Elephants, zebra and buffalo move through the open ground below the lodge while guests are still at breakfast. Faru Faru looks out over a waterhole on the Grumeti River, deep inside a 350,000-acre private reserve on the western side of the Serengeti in Tanzania. Its western corridor puts the wildebeest migration on the doorstep between roughly June and August, the herds pressing through in their thousands.
Guides can stay with a lion pride long after dark.
A vehicle here can leave the track and follow a leopard through the long grass. Guides can stay with a lion pride long after dark. Mornings begin on foot, with a walking guide. The same wildlife moves through this corridor as through the public core of the Serengeti, but the vehicles thin out and the guiding stretches into hours the park itself does not permit.
In 2002 the American philanthropist Paul Tudor Jones established the non-profit Grumeti Fund to reverse years of poaching and habitat loss. Low-impact tourism at lodges like Faru Faru now helps fund that work. In 2019 the Fund carried out the largest single relocation of critically endangered Eastern black rhino into Tanzania, returning the animal to ground it had been hunted out of.
Colobus and patas monkeys inhabit the riverine forest.
Lion prides are well established across the reserve, and cheetah, leopard and hyena hold healthy numbers alongside the buffalo and elephant that move in large herds. Colobus and patas monkeys inhabit the riverine forest. Wildlife viewing holds up right through the year, the migration only adding its weight to the western corridor in the middle months.
GAPP Architects curved the main lodge around the waterhole, in local stone and laminated timber beneath a protective roof shaped like an exoskeleton. Expansive glass dissolves the wall between the interior and the bush beyond. The interiors are by Cécile & Boyd, a neutral palette of bone, ivory and clay, the textures pulled from the landscape outside. One space flows into the next, a café-style bar at the centre spilling toward the pools, the firepit and the decks that reach out over the waterhole below.
Meals follow the day instead of a fixed schedule, laid out on the outdoor decks, in airy enclaves and, now and then, somewhere private. The kitchen leans on fresh, locally sourced produce, and the list of South African wines is well chosen, poured when it suits you. Comfort here is considerable without being showy. The suites are free-standing and air-conditioned, each with a private viewing deck and a Swarovski spotting scope trained on the ground below. Bathrooms hold an indoor bath and an outdoor shower.
Days settle into a rhythm of game drives at first light and late afternoon.
Two swimming pools, a spa and a gym lie beyond the suites, and the mood in all of them stays quiet and restorative, a place to settle into instead of perform in. Days settle into a rhythm of game drives at first light and late afternoon. Between them lie the long hours at the lodge, sundowners in the bush and dinner under the stars. Guiding within the private reserve runs past daytime drives to off-road tracking, spot-lit night drives and guided walking safaris, with balloon flights lifting over the plains.
Faru Faru suits travellers who want the Serengeti’s wildlife at close range, with the privacy of a private reserve and few other vehicles in sight. Children are welcome, and a two-bedroom family suite was built for the purpose, though the guiding leans towards those able to sit quietly on a drive. Guests can also spend time with the Grumeti Fund’s anti-poaching scouts and their canine-supported patrol unit, seeing at first hand the work that brought Eastern black rhino back to ground the animal had been hunted out of.
accommodation
Nine suites: seven one-bedroom suites, a two-bedroom family suite, and a two-bedroom suite with its own private pool. All are free-standing and air-conditioned, with an en-suite bathroom holding an indoor bath and an outdoor shower. Each has a private viewing deck fitted with a Swarovski spotting scope trained over the waterhole.
activities
Because Faru Faru sits within a private reserve, guiding goes well beyond daytime drives: off-road game drives, spot-lit night drives and guided walking safaris are all possible here. Hot-air balloon flights lift over the plains, and guests can visit the Grumeti Fund's anti-poaching scouts to see the conservation work first-hand.
conservation
The Grumeti Fund, established in 2002, runs conservation and community work across the reserve, including a canine-supported anti-poaching unit, the RISE research initiative, and the 2019 reintroduction of Eastern black rhino. Its community programmes reach 21 surrounding villages through education, enterprise and water projects.
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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You fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport on your international flight, and from Arusha nearby we put you on a light aircraft to the Sasakwa airstrip in the private Grumeti Reserve on the western side of the Serengeti, from where a game drive brings you to camp. We build these connections into your itinerary so the timings line up in a day.
Seats are shared and the exact departure is fixed the day before, once the airline sets its routing, so the final timings firm up close to the day. We can also arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, direct to the Sasakwa airstrip and timed to your international arrival. Luggage is soft bags only, with a weight limit of around 15 to 20kg depending on the airline, which we confirm with you before you pack.
Yes. The Serengeti sits below 1,800 metres, and current UK guidance from TravelHealthPro treats all of mainland Tanzania below that height as a malaria area. The cooler nights at this altitude reduce the risk compared with the coast, but they do not remove it, so the camps provide screened tents, nets and repellent, and antimalarial tablets and covering up after dark remain the real protection.
Health advice can change from year to year, so we always ask you to confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor before you travel, and to take the usual care against bites after dark.
The Serengeti is warm by day, usually in the low to high twenties, and cooler at night and in the early morning, often in the mid-teens, so dawn drives in an open vehicle feel cold.
Pack light layers with a fleece for early starts, in neutral colours, plus a wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses and good sunscreen. If you travel in the green season, add a light waterproof; the long rains of March to May are the wettest stretch.
Faru Faru sits in the western corridor above a waterhole on the Grumeti River, so the migration is on the doorstep as the herds pour through, roughly between June and August. Outside those months the resident game holds up well, because the reserve carries strong numbers year-round.
Being a private reserve rather than the open park, a day here goes beyond daytime drives: guides can leave the road to reach a leopard resting in a tree, stay out after dark on a spot-lit drive, and take you walking, none of which the national park permits. That freedom is as much the reason to visit as the migration itself, and it pairs well with a northern or southern camp to follow the herds.
Yes. Among the nine suites are a two-bedroom family suite and a two-bedroom suite with its own private pool, and each deck has a Swarovski spotting scope trained on the waterhole below, which children tend to love.
The reserve's night drives and walks add variety beyond drives, so tell us the ages and we will confirm the suite and how the lodge sets up the days.
Faru Faru has complimentary wifi, though being deep in a private reserve it can be slow and comes and goes, and there is effectively no mobile phone signal at the lodge itself.
It is fine for the odd message or email rather than calls or streaming. Tell us if you need to stay reliably reachable and we will confirm the current setup before you travel.
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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.
