Bashay Rift Lodge

our most popular option in this area

Bashay Rift Lodge is located in the Ngorongoro Karatu area of northern Tanzania.

This property is owned and operated by MKSC, a partly French-owned safari company which is actually the oldest of its type in Tanzania.

Around 4 km south of the main road through Karatu, the lodge is in an impressive hilltop position, overlooking the surrounding farmland.

The lodge is centred on a very pleasant U-shaped building, with lounge areas one side, dining on the other. A pathway leads along the hill to a particularly nice swimming pool area.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Bashay Rift Lodge is in 29 comfortable and modestly stylish rooms, set in a range of different buildings scattered across the hillside …

• Standard Room : x11 : one bedroom for up to four guests
• Family Suite : x4 : two bedrooms for up to five guests
• The White House : x1 : shared lounge and four bedrooms
• The Brown House : x1 : lounge, dining and six bedrooms

Activities

Bashay Rift Lodge provides the following guided activities, not all of which are usually included in the room rate …

• Forest walks
• Village walks
• Mountain-biking
• Cultural interaction with local Iraqw people
• School visits
• Community support projects
• Farm tours
• Spa treatments
• Day trips to Ngorongoro Crater
• Day trips to Lake Eyasi

The Ngorongoro Karatu area tends to feature in most first time trips to the Serengeti region, either before (northbound) or after (southbound) the Ngorongoro Crater. The area provides a wonderful opportunity to take a break from safari and experience the delights of rural Africa.

The usual stay duration is 1-3 nights.

Seasonality

The only factor which affects seasonality in the Ngorongoro Karatu area is the weather, since wildlife movements are not relevant and visitor traffic is less of an issue.

The best months to visit from a weather perspective are generally considered to be May-Oct, although the early part of that season can be very cold at night.

Getting there

The vast majority of visitors to Ngorongoro Karatu arrive by guided overland safari, so they travel to their lodge and around the area in their private vehicle.

Around 5% of visitors to Ngorongoro Karatu arrive by light aircraft, almost always arriving into Manyara Airstrip, from where it is around an hour by road. In this case they travel around the area with a vehicle and guide from their lodge.

When staying in this area it is sometimes possible for us to put your vehicle and driver on standby, which means that you do not have to pay so much to have them sitting there doing nothing whilst you get on with other activities. However this is clearly not possible if you want to do trips further afield, notably down to Lake Eyasi and Lake Manyara or up to the Ngorongoro Crater.

a great change of gear in a safari