Lodges & partnersKaratu
Chalets built into a forested hillside above the Ngorongoro valley, twenty minutes from the Crater gate.
About
Endoro Lodge sits in the hills about six kilometres north of Karatu town, half a kilometre from the Endoro gate and right on the edge of the Northern Highland Forest Reserve. The chalets are detached and built into the slope in landscaped gardens, each one facing out across the Ngorongoro valley, so the view from the veranda is forest in the foreground and ridgelines beyond. Early in the morning the valley fills with mist and burns off slowly while you have breakfast, and the dining room is glass walled so you watch it happen from the table.
Most guests are here to drive into Ngorongoro. The main gate is about twenty kilometres away, roughly twenty minutes, which means you can be at the descent road early without a long transfer first, and Lake Manyara is under thirty kilometres in the other direction. What makes the lodge worth more than one night is the walking on the doorstep. The Endoro river trail starts near the gate and climbs through the highland forest to the Endoro waterfalls and the Elephant Caves, where elephant come to dig at the mineral walls, and the forest itself holds well over a hundred bird species along with buffalo and troops of baboon.
The chalets have hardwood floors, a bed under netting, a working fireplace for the cold highland evenings, a deep tub and both an indoor and an outdoor shower, with a private veranda outside. There is a swimming pool in the garden, a lounge and a restaurant where much of what is served is grown in the lodge gardens, a small spa for massage, a curio shop and a conference room. Mains electricity runs with a generator behind it and hot water is on around the clock. Wifi reaches the main areas rather than the rooms.
It suits families and first time visitors particularly well, with triple and four guest units and two chalets that interconnect through a lockable door. The grounds are not fenced, which is deliberate in a place where forest wildlife moves through, so Maasai askaris are on the property and staff walk guests back to their chalets after dark.
Signature experiences
The trail leaves from near the Endoro gate and climbs through highland forest along the river to a set of falls. It is a half day on foot with a guide, and the forest birding on the way up is some of the best in the Karatu area.
Further along the same forest trail, elephant have dug into the mineral rich rock over generations and left caves behind them. You walk in with a guide and read the marks on the walls.
The Ngorongoro gate is about twenty minutes from the lodge, so a dawn departure is realistic rather than theoretical. Breakfast goes with you.
Karatu is coffee and wheat country. Village rides and farm visits run from the lodge into the surrounding plantations and Iraqw homesteads.
Every chalet has its own fireplace, which matters at this altitude. Lit before you come back from the gardens, it is the reason guests stay in rather than move to the lounge.
Room types
A chalet for one guest, with a fireplace, a bed under netting, an indoor and an outdoor shower and a veranda facing the forest. The lodge publishes its own price for one guest, so a solo traveller books this unit rather than paying a supplement.
A chalet for two, with a fireplace, hardwood floors, a deep tub, an indoor and an outdoor shower and a private veranda over the valley.
The same chalet as the Double, laid out with separate beds for two guests travelling together.
A chalet for three guests, with the same fireplace and veranda and room for a third bed.
A unit for four guests, the usual choice for a family travelling together.
Two chalets joined by a lockable door, for up to four guests who would rather have the children next door than in the same room.
At a glance
Best time to visit
Best months: January to February and June to October.
Location & access
Karatu
There is no airstrip at Karatu. Light aircraft fly from Arusha Airport to Lake Manyara airstrip, and the lodge is about thirty minutes by road from there.
About four hours in three legs: roughly one hour ten minutes from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha, then about two hours thirty minutes from Arusha to Karatu on tarmac, then fifteen minutes from Karatu town up to the lodge. Allow longer when Arusha is busy.
What's included
Frequently asked
In the hills about six kilometres north of Karatu town, half a kilometre from the Endoro gate and on the edge of the Northern Highland Forest Reserve. It is outside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, so there is no conservation fee simply for sleeping here.
The main Ngorongoro gate is about twenty kilometres away, roughly twenty minutes by road, and the Crater itself about fifty six kilometres. An early start to be at the descent road first thing is realistic from here.
Detached chalets set into the hillside in gardens. The lodge publishes between thirty and thirty two rooms in its own documents, and we have asked it to confirm the exact figure.
Yes. The lodge prices every month of the year and has no closed season. January to March and June to October are the busiest months, with a peak in August.
Accommodation, full board with breakfast, lunch and dinner, evening tea and coffee, and VAT. Drinks, camp fees, concession fees, wildlife management area fees and the bed night levy are not included.
Yes. Children of all ages are welcome. There are three guest and four guest units and two chalets that interconnect through a lockable door. Children under three sharing with an adult stay free, and from three years they are charged at the adult rate for the room they occupy.
No. It sits against a forest reserve and wildlife moves through the grounds, so Maasai askaris are on the property and staff walk guests back to their chalets after dark.
Walking is the reason to stay a second night. The Endoro river trail climbs through the highland forest to the Endoro waterfalls and the Elephant Caves, and there are guided forest walks, village bicycle rides, Iraqw cultural visits and coffee farm tours around Karatu. Some of these are charged at the lodge.
Wifi reaches the main areas rather than the chalets. Power is mains electricity with a generator behind it, and hot water runs around the clock.
Karatu sits high, so evenings and early mornings are genuinely cold by Tanzanian standards, which is why every chalet has a fireplace. Bring a warm layer whatever month you travel.
Yes. Tanzania requires inbound travel insurance at 44 USD per adult, which is not included in the lodge rate.
By road it is about four hours from Kilimanjaro International Airport, through Arusha and on tarmac to Karatu. Flying in, light aircraft reach Lake Manyara airstrip and the lodge is about thirty minutes from there.
What's nearby
About 20 minutes to the gate
The Crater floor is a closed caldera of about 260 square kilometres with one of the densest concentrations of large mammals in Africa, including a small resident population of black rhino. Entry, the vehicle fee and the Crater service fee are paid separately.
About 30 minutes by road
Groundwater forest, a soda lake with flamingo and the escarpment behind it. A good half day out of Karatu when the Crater is booked for the following morning. Entry fees are paid separately.
A short drive from Karatu
Working coffee estates around Karatu run tours from picking through roasting, and most finish with a cup on the veranda.
Nearby
The Karatu guide: where to stay, when to go and how to get there.
View : Every lodge we work with in KaratuPlan this stay
Build your bespoke Tanzania safari with our team. Real lodge rates and itemised pricing throughout.
Build & price your trip
