23/01/2026
Some safaris we won’t sell, no matter how famous.
Fifteen years ago, Tropical Ice made the brave decision to stop leading Kilimanjaro trips. This wasn’t because Iain and Alex were sick of sleeping in pup tents or getting older (despite what you may think!). It was to avoid the growing crowds. When Iain founded Tropical Ice in 1978, fewer than 10,000 people summited Kilimanjaro each year. That number is now over 60,000.
Tropical Ice prides itself on organising uncompromising adventures that take you to the wildest places on the planet. We could no longer look you in the eye with integrity and say that Kilimanjaro was still worthwhile. So, we moved into the wilds of Tsavo, where to this day we can escape the crowds.
Fewer than 100 people do the Great Walk of Africa in Tsavo each year - fewer than summit Everest on a single day in May - and fewer than 1,500 people have ever done it. It doesn’t have the “brand” of hikes like Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, or Machu Picchu - but that’s part of what makes it great. Your friends have probably never heard of it. That’s also great. It’s a wonderful achievement and one that delivers deep personal satisfaction.
We have recently been forced to make another tough decision:
***Tropical Ice will no longer run trips to the Maasai Mara, or send travellers there on extensions after their Great Walks.***
Unregulated lodge building (look up the Ritz-Carlton scandal), overcrowding of vehicles and people, and the hugely harmful impact of crowds at wildebeest crossing points have turned the summer months into an overpriced circus.
We can no longer deliver an experience there that we are proud of.
Our friends in the safari industry may think we are crazy to walk away from the most iconic and marketable place in Kenya. Maybe we are - but it is time to move on, just as we did with Kilimanjaro fifteen years ago.
There are other options in Kenya that offer a very different landscape to Tsavo, are just as wildlife-rich as the Mara, and - importantly - are crowd-free. Many travellers on the Great Walk extend their trip for a few days to visit another area (having travelled all this way, why not?). Just ask, and we’ll elaborate on where to go.
We have also developed a wonderful trip in Botswana to complement the Great Walk. We’ve found uncrowded corners of this stunning country with Mara-level wildlife and far fewer people. Wild Botswana is a wildlife safari with a strong dose of adventure and expedition. The Great Walk is an adventure and expedition with an extraordinary dose of wildlife.
Both trips tick all the boxes.
The first pic below was taken in the Mara - spot the cat. The second pic is on the summit of Kilimanjaro - where people are queuing for an hour for their photo on the top.
