Tanzania has more than its fair share of historical and natural riches. It was here, in the Olduvai Gorge in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, that Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the remains of what they called homo habilis (aka the ancestor of homo erectus and homo sapiens). This vast, wild country also has Africa’s highest mountain (Kilimanjaro), its greatest migration (from the Serengeti), a share of its two biggest lakes (Victoria and Tanganyika), and some of the most beautiful islands in the Indian Ocean.
With more than a third of Tanzania protected, the wildlife viewing — from lions to chimpanzees — is superb, and there are plenty of ways to see it, as well as opportunities to interact with the people who live alongside it. With time and money, visitors can also get off the beaten track in Ruaha National Park to the south, or Katavi and the Mahale Mountains in the west.
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1. Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Serengeti National Park
Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
EXPEDIA
£££ | SPA | Best for full-service safari
For those who like their creature comforts, the Four Seasons offers a familiar face in the middle of the Serengeti. The lodge has 72 spacious, air-conditioned rooms with private plunge pools, as well as five villas, a wine cellar, a spa, a well-equipped gym and 24-hour room service. The kids’ club offers tree-planting and mornings with a Masai warrior; activities include hot-air balloon rides and trips to the Ngorongoro Crater. Unusually for a high-end lodge, the full-board rates do not include game drives or other activities.
2. Cherero Camp, Serengeti National Park
££ | Best for wildlife without the crowds
Named after the African lovebird, this diminutive camp is another great spot for watching the wildebeest as they travel north on their annual migration along the Serengeti’s Western Corridor to the Mara River and into Kenya. Even when the wildebeest are elsewhere, the big five and other wildlife are here in abundance. The four canvas-and-teak tents are set apart from other properties, and guests can take full advantage of this peace and tranquillity, sitting out on their deck with a G&T and listening to the birds.
3. Serena Mivumo River Lodge, Nyerere National Park
Serena Mivumo River Lodge
BOOKING.COM
££ | Best for riverside wildlife watching
Life at this peaceful luxury lodge revolves around the Rufiji River: the 12 thatched chalets and one three-bedroom villa are set among the trees that grow up its banks, and the game-viewing includes watching hippos, crocs and elephant from the comfort and safety of a boat. The more active can also join guided wildlife or birding walks (more than 400 bird species have been recorded here), returning for an alfresco shower in the trees, or a dip in a private plunge pool. Other highlights include sundowners on the sandy riverbank and stargazing around the camp fire.
4. Elewana Tarangire Treetops, Tarangire National Park
£££ | Best for bird’s-eye views
The southernmost national park in Tanzania’s “Northern Circuit”, Tarangire is a 2,600 sq km area known for its vast elephant herds and 1,000-year-old baobab trees — the central building at this 20-suite, treehouse-style lodge on its border was built around one of them. As well as gazing out over the canopy and plains from their spacious suite and expansive balcony, guests can go on game drives, night drives and morning walks, examining plants and tracks and learning about indigenous cultures, all before breakfast in the bush. Dinner, meanwhile, is in a Masai-style “boma” (homestead), or poolside, watching the wildlife at the waterhole.
5. Singita Sasakwa Lodge, Grumeti Reserve
The Hillside Suite at Singita Sasakwa Lodge
£££ | SPA | Best for a luxury safari experience
Grumeti is a private game reserve on the western border of Serengeti National Park and a major highway for the two million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle that make up the Great Migration. The 350,000-acre reserve is leased to a foundation headed by the American philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones and has only five exclusive lodges and camps; Sasakwa is the most sumptuous. Resembling a stately Edwardian manor house, it encompasses ten cottages and a suite wrapped in verandas and lawns, as well as a stable of horses for riding alongside the herds, which mass on the Grumeti River in midsummer.
singita.com/lodge/singita-sasakwa-lodge
6. Mkombe’s House Lamai, Serengeti National Park
££ | Best for families with young children
The majority of safari camps and lodges are not set up for young children, but this exclusive-use sister property to the eight-room Lamai Serengeti was designed especially for them: there are two fenced-off pools (including one for infants and toddlers), the staff cook to order and game drives are when it suits. Set on a rocky outcrop with classic Serengeti views, the simple thatched-roof construction has two suites with rooms for up to six children leading off them, and the stylish interiors — by Arusha-based Joanna Cooke — integrate local crafts. River crossings of the Mara River (July to October) are nearby.
go2africa.com/accommodation/mkombes-house-lamai
7. Mwiba Lodge, Southern Serengeti
£££ | SPA | Best for luxury in the southern Serengeti
One of the most luxurious lodges in the country, Mwiba is located in a 130,000-acre concession leased to US billionaire Dan Friedkin and guests have it all to themselves. Set atop huge granite boulders with views across the Arugusinyai River, it has ten beautiful Scandi-cool tented suites with soaking tubs, a rim-flow pool, a spa, gym and wine cellar, and dining spots galore. The wildlife-viewing is exceptional, too, ranging from wild dogs by day and aardwolf by night, not to mention migrating wildebeest in nearby Ndutu from January to mid-March.
go2africa.com/accommodation/mwiba-lodge
8. Namiri Plains Camp, Serengeti National Park
A Namiri Plains game drive with cheetah
££ | SPA | Best for cheetah conservation
For two decades, the grasslands of the eastern Serengeti, and the big cats that stalk them, were off-limits to tourists. Then Asilia Africa opened Namiri Plains here, and in 2019, the simple tented camp was relaunched with interiors by the Cape Town designer Caline Williams-Wynn and ten minimal-impact suites with outdoor tubs and views over the seasonal Ngare Nanyuki River. The Great Migration moves into the area between October and May and there are no other camps within an hour’s radius; guests can also spend an evening with the resident cheetah researcher.
yellowzebrasafaris.com/tanzania/accommodation/lodges/namiri-plains
9. Entamanu Ngorongoro, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Buffalo and flamingos at Lake Magadi
GETTY IMAGES
££ | Best for the Ngorongoro Crater
This Unesco-protected caldera and highland area are home to a dense concentration of game — including the critically endangered black rhino and flamingos on Lake Magadi — and a cluster of safari lodges and camps near its two entry points. Low-impact Entamanu is set slightly apart, but close enough to have astonishing views into the crater bowl and the Serengeti behind (the name means “circle” in the Masai language). The seven tents are furnished in a beautifully simple style that showcases African crafts, and activities include cultural visits and unforgettable Highland walks with a guide, a Masai scout and an armed ranger.
yellowzebrasafaris.com/tanzania/accommodation/lodges/entamanu-ngorongoro
10. Ngorongoro Crater Lodge, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Banana-leaf ceilings at Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
£££ | Best for Ngorongoro theatrics
This extravagantly luxurious lodge stands right on the crater rim with staggering views of the mist rising from the crater floor, 600m below. The Masai homestead-meets-baroque-château architecture and interiors are similarly dramatic, combining banana-leaf ceilings and Masai spears with wood-panelled walls, chandeliers and gilt. The 30 suites are split between three camps, each with its own lounge, dining area and private butlers. Game drives into the crater and visits to the Olduvai Gorge are complemented by wine tastings and in-room spa treatments.
go.andbeyond.com/ngorongoro
11. Gibbs Farm, Karatu, Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Cultivating coffee at Gibbs Farm
£| SPA | Best for relaxing with the family
This historic farm and coffee plantation on the forested outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater has deep roots in the local community, a swimming pool, a spa and 19 cottages and family houses in 15 acres of tropical and kitchen gardens filled with birdsong. Guests are encouraged to lend a hand with the cows and hike to the nearby elephant caves with a naturalist. But with Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater within striking distance, game drives to both are also an option, returning for a delicious, homegrown supper in the charming farmhouse.
gibbsfarm.com/farm-tail/ngorongoro-crater
12. Little Chem Chem, Chem Chem Concession, Tarangire National Park
A giraffe wanders past Little Chem Chem
££ | Best for a slow safari
Chem Chem is a 40,000-acre private concession and wildlife corridor between Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara (a magnet for flamingos from November to April). The concession itself encompasses water holes, grasslands, a vast salt pan, and three stylish places to stay: the eight-suite Chem Chem Lodge, which has a spa and pool, the four-tent Forest Chem Chem, which works well for groups, and this six-tent camp, all run by French-Swiss couple Nicolas Negre and Fabia Bausch. Food is tasty and wholesome while activities include photographing elephants with Nicolas and sundowners on the edge of Lake Burunge.
chemchemsafari.com/little-chem-chem
13. Rubondo Island Camp, Rubondo Island National Park, Lake Victoria
£ | Best for an island safari
This eight-cottage camp is the only tourist accommodation on Rubondo, a 15 mile-long island off the southern shore of Lake Victoria. The national park is almost untouched by tourism, and a sanctuary for wildlife including chimpanzees (descended from the original 16 rescued from European zoos in the 1960s), elephants, giraffes, amphibious sitatunga antelope, hippos and 300 species of birds. As well as trekking chimps, guests can explore the forest on drives and walks and catch and release Nile perch on boat trips.
yellowzebrasafaris.com/tanzania/accommodation/lodges/rubondo-island-camp
14. Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains National Park
A chimpanzee in Mahale Mountains National Park
GETTY IMAGES
££ | Best for primate watching
The Mahale Mountains in western Tanzania are famous for their chimps: there are some 800 of them here, around 75 of them habituated. Guests at this spectacular beach lodge on Lake Tanganyika are likely to spot other primate species, too, including red colobus, red-tailed monkeys and vervets. Dhow trips are good for bird watching as well as swimming, well away from the shallow water and encounters with hippos and crocs. The six wood-and-thatch bandas have an upper deck reached by steps carved in an old canoe, and sunset is watched from a bar on the rocks.
go2africa.com/accommodation/greystoke-mahale
15. Chada Katavi, Katavi National Park
££ | Best for out-there adventure
This six-tent camp is way out west near Lake Tanganyika — guests often have it to themselves. Open from June to the end of October, it offers a changing wildlife spectacle as the Kakuma River dries up, the plains turn gold, and the remaining pools become increasingly contested by the huge numbers of hippos, while crocs hunker down in riverbank caves. The setup here is beautifully simple and life quickly becomes a mesmerising round of hot bucket showers, bush breakfasts and sundowners around the camp fire. For the full-on experience, opt for a bush walk out onto the vast Chada plain or a night’s fly-camping under the stars.
andbeyond.com/places-to-stay/africa/tanzania/katavi-national-park/nomad-chada-katavi
16. Jabali Ridge, Ruaha National Park
The infinity pool at Jabali Ridge
££ | SPA | Best for a dramatic wilderness experience
Jabali Ridge is Asilia Africa’s flagship property in central southern Tanzania, an eight-room lodge in the bewildering vastness of Ruaha National Park’s 20,226 sq km. Set on a rocky outcrop near the Mwagusi river, in a mesmerising landscape of baobabs, spiky palms and granite boulders, the spectacular lodge was devised by the contemporary designer Caline Williams-Wynn and the four-way infinity pool is the ideal spot for a sundowner while watching elephants below. The game viewing also includes big herds of buffalo and a resident pride of lions.
Spa Y
Price ££
yellowzebrasafaris.com/tanzania/accommodation/lodges/jabali-ridge
17. Mwagusii Safari Camp, Ruaha National Park
£ | Best for getting back to basics
This comfortable, rustic camp sits on the banks of the seasonal Mwagusi River. The 13 spacious tents have high-pitched thatched roofs, polished red-stone floors and bathrooms of stone and driftwood; sandy paths lead to the lounge and dining area and library. The Tanzanian owner Chris Fox has set up an onsite guiding and hospitality training programme, and anti-poaching units are funded through a community and conservation trust. Game includes the elusive striped hyena and a multitude of birds.
mwagusicamp.com
18. Beho Beho, Nyerere National Park
Best for biodiversity
Formerly part of the Unesco-protected Selous Game Reserve, 30,000 sq km Nyerere National Park in southeastern Tanzania is now the largest national park in the country, home to the mighty Rufiji River, a huge variety of habitats and wildlife (including Africa’s largest population of wild dogs) and the controversial Stiegler’s Gorge Hydropower Project. This family-owned eight-room lodge is set on a hill above a tributary of the Beho Beho river, and offers a first-class safari experience, with superb guiding, a two-bedroom owner’s house, and a treehouse for honeymoon nights under the stars.
Spa N
Price £££
behobeho.co.tz
19. Usangu Expedition Camp, Ruaha National Park
££ | Best for a hands-on conservation safari
The Great Ruaha River is the lifeblood of southeast Tanzania, flowing from the Ruaha wilderness to the Kilombero River and Rufiji Delta to the ocean. Its source is the Usangu wetlands, where lion, leopard, hyena and wild dog hunt great herds of topi, roan and sable antelope. In July 2022, Asilia Africa opened a four-tented camp here, offering meals over a camp fire, night drives with thermal cameras (in safari vehicles that run on ethanol) and optional nights in a Star Cube. Guests can also take part in a biodiversity audit, monitoring wildlife sightings on camera traps and helping the local team to fit GPS collars.
steppestravel.com/accommodation/usangu-expedition-camp
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Publish date : 2024-05-25 01:58:52
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