LEMALA NGORONGORO
On the rim of the Crater by the quiet Lemala access route

 

Lemala Ngorongoro is an intimate seasonal camp set in a delightful ancient acacia forest on the rim of the crater next to the quiet Lemala access route. The camp offers accommodation under canvas in only 8 luxury tents and 1 family tent (accommodating 4 to 5 guests) to ensure seclusion in a pristine forest environment.

 

Each spacious tent is outfitted with a gas heater, large single or king-size beds with warm duvets, wooden flooring with rugs, 24-hr solar lighting, and en-suite bathrooms with a dressing area, flush toilet and a large safari shower. House alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and laundry are included.

 

The mess tent is beautifully furnished with grand sofas, lamps, book and corner cabinets in old wood, chests and rugs.  In the evening, guests gather around the campfire for sundowners before retiring for dinner under chandeliers hosted by the camp manager. The camp works closely with the local Masai community who often provide a talk on the Conservation area or the Masai community. Guests enjoy the opportunity to interact with the Masai.

 

Lemala’s major advantage over any other accommodation is the quick and easy access into the crater which maximizes game viewing and avoids the morning crater traffic. Game viewing from the camp can start as early as 6.15am and it only takes 15 minutes to descend to the floor - the scenery is stunning and the wildlife abundant. Very often game drives are taken in solitude for nearly 2 hours in the best morning light before the traffic builds up. Lemala guests thus enjoy longer and significantly higher quality game drives.

 

The other advantage is the close proximity to Ol Moti and Empakaai craters for optional walks with an armed ranger and the Masai. For special occasions, Lemala can also organize optional private lunches inside the crater or breakfast with the Masai.

 

Lemala offers great charm and luxury in a delightful prime location on the crater rim. It is perhaps the most intimate way to experience the crater's splendours. Don’t miss this delightful seasonal camp facing a lovely forest filled with sounds of wildlife, birds and the bells of Masai cattle.

 

Lemala Ngorongoro can be booked on an exclusive basis.

 

OPEN: All year except April and May

SIZE: 8 Luxury tents and 1 family tent. Each luxury tent can accommodate triple. Family tent can accommodate 4 to 5 guests.

LEMALA ACCESS ROUTE: This route can be used for entry and exit

OPTIONAL EXTRAS:

Game walk - min 2pax

Private lunch inside the crater - min 4pax

Private breakfast with the Masai - min 4pax

LOCATION: After Lemala Access Gate

NEAREST AIRSTRIP: Manyara

APPROX. DRIVING TIMES:

From Manyara airstrip - 2.5hrs

From Lemala Ndutu - 3.5hrs

From Lemala Mara - 8.5hrs

From Lemala Tarangire - 4.5hrs

From Lemala Ewanjan Seronera Valley - 5hrs

From Arusha - 4hrs

RATES: Available on game package or drive-in rates. Children rate applies for 6-16 yrs. For complete inclusions and exclusions please see the rate sheet.

MIN AGE - 6 Yrs

About Ngorongoro Crater

 

In the Great Rift Valley, that great schism in the earth's crust, lies the wonderful Ngorongoro Crater, one of the wonders of the natural world. It is an extinct volcano that collapsed in on itself around 25 million years ago thus forming a vast superbowl where the largest permanent concentration of African game is on display.

The central bowl, the caldera, has sides roughly 1,950 feet high and a flattish centre with a diameter of about ten miles. The views from the top of the crater wall are absolutely breathtaking. The crater walls are forested but four wheel drive vehicles will take you down into this primeval paradise of woodland, lake, river, swamp and plain that shelters around 40,000 animals. Many of these are the large grazing animals such as wildebeest, buffalo, gazelle and zebra who depend on the open grasslands in the crater. These attract the attendant predators, the black-maned lion, the leopard and hyena. The elephant found within the caldera tend to be the lone males who have left the herds in the forested crater rim.

When the water stocks are low elsewhere the animals within this micro-world turn to the swamps for fresh water and food. Elephants feed on the giant sedges and hippo wallow in the pools. The Fever Tree forests shelter monkeys, bushbuck and waterbuck and the few black rhino that have taken refuge here. A soda lake, fed by the Munge river attracts water birds, including flamingos and is a favourite place for predators to make their kill. Wildly beautiful as it is, it is not surprising that Ngorongoro Crater has been called a Garden of Eden.

The conservation area also encompasses several other volcanos, one of which, Oldonyo Lengai, is still live. You may struggle to the top, if you wish, to gaze into its open and sulphurous maw but many prefer to admire from afar. One of the most fascinating attractions in the area is the Olduvai Gorge, where an old river has carved away the rock to expose layer upon layer of volcanic soil. This is where Dr Louis and Mary Leakey found the remains of hominids "Nutcracker Man" and "Toolmaking Man". The "Cradle of Mankind" now has a visitor centre where you may hear a short lecture on the the work of the Leakeys and their successors and a small museum where you may see some of their finds, including a giant giraffe - it is hard to believe that they were once even taller!