Each morning, guests at Lion’s Paw can be among the early vehicles onto the floor of Ngorongoro Crater. The eastern descent road is about ten minutes from camp, and that short drive means a quiet first hour below. Back up top, the camp looks down across the caldera. From the rim, the soda water of Lake Magadi is a silver disc. On the floor, flamingos line its shallows.
From the rim, the soda water of Lake Magadi is a silver disc.
From the bar and lounge, a pair of binoculars picks out elephants carrying heavy tusks far below, and at times black rhinos may be seen moving across the grassland. Closer in, the forest around the tents keeps its own hours. Birdsong arrives with the first light. After dark come the calls of animals moving through the trees, and the crackle of the fireplace where most evenings begin.
The acacias crowd close to the camp. The lounge, bar and dining room look out through large windows onto the caldera, gathered around a central fireplace. Inside, the interiors are warm with wood, and the menus draw on locally sourced Tanzanian ingredients. The road down to the floor is about ten minutes away, close enough that the crater sets the rhythm of every day here.
Maasai herds and the wildlife share the highlands above the crater.
Maasai herds and the wildlife share the highlands above the crater. On crater days we encourage our guests to take breakfast with them, packed into the vehicle, and to be at the gate as it opens. It is the surest way to get ahead of everyone else, and to have the first moments of the day on the crater floor almost to yourselves, before the other vehicles arrive. Back at camp, meals move outdoors too, as bush breakfasts and bush dinners.
Most crater days run from the morning descent until late afternoon, with lunch carried in the vehicle so nobody has to climb back out. The floor lies within a UNESCO World Heritage Site that holds the Big Five and more than 400 bird species, and the sightings come thick. Lions and buffalo are regular sightings, as are elephants and hippos, eland and spotted hyenas, wildebeest and zebras. Black rhinos are sometimes seen. Leopards are the hard find, and plenty of trips leave without one.
Flamingos feed in the shallows of Lake Magadi, and the Lerai Forest, a stand of fever trees on the crater floor, breaks up the open grassland with shade and cover. Back at camp, the birdwatching begins earlier still, outside the tents at first light, before the vehicles leave camp for the descent. Two nights is the sensible minimum. It allows one full crater day without rushing, and a second morning either for a return descent or for quieter hours with binoculars in the lounge. A longer stay leaves room for Olduvai Gorge or Lake Manyara, arranged in advance.
By dusk, the elephants that filled the vehicle window at noon are specks again.
Wildlife moves regularly through the forest and acacias around the tents, and for families with young children that closeness is the first thing to weigh. Children are welcome, and the interconnecting family suites, two suites joined by a shared lounge, keep a family together. Larger families gain most from the early descent. The first hour on the crater floor is often quiet enough to stop and linger, without other vehicles crowding the sighting.
Crater drives run in daylight only, so the climb back up the wall comes in late afternoon, and the short road home leaves the last of the light for the rim. From the deck, the floor of Ngorongoro Crater slips into shadow as the sun drops behind the far wall, and the binoculars come out for a final scan of the grassland. By dusk, the elephants that filled the vehicle window at noon are specks again. Around the tents, the calls of animals moving through the trees begin as the light goes. Then the fire, then dinner.
accommodation
Each suite pairs a bedroom of insulated, double-walled canvas with an en-suite bathroom and hot showers. Four-poster beds are hung with mosquito netting, and the suites look out to crater or forest. There are doubles, twins, a honeymoon suite, or interconnecting family suites that share a lounge.
activities
Full-day game drives on the floor of Ngorongoro Crater run in daylight and on set tracks. Closer to camp, birdwatching starts outside the tents and wildlife spotting from the lounge, with bush breakfasts. Visits to Olduvai Gorge and Lake Manyara can be arranged in advance.
conservation
The camp works in partnership with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, which manages the crater and its rim for wildlife and Maasai herders together. Hot water for the showers is heated by the sun.
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.
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By light aircraft from Arusha to the Manyara airstrip, about an hour in the air, then about an hour by road up to the eastern rim of the crater. The aircraft take soft bags only, fifteen kilograms a person including hand luggage and camera gear.
For your own timings we can arrange a private charter into the same airstrip, typically a Cessna Caravan from Arusha. Many guests come by road instead: it is about 190 kilometres and three hours from Arusha.
The camp stands above the malaria line, but many trips that include it go below. TravelHealthPro, the UK's official travel health service, rates Tanzania below 1,800 metres as high risk for malaria, and the American CDC uses the same height. The camp sits on the crater's eastern rim at about 2,300 metres, well above it.
We are travel planners, not medical professionals, so we do not make recommendations about tablets. Low risk is not no risk: whether tablets are right for you, and for any child with you, depends on the whole route, so take the full itinerary to your own doctor or a travel clinic and check the official advice for your dates.
The descent road is about ten minutes' drive from the camp, which is the reason to stay on this side of the rim. The camp sits inside the reserve gates, so there is no checkpoint queue on the way, and a first-light descent at around a quarter past six is realistic.
The camp's bar and lounge look out over Lake Magadi, and elephants and black rhino can be picked out with binoculars from there, though no sighting is ever certain. The floor itself is a full day, and a bush lunch can be added.
More than most people expect, because the rim is high country in its own right. Guided walks go along the rim with an armed ranger, so you never walk alone. Crater walks run to Olmoti, a small crater with a waterfall nearby, and to Empakaai, a crater around a deep alkaline lake where pink flamingos feed.
A visit to a Maasai boma, a stop at Olduvai Gorge, birdwatching, bush meals and sundowners can all be added. Tell us which of these appeal and we will build them into your stay.
Yes. The camp welcomes children and has interconnecting family suites, so a family stays together with room to spread out. At turn-down hot water bottles go under the duvets and heated electric blankets are switched on, which small children appreciate on the cold rim.
After dark, staff transfer guests between their suite and the main areas. For a family with young children we would arrange a private vehicle for the crater day, because it lets the day run at their pace. Tell us their ages at enquiry and we will shape the days around them.
June to October, the dry season, when the grass on the floor is short and the animals are easy to find. July and August are the busiest; June, September and October give the same conditions with more room. The long rains fall from March to May, with April the wettest, and the short rains begin in late October and run into December. The green months have their case: fresh grass, fewer vehicles and the light at its softest for photographers.
The rim is cold at dawn in every month, even though midday is mild, and a first-light descent in an open vehicle feels colder still. Pack warm layers, a proper jacket, a hat and gloves for the early start, sun protection for the floor and a waterproof in the wet months, in a soft bag if you fly.
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our approach
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