CLASSICALLY Kenya

From Nairobi to the Masai Mara, a three-stop itinerary highlights the East African nation's past, present and future.

- JULIA ESKINS

A SACRED FEELING surrounds Mount Kenya, Africa's second-highest peak. The local population has always revered the country's namesake pinnacle, believing it to be the snowcapped seat of their god. Many tribes in Kenya, including the region's Kikuyu, believe divinity lies in nature-the rainbows, the stars, and the swaying acacia trees and that it is invoked when the balance between humans and the environment is disrupted.

I consider that as I weave through the dark forest of the 314-hectare Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary, tracing the footsteps of my guide, Mophene Leev. "Over there," she whispers, pointing to a large antelope with a tawny coat and white stripes.

While most people come to Kenya to spot the Big Five (African buffalo, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses, and elephants), we're hiking to catch a glimpse of one of the world's rarest animals: The mountain bongo. The species has been on the brink of extinction for decades, and recent wildlife censuses show there are still fewer than 100 in the wild.

Thanks to an ambitious bongo-reintroduction programme led by the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, the population of this critically endangered African antelope is finally rebounding, with 2023 seeing the births of two new calves in the sanctuary.