Ngorongoro Farm House

Ngorongoro Farm House sits on a working coffee farm of some 500 acres outside Karatu, about four kilometres from the Lodoare gate into the conservation area, facing the cone of Oldeani.

Why We Love It

It gives you the crater without the crater rim, at a gentler altitude and a gentler price, and it gives you something to do with an afternoon. The farm still grows and roasts its own coffee and still runs a vegetable garden, so the walk through the plantation ends with a roasting demonstration rather than a gift shop.

The Experience

Around fifty cottages and a few suites, split into three small camps so the place never feels its size, built and furnished in old colonial farm style. The main building is barn-like under high thatch. There is a pool, a fire in the lounge for cold evenings, and cycling through the coffee rows.

Need to Know

Karatu sits roughly equidistant from Ngorongoro and Lake Manyara, which makes it a natural overnight between the crater and the Serengeti. It is our Karatu base on the Great Primate Expedition. Read our Ngorongoro guide.