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Hhando Coffee Lodge

Thirteen round cottages on a working coffee farm, a kilometre below the gate into the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

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Tier
Comfort
round cottages on a working coffee farm
Location
Karatu
Reviews
4.6 ★ on TripAdvisor
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About

About Hhando Coffee Lodge.

Hhando Coffee Lodge sits on fifteen acres of working coffee farm on the T17, the road that climbs out of Karatu towards the Ngorongoro Crater. The Loduare gate into the conservation area is about a kilometre further on, close enough that the lodge is the last building many guests pass before the forest closes over the road. The ground here is at roughly 1,680 metres, so the air stays cool and often damp, the hedges are green all year, and baboons and monkeys work the edge of the gardens through the day. Thirteen round cottages stand in their own plots along flagstone paths, with the stone main building and the pool at the centre of the property.

The crater is the reason most guests come. Leaving reception you can be at the gate within a few minutes and down on the crater floor in well under an hour, which usually puts you ahead of the vehicles that spend the first part of the morning driving up from Karatu town. Lake Manyara is about an hour away by road, with its groundwater forest, its elephant herds and the chance of lions resting in the trees. Tarangire is two hours or so in the other direction, at its best in the dry months when the elephants gather along the river. January to March, June to October and December are the high season at the lodge. April, May and November are quieter and wetter.

Each cottage is a single round building with a bedroom, a private bathroom, a fireplace laid for the evening, a mosquito net and a veranda facing the gardens. Ten are standard cottages and three are family bungalows. The restaurant has an open fireplace and windows onto the coffee bushes and the forest beyond, and serves a buffet breakfast and dinner, with breakfast from half past five if you are leaving early for the crater. There is a lounge with two more fireplaces, an outdoor pool, laundry, a gift shop and a tour desk. There is no air conditioning, which at this altitude is not missed, and there is no spa.

It suits travellers who want the shortest possible run to the crater gate and a working farm to come back to, rather than a polished hotel. Guests write warmly and consistently about the staff, the gardens, the quiet and the pool, and the lodge goes out of its way for honeymoons and birthdays. They are also honest about the other side: the cheaper cottages without a view can smell damp in the cool months, the beds are firm, the Wifi is slow, and small maintenance faults turn up. If reliable connectivity, air conditioning or hotel grade finish matter to you, this is not the right choice.

Driving from Kilimanjaro International it is about 210 kilometres and four to five hours, through Arusha and Makuyuni and up the escarpment past Mto wa Mbu. Flying in, the nearest airstrip is Lake Manyara, about 35 kilometres and fifty minutes away by road, with a flight of roughly forty five minutes from Kilimanjaro. Karatu town, with its market and its shops, is twenty minutes back down the hill.

Signature experiences

Why guests choose it.

  1. First through the Loduare gate

    The gate is about a kilometre up the road, so an early breakfast here puts you on the crater floor ahead of the vehicles still climbing from Karatu town. Breakfast is served from half past five when you ask for it.

  2. The coffee farm round the cottages

    The fifteen acres the lodge stands on are planted and picked, not decorative. Staff will walk you through the rows and the processing and finish with a cup.

  3. Fireplaces at 1,680 metres

    Every cottage has its own fireplace, laid and lit in the evening, and the lounge has two more. At this altitude the evenings are genuinely cold and the fires are the reason the place feels like a farmhouse.

  4. The pool and the gardens

    An outdoor pool sits in the lawns between the cottages and the main building, with clipped hedges and flagstone paths through the grounds. Monkeys and baboons work the edges most afternoons.

Room types

Where you will sleep.

Up to 3 guests

Cottage

A round cottage of its own, with a bedroom, a private bathroom, a fireplace laid for the evening, a mosquito net and a veranda onto the gardens. Sold for one, two or three guests.

Family Bungalow

Three of the thirteen units are family bungalows, larger than the standard cottage. The contract does not yet price them, so they are not on sale here.

At a glance

The essentials, in brief.

Amenities

  • Restaurant With An Open Fireplace
  • Lounge With Two Open Fireplaces
  • Outdoor Swimming Pool
  • Fireplace In Every Cottage
  • Private Veranda In Every Cottage
  • Mature gardens on a working coffee farm
  • Coffee farm visit on the property
  • Guided Nature Walks
  • Wifi in the main building and the rooms
  • Laundry And Ironing Service
  • Gift Shop And Small Store
  • Barbecue And Bonfire On Request
  • Turndown Service
  • Free Parking
  • Tour Desk

Best for

  • Ngorongoro Crater
  • Families
  • Honeymoon
  • First Time Safari
  • Value

Wildlife and nature

  • Ngorongoro Crater floor within about an hour, typically lion, elephant, buffalo and black rhino
  • Baboons and vervet monkeys along the garden edge most days
  • Lake Manyara elephant herds and tree climbing lions about an hour away
  • Tarangire elephant concentrations along the river in the dry months

Best time to visit

When to go.

  • January: best
  • February: best
  • March: best
  • April: not a best month
  • May: not a best month
  • June: best
  • July: best
  • August: best
  • September: best
  • October: best
  • November: not a best month
  • December: best
Best months

Best months: June to October and December to March.

Location & access

Getting there.

Location

Karatu

Arriving by air

About forty five minutes in the air from Kilimanjaro to Lake Manyara airstrip, then roughly fifty minutes and 35 kilometres by road to the lodge.

By road

About 210 kilometres and four to five hours: Kilimanjaro International to Arusha, then Makuyuni, then up the escarpment past Mto wa Mbu to Karatu, then fifteen kilometres on towards the crater.

On the map

Where it sits.

3.305° S, 35.597° E

What's included

What the rate covers.

Included

  • Full board, breakfast, lunch and dinner

Not included

  • Park and conservation area entry fees
  • Compulsory Tanzania inbound travel insurance, 44 USD per adult
  • Drinks
  • Extra meals taken outside full board, such as a packed lunch box, charged by the lodge
  • Activities and excursions away from the lodge
  • Items taken at the property and settled on departure
  • Tips And Gratuities

Frequently asked

Questions, answered.

Where exactly is Hhando Coffee Lodge?

On the T17 between Karatu town and the Ngorongoro Crater, about a kilometre below the Loduare gate into the conservation area and roughly fifteen kilometres above Karatu town. The lodge sits on its own fifteen acre coffee farm at about 1,680 metres.

How many rooms does it have?

Thirteen units: ten cottages and three family bungalows, each a separate round building with a fireplace, a private bathroom and a veranda. We sell the cottages as single, double, twin and triple rooms.

How long does it take to reach the Ngorongoro Crater?

A few minutes to the Loduare gate and usually under an hour from reception to the crater floor, including the descent road. That head start is the main reason guests choose this lodge over one in Karatu town, which adds twenty minutes before you even reach the gate.

How do I get there from Kilimanjaro airport?

By road it is about 210 kilometres and four to five hours through Arusha, Makuyuni and Mto wa Mbu. Flying, the nearest airstrip is Lake Manyara, about forty five minutes by air from Kilimanjaro and then roughly fifty minutes by road to the lodge.

What is included in the rate?

Full board, meaning breakfast, lunch and dinner. Park and conservation area fees, the compulsory Tanzania inbound travel insurance, anything taken at the property and any extra meals outside full board are charged separately.

Do I need travel insurance for Tanzania?

Yes. Since 1 October 2026 every visitor must hold the Tanzania inbound travel insurance, which costs 44 USD per adult. It is not part of the lodge rate and your Expert will tell you how it is paid.

Are families with children welcome?

Yes. Three of the thirteen units are family bungalows and the lodge prices children aged six to eleven at its own child rate when they share with adults. Children under six who share with adults are not charged for the room.

What is the Wifi and the power like?

There is free Wifi in the main building and the rooms, but it is slow and guests regularly say so. There is no air conditioning, which is rarely missed at this altitude, and each cottage has a fireplace that is laid in the evening.

When is the lodge open and what is the weather like?

It is open all year. January to March, June to October and December are the high season. April, May and November are quieter and wetter. Nights are cool at 1,680 metres in any month and coldest in July and August, so bring something warm.

What else is there to do nearby?

A visit round the lodge coffee farm, walks in the forest belt, Lake Manyara about an hour away, Tarangire about two hours, the Elephant Caves hike in the Ngorongoro forest, and Karatu market on the seventh and the twenty fifth of each month.

What's nearby

Worth the short trip.

  • Ngorongoro Crater

    The gate is a kilometre away and the crater floor usually under an hour, with a resident population that typically includes lion, elephant, buffalo and black rhino.

  • Lake Manyara National Park

    About an hour down the escarpment, known for its groundwater forest, large elephant herds and the chance of lions resting in the trees.

  • Tarangire National Park

    Around two hours away, baobab country where large elephant herds gather along the river in the dry months.

  • Karatu market

    A large open market twenty minutes down the hill, held on the seventh and the twenty fifth of each month, with produce, spices, beadwork and paintings.

  • Elephant Caves in the Ngorongoro forest

    A guided hike on the forest edge to waterfalls and the caves elephants have dug out over generations for the mineral rich soil.

  • Lake Eyasi

    A soda lake roughly two hours south west, visited at dawn to walk with Hadzabe hunter gatherers and to see Datoga blacksmiths at work.

Nearby

Other places to stay nearby.

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