Arijiju

Arijiju lies low on the land. The building behaves as though it has always been on that warm Kenyan hillside with living grassed roofs that move with the air and connect it into the earth and forest. It is there but not there. Partly sculpted into the rock-bed, its subtle entrance opens into a fragrant, greened space with generous Swahili curves and an air of monastic calm. Walls of stone built on stone create vaulted walkways that lure you into cool shade and lead you along earth paths towards a simply luxurious gym, spa and hammam, dappled suntraps and Lamu daybeds. Alongside a gnarled African Olive tree, a slice of pool hangs over the untamed wild of the Sieku valley in the Borana Conservancy – a thriving piece of the game-rich Kenyan Highlands and a sanctuary for adventure.