Sasakwa Lodge stands on a hilltop in the Singita Grumeti Reserve, a private concession bordering the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania, and it wears its Edwardian pedigree openly, in parquet floors, four-poster beds and silver candelabras. From that height it looks out over the plains below, where the Great Migration passes through the Grumeti sector as the herds move north and south each year.
it looks out over the plains below, where the Great Migration passes
From the verandas and lawns the savannah runs out to distant hills, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe moving across the grass while lions sometimes appear within sight of the cottages. Guests who want the intimacy of canvas walls and the sound of the bush close at hand should look elsewhere. This is not the classic tented safari; Sasakwa rests instead on space, permanence and the long view from a fixed point on the hill.
The Tanzanian government established the Grumeti concession in 1994, and Singita has managed tourism here since 2006 alongside the non-profit Grumeti Fund, which holds the conservation mandate for the reserve. All of it was set up to protect a stretch of the Serengeti-Mara migration corridor, and that private status is what lets guests join off-road drives, walking safaris and night drives that the national park itself does not permit.
night drives that the national park itself does not permit
The privacy changes the shape of the days. Game drives run morning and evening in open vehicles carrying up to six guests, across ground that holds all of the Big Five alongside cheetah, buffalo herds and elephant. Over 350,000 acres a guide can follow a sighting at his own pace, so a lion or a leopard is yours to watch rather than share with a queue of other vehicles.
Nine cottages, a four-bedroom villa and a separate Hillside Suite together accommodate up to 34 guests. The cottages run from one to four bedrooms, each with its fireplace, en-suite bathroom, dressing area and veranda, and every one opens onto a private heated infinity plunge pool facing the plains. Several set freestanding tubs by large windows so the view holds even while bathing, while the Hillside Suite stands apart from the main lodge, pairing frameless glass with a private rim-flow pool, its own butler and a game vehicle.
Inside, polished parquet gives way to four-poster beds draped in netting, where Venetian mirrors, silver candelabras and antiques keep company with local artefacts and animal hides. A grand entrance opens onto generously proportioned rooms and wide wraparound verandas, the lawns beyond softening the line between manor and wilderness. That ease carries into a library and a billiard room, a boutique and a bar, while the grounds give themselves over to tennis and archery, croquet and a gym, a spa and a swimming pool.
A grand entrance opens onto generously proportioned rooms and wide wraparound verandas
The dining leans French in style, built on estate-grown produce and drawn from an extensive cellar, whether it comes to the table in the formal dining room, out on the verandas, or by candlelight on the lawns. Butler service and private game vehicles run throughout, and families are looked after with real thought, from a Mini Rangers’ course to baking sessions with the chefs and multi-bedroom cottages built for groups travelling together.
Beyond the game drives the reserve rides out across the plains from its own equestrian centre, and the days open onto mountain biking and stargazing, bush meals and visits to the anti-poaching teams who patrol the concession, with hot-air balloon flights to be added over the plains. Most guests fly in to the Sasakwa airstrip, around ten minutes from the lodge, on flights of roughly an hour from Arusha that compress what would otherwise be a long road transfer.
accommodation
Nine cottages, a four-bedroom villa and a separate one-bedroom Hillside Suite. Cottages range from one to four bedrooms, each with a fireplace, en-suite bathroom, dressing area, veranda and a private heated infinity plunge pool. Interiors feature polished parquet floors and four-poster beds.
activities
Morning, evening and night game drives run in open vehicles seating up to six, with all of the Big Five present in the private Grumeti Reserve. Walking safaris, horse riding, mountain biking, stargazing and anti-poaching visits are available, alongside tennis, archery, a spa and add-on hot-air balloon flights.
conservation
The Grumeti Fund, the reserve's non-profit conservation partner, runs anti-poaching patrols across the concession, reintroduced Eastern black rhino to the ecosystem, and works on wildfire control and invasive-plant removal. Its Community Outreach Programme partners with surrounding villages on education, healthcare and water access. Guests can visit these projects directly.
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 Singita 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. For a fully bespoke journey we can arrange a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, timed to your international arrival and flown direct to the Sasakwa strip. 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.
Sasakwa stands on a hilltop in the private Grumeti Reserve, looking over the plains where the migration passes through the Grumeti sector as the herds move north and south each year. Because the reserve carries good resident game, the viewing holds up outside those weeks too.
The private status is what changes the days: off-road drives, walking safaris and night drives that the national park rules out, alongside horse riding, mountain biking and visits to the anti-poaching scouts. Bear in mind Sasakwa is a grand hilltop manor rather than a canvas camp, so if you want the bush close at hand behind tent walls, another Serengeti camp will suit you better. It pairs naturally with a northern or southern camp to see a different side of the ecosystem.
Yes, it is one of the more family-friendly options in the Serengeti. Cottages range from one to four bedrooms, there is a four-bedroom villa, and each cottage has its own heated infinity plunge pool. Horse riding, mountain biking, tennis and archery give children far more than drives alone.
Tell us the ages and we will confirm the cottage or villa and set up the days.
Sasakwa has complimentary wifi, though being deep in a private reserve it can be slow and intermittent, and mobile signal is limited and drops away across much of the concession.
It is fine for messages and 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.
