Is Visiting a Maasai Village Worth It on Your Second Day in Kenya? 🇰🇪

We spent two days in Amboseli, and on the final day, we visited a nearby Maasai village, an experience that the local travel agency offered for 30 USD per person.

As we arrived at the village entrance, a group of locals greeted us with warm smiles, though the welcome felt somewhat simplistic. It was quite different from the vibrant, elaborately dressed Maasai people I had seen on Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).

Stepping into the village, the setting appeared even more basic. The houses seemed devoid of life, almost like a set from “Hengdian” (a famous film studio in China), with the villagers appearing as if they were merely there to clock in for work.

Following the welcome ceremony, a guide gave a brief introduction to various herbs, mentioning that if we felt unwell, we could seek remedies from the village doctor. I doubt any tourist would seriously consider boiling tree bark at home. We then toured their traditional “cow dung” houses and finally visited a market run by women. They used emotional appeals, emphasizing that the women depended on this market for their livelihood, subtly hinting that we should make a purchase.

Indeed, it’s hard for most women to resist. When those children with runny noses tried to sell us goods, we ended up buying a few items. In the end, we purchased four fridge magnets and eight beaded bracelets for a total of 5000 shillings (after some intense haggling). Initially, they asked for 1000 shillings for each magnet.

Personally, I found this place overly commercialized, lacking the genuine simplicity I had hoped for. This Maasai village in Amboseli is the least impressive, and I wouldn’t recommend it.

The best place to buy souvenirs is at the entrance of Amboseli National Park, especially when you are leaving. A necklace that a vendor offered for 1000 shillings when we entered the park was only 100 shillings when we left. In the souvenir shops outside, the same necklace was priced at 800 shillings.

When the Maasai villagers sold me items at a high price, I mentioned that I had bought a necklace for 100 shillings. He responded that my purchase only supported one Maasai woman, while the money here went to all the women in the village (wasn’t this a form of moral coercion?). I replied that I had already paid the entrance fee, so now I was simply buying goods, not supporting the women.

He couldn’t argue with me, and we also didn’t want to prolong the discussion, fearing we might not be able to leave with a group of men surrounding us. Finally, we settled for 5000 shillings (about 300 RMB).