle and daily rhythm belong only to your group. Breakfast can begin late on the terrace, lunch can stay by the pool, and dinner can be served privately under the open sky.
The scale of the experience comes through what has been arranged around the villa. One morning begins in a private balloon over Olderkesi, followed by Champagne breakfast in the field. Another day brings a helicopter flight with the Mara Elephant Project, giving rare access to elephant tracking and the conservation work protecting the wider Mara ecosystem.
The most memorable moments are often closest to the ground. A Maasai guide leads you through a foraging and medicinal walk, explaining what grows here, what it is called and how it has been used. Time with Maasai warriors brings tracking, movement and practical knowledge into the stay, giving the experience a depth that belongs specifically to this place.
Wellness is part of the rhythm, not a separate add-on. Treatments are arranged at the villa between larger experiences, with the 25-metre pool, hot tub and private terrace giving the group time to settle properly into the conservancy.
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This is a sample five-night programme for Cottar's Bush Villa. Exact timings and routing are shaped by weather, wildlife movement, flight conditions, operational permissions, advance availability for ballooning and Mara Elephant Project scheduling.
On arrival at the Mara airstrip, your private transfer takes you directly to the villa. The first afternoon is left open for the pool, terrace and time to settle in. Sundowners are served privately before dinner prepared by your chef.
Before sunrise, a private balloon rises above the Olderkesi Conservancy. From the air, the savannah opens into river lines, wildlife routes, acacia pockets and distant escarpments. After a Champagne bush breakfast on landing, return to the villa for the afternoon, your first wellness treatment and dinner beside the villa.
The morning is kept unhurried, with breakfast served late on the terrace and time by the 25-metre pool. In the afternoon, a Maasai guide leads a private foraging and medicinal walk, sharing what grows here, what it is called and how it has traditionally been used. Dinner is prepared by your chef with influence from the walk.
Depart by private helicopter for a conservation flight with the Mara Elephant Project. From the air, guests follow elephant movement with MEP rangers and leadership, then land at the project headquarters for a conservation briefing and refreshments. Return to the villa by helicopter for a second wellness treatment and dinner under the open sky.
Your guide takes you out for a final private drive, choosing the route according to recent sightings, conditions and what the group has most enjoyed during the stay. Return to the villa for a farewell lunch before your onward departure to Nairobi.
On arrival at the Mara airstrip, your private transfer takes you directly to the villa. The first afternoon is left open for the pool, terrace and time to settle in. Sundowners are served privately before dinner prepared by your chef.
Before sunrise, a private balloon rises above the Olderkesi Conservancy. From the air, the savannah opens into river lines, wildlife routes, acacia pockets and distant escarpments. After a Champagne bush breakfast on landing, return to the villa for the afternoon, your first wellness treatment and dinner beside the villa.
The morning is kept unhurried, with breakfast served late on the terrace and time by the 25-metre pool. In the afternoon, a Maasai guide leads a private foraging and medicinal walk, sharing what grows here, what it is called and how it has traditionally been used. Dinner is prepared by your chef with influence from the walk.
Depart by private helicopter for a conservation flight with the Mara Elephant Project. From the air, guests follow elephant movement with MEP rangers and leadership, then land at the project headquarters for a conservation briefing and refreshments. Return to the villa by helicopter for a second wellness treatment and dinner under the open sky.
Your guide takes you out for a final private drive, choosing the route according to recent sightings, conditions and what the group has most enjoyed during the stay. Return to the villa for a farewell lunch before your onward departure to Nairobi.
On arrival at the Mara airstrip, your private transfer takes you directly to the villa. The first afternoon is left open for the pool, terrace and time to settle in. Sundowners are served privately before dinner prepared by your chef.
Before sunrise, a private balloon rises above the Olderkesi Conservancy. From the air, the savannah opens into river lines, wildlife routes, acacia pockets and distant escarpments. After a Champagne bush breakfast on landing, return to the villa for the afternoon, your first wellness treatment and dinner beside the villa.
The morning is kept unhurried, with breakfast served late on the terrace and time by the 25-metre pool. In the afternoon, a Maasai guide leads a private foraging and medicinal walk, sharing what grows here, what it is called and how it has traditionally been used. Dinner is prepared by your chef with influence from the walk.
Depart by private helicopter for a conservation flight with the Mara Elephant Project. From the air, guests follow elephant movement with MEP rangers and leadership, then land at the project headquarters for a conservation briefing and refreshments. Return to the villa by helicopter for a second wellness treatment and dinner under the open sky.
Your guide takes you out for a final private drive, choosing the route according to recent sightings, conditions and what the group has most enjoyed during the stay. Return to the villa for a farewell lunch before your onward departure to Nairobi.
On arrival at the Mara airstrip, your private transfer takes you directly to the villa. The first afternoon is left open for the pool, terrace and time to settle in. Sundowners are served privately before dinner prepared by your chef.
Before sunrise, a private balloon rises above the Olderkesi Conservancy. From the air, the savannah opens into river lines, wildlife routes, acacia pockets and distant escarpments. After a Champagne bush breakfast on landing, return to the villa for the afternoon, your first wellness treatment and dinner beside the villa.
The morning is kept unhurried, with breakfast served late on the terrace and time by the 25-metre pool. In the afternoon, a Maasai guide leads a private foraging and medicinal walk, sharing what grows here, what it is called and how it has traditionally been used. Dinner is prepared by your chef with influence from the walk.
Depart by private helicopter for a conservation flight with the Mara Elephant Project. From the air, guests follow elephant movement with MEP rangers and leadership, then land at the project headquarters for a conservation briefing and refreshments. Return to the villa by helicopter for a second wellness treatment and dinner under the open sky.
Your guide takes you out for a final private drive, choosing the route according to recent sightings, conditions and what the group has most enjoyed during the stay. Return to the villa for a farewell lunch before your onward departure to Nairobi.
On arrival at the Mara airstrip, your private transfer takes you directly to the villa. The first afternoon is left open for the pool, terrace and time to settle in. Sundowners are served privately before dinner prepared by your chef.
Before sunrise, a private balloon rises above the Olderkesi Conservancy. From the air, the savannah opens into river lines, wildlife routes, acacia pockets and distant escarpments. After a Champagne bush breakfast on landing, return to the villa for the afternoon, your first wellness treatment and dinner beside the villa.
The morning is kept unhurried, with breakfast served late on the terrace and time by the 25-metre pool. In the afternoon, a Maasai guide leads a private foraging and medicinal walk, sharing what grows here, what it is called and how it has traditionally been used. Dinner is prepared by your chef with influence from the walk.
Depart by private helicopter for a conservation flight with the Mara Elephant Project. From the air, guests follow elephant movement with MEP rangers and leadership, then land at the project headquarters for a conservation briefing and refreshments. Return to the villa by helicopter for a second wellness treatment and dinner under the open sky.
Your guide takes you out for a final private drive, choosing the route according to recent sightings, conditions and what the group has most enjoyed during the stay. Return to the villa for a farewell lunch before your onward departure to Nairobi.
East African safari was once a slow expedition, moving by foot, horse, porter and ox-wagon. Cottar's changed that rhythm when the family became the first safari outfitters on the continent to use motor vehicles, opening the wilderness to a different kind of guided journey.
In Olderkesi, movement is still only part of the story. The Maasai guides and warriors bring the knowledge that gives the landscape meaning: tracks in dust, grazing patterns, plants used for medicine, weather signs, animal behaviour and the discipline of moving with awareness. The vehicle, the walk, the balloon and the helicopter all offer different access, but the land becomes clearer through the people who know it.
This is the thread of the experience. A private villa in the Maasai Mara, shaped by a family that helped modern safari move, held within a conservancy where older ways of reading the land still matter, and connected to conservation work that keeps the ecosystem open.
Starting from USD 54,920
Select your preferred dates and number of guests to check availability. Our team will confirm the details and arrange the experience ahead of your arrival.
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English and Swahili are official languages in Kenya. The local currency is the Kenyan Shilling, although US dollars are commonly used in high-end safari settings.
East Africa Time, GMT plus 3.
Cottar's Bush Villa is available year-round. July to October is the best-known season for the Great Migration in the wider Maasai Mara, while quieter months can offer softer light, fewer vehicles and a more private atmosphere.
Most travellers require an Electronic Travel Authorisation before entering Kenya. Guests should check the latest requirements, passport validity and any exemptions before departure.
International guests usually fly into Nairobi. From there, a light aircraft to the Mara region is the standard onward connection, where your private transfer takes you to Cottar's Bush Villa.
Safari clothing should be practical, neutral and comfortable. Bring layers for cool mornings and evenings, closed shoes for walking, sun protection, swimwear and relaxed clothing for private dinners at the villa.
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