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With panoramic views across the Serengeti plains and a series of charming domed rondavels blending into the hillside landscape, this is one of Serena’s most picturesque lodges. Although there are 66 rooms here, the African-style rondavels are so well spaced out in the acacia groves that there’s an air of privacy, and there’s no mistaking that you’re right in the middle of the bush. With a location close to the western corridor and the Grumeti River, there’s great wildlife viewing year-round, but it’s particularly excellent from May to July when the migration passes through. Meals are served in the traditional main dining room, reached by stone walkways and centred around a barbecue-style open kitchen, with its roof supported by huge carved figures. Breakfast and lunch are buffets while dinner is from a set menu, with as many ingredients as possible sourced from local communities. Rooms are set in the two-storey rondavels and have hand-carved furniture, natural stone bathrooms and local artwork. You’ll be housed either in a ground floor room with a terrace or an upper floor room with a balcony and wonderful views out over the plains.
Inspired by the success of its sister camps, Mara Bushtops and Serengeti Bushtops, Roving Bushtops follows their ‘wild luxury’ example and sits in a wonderful wildlife-rich spot in the central Serengeti. This is prime cheetah country, and from November to April it’s also excellent great migration territory – if you’re lucky, you’ll even see the migration passing through. Local land traps water, ensuring excellent game viewing year-round. Emulating the pioneering spirit of early explorers roving after the herds, the camp is unfenced and semi-permanent, with wheels allowing it to move if wildlife patterns should change. From December to April, the camp moves south to follow the herds and spend three months in a wonderful spot next to a seasonal river, to offer the best chance of experiencing the migration and the wildebeest birthing season. The eight luxurious and contemporary tents have 24-hour power and butler service, as well as canvas walls that can be opened on three sides during the day for panoramic views. Two tents can be wheeled closer to each other to form a family unit. A la carte dining is served in the elegant mess tent, in the privacy of your own tent, or under the stars. Younger guests can also enjoy the camp's latest addition: the Bushcraft Challenge, with a range of activities based around survival skills, local culture, conservation and flora and fauna. Exceptional service and facilities come as standard, but Roving Bushtops goes a step beyond and allocates its guests a private 4x4 land cruiser vehicle for all game drives. This means that you’re in total control of where and when you want to head out on safari. If you’d like to pack a bush breakfast and spend all morning out in the national park with your expert ranger and local spotters, or return to camp for an indulgent lunch – it’s completely up to you. And as you’re in the midst of the Serengeti’s flora and fauna, you’ll be able to spot wildlife from the outset.
Serengeti Explorer is a semi-permanent camp – it moves between three exclusive locations inside the Serengeti National Park depending on the time of year and the whereabouts of the most prolific wildlife. All of the locations are excellent for game viewing and for witnessing the herds of the great migration. Typically, from December to mid-March camp will be set up in the Ndutu area in the south-central area of the park, towards to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. From June to mid-August it sits in the western corridor close to the Grumeti River, and from mid-August to October you’ll find it in a more north-central spot. This is authentic but impressively comfortable bush camping. You’ll enjoy meals cooked by your personal camp chef and served by the camp’s waiter in the dining tent. Lunch can be served al fresco at the camp or you can arrange to have a picnic lunch, which allows for extended game viewing. The camp has an environmentally friendly ethos to ensure the conservation of the ecosystem in which it operates, with solar-powered lighting and 24-hour electricity. The ten tents have double or twin beds and an en-suite bathroom with hot water provided by the staff on request. Recharging points are available for cameras and laptops. Family tents have a double and two single beds and there’s the Rafiki Explorer Club for younger guests. At night, a line of oil lanterns will light the way back to your tent.
Lemala Ndutu is about spotting wildebeest, zebra, lion and rhino on the grassy floor of the crater, and flamingo, ostrich and eagle owl on world-famous Lake Ndutu. From December to March, nine safari tents are set up inside the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Park – the green season epicentre from which to watch the arrival of over a million wildebeest on their migration across southern Serengeti. The camp and its surrounds unfold like an adventure trail through candle lamp canvas and into the wilderness of the southern Serengeti. There’s the rush of seeing that first lion hunt, the pleasure of dining communally under crystal clear starry skies, a huddle around the campfire and falling asleep to the sound of a late night roar. Sensitively and stylishly built, tents are spacious with large beds, cosy rugs, wooden floors and safari showers all under the shade of acacia trees. The central mess tent filled with plumped-up cushions and leather sofas is there to be shared and enjoyed, and with early sunshine streaming through there’s nothing quite like a full English bush breakfast before a day of game driving ahead. It’s an authentic under-canvas experience with expert guides, Maasai warriors, full-day game drives and the potential to go on gentle walking safaris not often available elsewhere. And we love that this seasonal base is a prime spot for calving and rutting season, too.
A charming camp with incredibly warm staff and impressive freshly prepared food, Lemala Ewanjan is magical morning through to night. You’ll meet new friends over sundowner campfire drinks, learn from highly knowledgeable guides how animals survive and thrive in this spectacular land, and sleep under starry skies to the sounds of the bush at night. Deluxe tents are designed in authentic safari style with wooden floors, queen beds, safari showers, old trunks and chests, and solar lighting. And your private outside decking is marvellous for early morning coffee views and late night drinks as the sun goes down. The central mess has been created as the main hub of activity with large leather sofas, soft rugs, a fully loaded colonial-style bar and communal dining focused on meeting up, sharing stories and a place to charge your cameras. The boutique nature of Lemala Ewanjan means you get bespoke service and attention. And the Seronera Valley setting has an abundance of water meaning that in dry season (June to October), you’ll find plenty of animals coming in search of water. But that’s not all that’s here. The high concentration of big cats means the year-round game viewing is extraordinary. Also, from April to May and November to December, the Great Migration of wildebeest and zebra thunder through. Game drives are taken early morning and late afternoon and it’s not unusual for lions and elephants to pass through camp at night.
Among ancient kopjes and savannah in the very north of the plains, Lemala Kuria Hills Lodge is all about floor-to-ceiling sliding glass windows with exquisite Serengeti views, private plunge pools on decked balconies, and communal living rooms filled with chandeliers and fireplaces. The great thing here is that everything has been built facing west, ensuring you see the best of those fiery sunsets and wake to the sounds and sights of the seemingly neverending plains. From the infinity pool overlooking the savannah where rock hyrax like to hang out, to the ‘struck gold’ location along one of the main corridors of the annual Great Wildebeest Migration, its way-off-the-grid Wogakuria Hills setting guarantees wild privacy and exceptional safaris without the crowds. And if you’re lucky, come dusk you’ll see elephant and buffalo roaming close to the lodge. Lavish tented suites spread out in a collection of just 15 encompass both the outdoor and in – hideouts with sleek lounge areas, tucked-away outdoor showers and contemporary Swahili style. Passionate guides know the finest spots to track elusive wildlife – think leopards hiding in trees or a lioness protecting her cubs – and one of the best bits? Ending your game driving days with sundowners and shared stories around the sand-filled fire pit before dining on your balcony with that incredible view as your aperitif.
Lemala Mara’s mobile tented camp sets up base from June to October in an unbeatable location in the northern Serengeti. It's in a front-row position to follow the fierce show of wildebeest and zebra on their annual migration across the Mara River. Just 12 canvas tents are set up on wooden platforms in a very meaningful setting for an exclusive and snug safari far from any of the Maasai Mara's crowds. Packed off with lunch boxes and breakfast picnics if you choose to go out for full days, expert-led game drives grant phenomenal access to wildlife viewing; expect to see big cats, elephants and giraffe. You're so close to the wildebeest migration's two main river crossings that on the luckiest of days you might just be able to watch straight from your safari camp chair. We love turning off the glow of the bedside candle lamps before falling asleep to the bellow of the wildebeest and the night-loving leopard’s rasp. You get to take bush babies (hot water bottles) to bed and try out those early morning bucket safari showers before a hearty breakfast with eggs cooked any way you like. Everything brims with authentic bush character – hand-made wooden furniture, chandeliers, soft carpets and a roaring campfire under the shade of Euclea trees. Spend your evenings sharing the day's safari stories around the fire, with freshly prepared meals laid out on a long table gleaming with silverware.
Capturing the spirit of safari in a sleek, contemporary way and with serious attention to detail, Lemala Nanyukie sits in the heart of the Serengeti National Park. Focused on exceptional game viewing and high-spec relaxation, it’s all about private plunge pools with stunning savannah views, sunken decks for nights of stargazing, and sliding windows for those early morning wake-up coffees. Nanyukie has excelled at filling swish tents with contemporary furnishings, soft lighting, natural woods, big bathtubs and decadent beds. They’ve spaced them far enough apart that each is bathed in solitude. That serene aesthetic extends to the earthy toned central mess tent’s airy dining room and open-plan living room with sofas, oversized chess sets and blankets to curl up with. Sunset and sunrises from here are superb. And they haven’t stopped there. The camp’s main pool ensures you can swim outside with view of the plains; there’s a separate tent housing a spa; and magical bush breakfasts can be arranged. Outstanding guides and remarkable staff are an encyclopaedia of the land, and Lemala Nanyukie’s setting just east of Seronera ensures game driving days are not only far from the crowds but also privy to exclusive animal sightings not often found in the central Serengeti. The location is phenomenal. You’re in big cat country and right on the path of the Great Wildebeest Migration. After hours of epic wildlife tracking, you can expect to see sleeping buffalo, hyrax, impala and dik diks back at camp.
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Roving Bushtops
Serengeti Explorer Camp
Lemala Ndutu
Lemala Ewanjan
Lemala Kuria Hills
Lemala Mara
Lemala Nanyukie
