6-Day Masai Mara Safari from Nairobi with Culture and Big Five

• Pick up by your tour guide from Nairobi. Drive to the world-famous Masai Mara National Reserve through the Great Rift Valley, where there will be a short stop for photographs at the top of the escarpment.

• Continue driving through the Rift Valley, arriving at Fisi Camp in time for lunch and a short briefing by the team at Fisi Camp.

• Spend the afternoon at a local manyatta, a traditional Masai homestead. Here, you will learn from the extended family what it is like to live in a manyatta, how the families and groups are organised, why cows are central to Masai culture, the roles of the men and the women, and how the Masai as a tribe have managed to maintain their culture and traditions in the modern world.

• Join the women as they show you how they make beautiful jewellery from beads. The men will show you how they make a fire using just two pieces of wood and a little dried grass. Try your hand at herding and milking the goats. You may also get to see how they bleed a cow they use in their milk as a valuable source of protein.

Return to Fisi Camp for dinner.

• Enjoy a full-day game drive in the Masai Mara Reserve with a packed lunch, giving you plenty of time to see an abundance of wildlife in their natural habitat. The Masai Mara is home to an excellent year-round concentration of game animals.

Return to Fisi Camp for dinner.

• Start with a morning hill walk with your Masai guide, which will take you to the top of one of the hills bordering the reserve. Your guide will show you the different plants and trees and explain the function each one has in Masai tradition. Hyrax and lizard inhabit the volcanic rocks deposited millions of years ago when the Rift Valley formed. There are also many different species of birds to be found. The top of the hill gives breathtaking views over the Mara.

• Have lunch in the local village.

• Spend the afternoon with a visit to the Masai market, held once a week. It's a social hub where cattle and goats are traded, as well as supplies bought.

• Head over to the local school at the top of the village, where the children are always happy to receive visitors.

Return to Fisi Camp for dinner.

• Take another nature walk in the bush with your Masai guides, where you will learn how to recognise different animal tracks. Try your hand at using the traditional Masai weapons, the spear and bow and arrow. Collect and learn about the different plants and how they are used as medicines and in ceremonies.

• Spend time at the camp, where you will have the opportunity to make some of the medicines you collected and try them for yourself.

• Enjoy a bush dinner in the evening where you can sample traditional Masai food. There will be Masai dancing and storytelling around the campfire.

Exchange experiences with the Masai; they are always interested to learn about your culture also.

• Spend another full day in the reserve with more opportunities to try and spot the Big Five.

• Depart from Masai Mara for Nairobi.