A signal comes from the front — a raised hand, telling us to stop walking and stay silent. “Cheetah,” Roelof Schutte, our South Africa wildlife guide, whispers. We sit quietly on the ground and watch a lone female scanning the terrain around her. Two other smaller cats, her cubs, languidly join her and settle to rest under the shade of a tree. 

It would be a memorable moment on a normal safari — getting to watch big cats going about their daily lives on the Maasai Mara in Kenya. But it’s especially exciting here as, rather than sitting in a safari van, we’re on the ground, with nothing to separate us from the cheetahs just a couple of hundred meters away. With no other vans or people around, we get to soak up the peaceful scene of wild animals in their natural landscape. 

There are many memorable moments like this on our four-day, 53-mile walking trip through five of the wildlife-rich conservancies surrounding the iconic Maasai Mara Game Reserve, from herds of wildebeest running alongside us to rare Martial eagles taking flight. “Walking across the Maasai Mara is something very few people get to experience but you’ll remember it for the rest of your life,” Roelof says. 

Walking safaris aren’t new, but they’re increasingly popular with travelers, from half-day walks arranged by safari lodges whose guests want a change from sitting in a van to multi-day trips that move from camp to camp. Being on the ground with big cats and other potentially dangerous animals might sound terrifying to some. But wild animals rarely attack people unless cornered or provoked, and guides on walking safaris carry rifles in case of any emergencies. Not only can you reach places where vehicles aren’t allowed to go or couldn’t reach, but having your feet planted on the same terrain as the animals gives a magical sense of being more connected to the landscapes and wildlife, rather than kept at a distance. “Observing wildlife from the animal’s level is completely different from a game drive,” Roelof agrees. “There’s no engine noise, no bouncing around. Everyone goes on safari to photograph a lion. But this is a chance to really slow down and observe wildlife and animal behavior. You’re much more connected to what’s happening around you. You see so much life."

We start our journey through the conservancies (privately managed protected areas, where safari companies and camps pay local Maasai land-owners to use their land) from Ol Seki airstrip in Naboisho Conservancy, a short flight from Nairobi. On a five-hour drive to our lodge, we observe roving elephant families and a lazing pride of lions and watch a pair of cheetahs stalking kudu and impala in hopes of a meal. As darkness falls and lightning crackles over the surrounding hills, two massive adult male lions unleash sky-splitting roars across their territory. 

We spend time with more big cats the next day, including four roaming lion brothers, a female cheetah and her three cubs feasting on an impala, a caracal prowling through long grass, and a female leopard sauntering up a rocky hillside, as well as scurrying dik-diks (Africa’s smallest antelope) and lappet-faced vultures circling in the sky — all seen from the shelter of a safari van. 

The next morning, at dawn, we set out on foot from Naboisho Camp with Roelof and Rakita Ole Shololo, a Maasai from the Ndorobo clan, a skillful wildlife spotter and guide. As the morning warms, we climb up a hillside that’s busy with eland, hartebeest, zebra, impala, and warthogs, and walk across open grasslands. The amount of life here is a sign of how healthy the ecosystems are in the Mara’s protected conservancies. Thomson gazelles bound along the horizon. Behind them, Roelof points out, the bluish mountains we can see that are inside the Serengeti, across the border in Tanzania. 

On foot, we experience details that would go unnoticed in a van, like the wind shrieking through Acacia thorn trees and the ‘guardian’ ants that protect the trees. Sitting on a ridge, looking out over a valley, we’re visited by a curious bull giraffe, who checks us out before moving on to meet up with the females in his group. 

In the afternoon, we arrive at Kicheche Bush Camp in the neighboring conservancy Olare Orok, a remote tented camp with a tray of large ice-filled G&Ts that are very welcome after a day walking in the heat. 

It’s still dark when we set out the next morning for a 14-mile hike through dry river beds, thick woodland, and over granite outcrops. Along the way, we communicate with flinger clicks and whistles to avoid disturbing the wildlife, including a Kori Bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird, before coming into our fly camp, set up for the night close to the Olare Orok river, with a campfire and a comfy tent with a proper double bed. 

As bright stars give way to pink morning skies, we find our path blocked the next morning by a two-ton hippo. “The hippo’s the most dangerous animal in Africa by far,” Roelof tells us, as the bull eyes us briefly and continues on. “They’re very unpredictable. When they charge, they won’t stop.” 

We see Maribou storks perched in trees and lilac-breasted rollers in flight, as the day warms. “The wildlife here is incredible,” Roelof says, as we watch chaos erupt on a ridge ahead, as a pack of spotted hyenas run amok, trying to find breakfast among large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, and topi. 

Down below, a lone elephant ambles across the savannah. It’s a remarkable sight for us, but Rakita’s less impressed. “Cows are more interesting than elephants,” he laughs. “Cows give us milk and meat that we can sell.”

After sitting to watch a trio of cheetahs resting under a tree, we later give a wide berth to a grumpy-looking buffalo, then arrive at the Mara River, where a table’s been set up for lunch, overlooking crocodiles in the water below. 

After a night in a fly camp within Lemek Conservancy, we cross grassy plains, heading towards Kileleoni Hill, the highest point in the Maasai Mara. We climb uphill to a sanctuary within Ol Choro Conservancy, where two southern white rhinos live under the constant protection of rangers with automatic rifles. “This is Queen Elizabeth and Kofi Annan,” says community ranger Brian Ondialla Ole Naingisa, who introduces us to the horned duo, as they munch their way up the hillside. “We only have two white rhinos in the Maasai Mara. We keep a 24-hour surveillance.”

The afternoon’s hills provide some of the toughest, hottest climbs of the trip, as we make our way towards Mara Bush Houses in Mara North Conservancy, marking the end of our adventure with celebratory G&Ts. “It’s about pushing people out of their comfort zone,” Roelof says of walking safaris. “You go through very diverse landscapes that are changing all the time, and the wildlife is amazing. It’s the most natural way to observe wildlife, whether an elephant or a line of ants walking or a hippo, like the one we saw walk past us. You experience all of it in such more detail when you’re walking and stop to look at things. You can immerse yourself in the landscape and the wildlife. You’re much more connected to what’s happening around you. It’s like walking through a wildlife documentary.”

Top 5 Walking Safaris

Laikipia, Kenya

Masaai and Samburu guides share their cultures and their knowledge of the land and wildlife on Karisia Walking Safaris in Laikipia, Kenya, which range from two-day to six-day trips. Guests might encounter rare wildlife like the aardwolf or white-tailed mongoose, as well as reticulated giraffes and Grevy’s zebras.

Ruaha National Park, Tanzania 

Far less famous than the Serengeti, Ruaha is one of the most exciting national parks in Tanzania, with leopards, lions, elephants and other wildlife, from dik-diks to red-billed hornbills. Walking safaris on Yellow Zebra’s trips take place in one of the most remote corners of the park, where there are no other operators — just you and the animals. 

Samara Karoo, South Africa 

The Samara Karoo in the Eastern Cape of South Africa is synonymous with the majestic cheetah. Aardvark Safari’s four-day Cheetah Trail trip offers travelers the chance to track cheetah on foot with expert guides and trackers, covering up to 9 miles a day and staying in luxury tented camps at night. 

South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

A chance to walk in the unspoiled wilderness areas at the end of the Great Rift Valley, home to elephants, buffaloes, hippos, giraffes, leopards, and lions, as well as over 450 bird species. The seven-night safari contains five nights of a mobile walking safari, hitting the trail each day on foot. 

Damaraland, Namibia 

Guests at Wilderness’ Desert Rhino Camp can experience rhino-tracking on foot in Namibia’s desert sanctuary in Damaraland, following one of Africa’s largest free-ranging populations of Critically Endangered, desert-adapted black rhinos in Namibia.

Top tips for Walking Safaris

• Walking safaris take in all kinds of terrain. Wear solid, durable, worn-in footwear, ideally a good pair of walking boots, to make the miles more comfortable. 
• Walking in Africa often means spending time in very warm or hot weather. Carry plenty of water. Wear a sunhat and cool comfortable, light clothing, and take plenty of sunscreen. 
• Listen to your guide. Not only are local guides experts on wildlife and landscapes, but they know how to behave around the animals and how animals might behave. Pay close attention to instructions, especially when it comes to safety. 

Graeme Green is a journalist and wildlife photographer. He 's also the founder of The New Big 5 project and author of the book The New Big 5 project: A Global Photography Project for Endangered Wildlife. 

The author traveled with Asilia Africa, who operate lodges with walking safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.