Angama takes its name from the Swahili word for suspended in mid-air, and the lodge earns it. It stands on the Oloololo Escarpment some 300 metres above the Mara Triangle, its thirty glass-fronted tented suites strung along the cliff edge. Each looks straight out across one of the most wildlife-rich sectors of the Maasai Mara, where the herds and the predators move across the plains far below.
Angama takes its name from the Swahili word for suspended in mid-air
Steve and Nicky Fitzgerald spent long careers running luxury lodges across Africa before building this one as their own, and the view from the escarpment was the reason it exists at all. This is the same country that framed the 1985 film Out of Africa. A nearby rise now serves as the setting for private meals, out where the plains open beneath you and, at dawn, hot-air balloons drift over the same ground.
Steve Fitzgerald had watched this stretch of escarpment for fifteen years before the chance came to lease it from the local Maasai landowners in 2014. The lodge that opened in June 2015 was the culmination of the couple’s decades in the safari industry rather than any first venture. Their daughter, Kate Fitzgerald Boyd, is now part of running it, carrying the family’s work into a second generation.
An eleven-metre glass frontage meets olive canvas on three sides
Architects Silvio Rech and Lesley Carstens drew the suites as a contemporary reading of the classic safari tent. An eleven-metre glass frontage meets olive canvas on three sides, polished parquet underfoot and sharp splashes of Maasai red. The escarpment holds two camps, North and South, set apart with their own guest areas turned to the same view. This is a considered, design-led lodge, and among the more accomplished of its kind in the Mara.
The days belong to the valley floor, in the Mara Triangle sector of the Maasai Mara National Reserve, reached in minutes by a private road that descends the escarpment. Guests spend their hours among the wildlife below and climb back to the cliff-top vantage by evening. The Triangle, managed by the Mara Conservancy, carries lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino, along with cheetah, giraffe and great numbers of plains game. From July to October the wildebeest cross the Mara River here, one of the set-piece events of the safari calendar.
Drives run in open 4×4 Land Cruisers, timed to suit each group rather than a fixed schedule. A full day comes with picnic breakfasts and lunches out on the plains, while a shorter morning or afternoon outing suits a gentler pace. Guided walks with Maasai naturalists follow the escarpment beyond the reserve, turning on plants, tracks and their traditional uses. Night drives are not permitted here, since the reserve keeps stricter rules than a private conservancy, and balloon flights lift off at dawn for an aerial view of the plains.
As the light drops, sundowners at the boma bring Maasai warriors and their songs
Evenings return to the escarpment. As the light drops, sundowners at the boma bring Maasai warriors and their songs, while the lantern-lit Forest BBQ offers a different setting entirely. Dining is à la carte and flexible in timing and place, much of the produce drawn from the lodge’s own one-acre shamba. Meals can be taken in the main guest areas, on a private deck, in the garden itself or out at the Out of Africa kopje. For those working on their images between drives, a photographic studio with a resident professional stands ready to help.
Funded by a nightly guest contribution, the Angama Foundation gives itself to education, healthcare and conservation. It has built classrooms at Partakilat Primary School and teacher housing at Emurutoto Primary School, and runs a clinic on-site. It supports medical camps with the Anne K. Taylor Fund, and has funded an anti-poaching vehicle for the Mara Conservancy’s rhino protection work. Visits to a neighbouring Maasai community are part of the stay too, set alongside the guided walks and the escarpment vantage that give the lodge its character.
01
accommodation
Thirty tented suites are split between two camps of fifteen, North and South, each running over 100 square metres including a private deck. Behind the eleven-metre floor-to-ceiling glass front and canvas on three sides lie parquet floors, a soaking tub and an indoor-outdoor shower, and there are interconnecting family suites and one wheelchair-friendly suite.
02
activities
Game drives run in open 4x4s in the Mara Triangle, reached by private road within minutes, and Maasai naturalists lead guided walks along the escarpment. Dawn brings balloon flights, and the days make room for visits to a neighbouring Maasai community, an on-site photographic studio, kitchen-garden lunches, and private picnics at the Out of Africa kopje.
03
conservation
Funded by a nightly guest contribution, the Angama Foundation gives itself to education, healthcare and conservation. It has built classrooms at Partakilat Primary School and teacher housing at Emurutoto Primary School, runs a clinic on-site, supports medical camps with the Anne K. Taylor Fund, and has funded an anti-poaching vehicle for the Mara Conservancy's rhino protection work.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
01
Maasai Mara
02
Maasai Mara
03
Maasai Mara
04
Maasai Mara
05
Maasai Mara
06
Maasai Mara
07
Maasai Mara
08
Maasai Mara
09
Maasai Mara
10
Maasai Mara
11
Maasai Mara
12
Maasai Mara
13
Maasai Mara
14
Maasai Mara
15
Maasai Mara
16
Maasai Mara
17
Maasai Mara
18
Maasai Mara
19
Maasai Mara
20
Maasai Mara
You fly from Nairobi's Wilson airport to the airstrip below the Oloololo Escarpment, about forty-five minutes to an hour by light aircraft, and the lodge collects you for the climb up to its cliff-top perch. We build the flights into your itinerary. We can also arrange the leg as a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your international arrival in Nairobi.
The bush planes take soft bags of around fifteen kilograms per person including hand luggage, so pack a duffel. The lodge reaches the Mara Triangle by a private road within minutes, so game drives start quickly.
The Maasai Mara sits at around 1,500 to 1,800 metres, below the altitude at which malaria risk falls away, so both the CDC and TravelHealthPro treat it as a malaria area and antimalarial tablets are usually advised. The risk is lower than on the hot, humid coast but it is real, and it rises after the rains.
Because this is a health matter and guidance is reviewed regularly, please confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and take the usual care against bites once the sun is down.
Up on the escarpment the air is fresh, with warm days and cool mornings and evenings, and open views that catch the wind. The long rains fall roughly March to May and shorter rains around November, greening the plains below; the dry months are clear.
Pack neutral colours, a warm layer for the exposed cliff-top mornings and dawn drives, sun protection and a hat, and a light waterproof for the green season. Binoculars make the most of the long views down to the plains.
July to October is the migration window, and Angama looks straight down onto the Mara Triangle where much of it plays out. The green months around November and from March to May bring lush plains, newborn animals and quieter drives.
Resident plains game and predators are strong all year below the escarpment, so while the migration is the headline, the view and the game reward a visit in any season.
Yes. The lodge overlooks the Mara Triangle, one of the richest sectors of the reserve, and its private road puts you down among the herds within minutes rather than after a long transfer. The Mara River crossings run at their height in August, within the July to October window.
Because Angama drives in the reserve itself, you are close to the crossing action, though the crossing points do draw more vehicles at the peak. At dawn, hot-air balloons drift over the same ground, which is a memorable way to take in the scale of it.
Yes. Angama is one of the Mara lodges that has moved to fast satellite internet, so the wifi is reliable enough for video calls, and there are quiet spots set aside for anyone who needs to work. Mobile coverage up on the escarpment is reasonable but can come and go once you are out on a drive.
Most guests use it lightly and switch off, but if you need to stay reachable for part of your trip, this is one of the easier camps to do it from.
rated five stars by our clients
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
