Ndutu Safari Lodge

Ndutu Safari Lodge sits inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, on the short grass plains between the Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. The setting is unfenced woodland of indigenous acacia and shrub, opening onto a broad vista of plains with Lake Ndutu in the distance. It is roughly two hours by road from the Ngorongoro Crater and about two hours from Seronera in the central Serengeti, and the area is free of tsetse fly. The lodge is deliberately traditional rather than glossy. Thirty four en-suite cottages are built from local stone and thatch, with thick walls that stay naturally cool, and each has a private veranda facing the surrounding bush. Every cottage has a bathroom with hot shower, sink and flushing toilet. The cottages radiate from a central mess of dining, seating and bar, which has served as a gathering place for guides, photographers, film makers and biologists for over fifty years. A small Acacia Spa and gym with yoga space opened in December 2023. Dining is communal and generous. Breakfast can be taken at the lodge or packed as a bush breakfast, lunch runs to three courses and dinner to four, with a cookie jar and hot drinks available all day. The evening campfire is the lodge's signature ritual, where guests gather over drinks and nibbles as the sun drops across the plains. From mid December through April the migration floods these plains, and wildebeest calving in January and February draws exceptional predator activity, including cheetah hunting on open ground.