Tented Room
A vintage styled canvas tent with campaign furniture and a bucket shower, sold as a single, double or twin.
Lodges & partnersBurunge Wildlife Management Area
Little Chem Chem
Five vintage tents on the Burunge management area, where night game drives are still allowed.
From $1,370 per person per night
01 / 06
- Tier
- Luxury
- Location
- Burunge Wildlife Management Area
About
About Little Chem Chem.
Little Chem Chem is the smaller and older feeling of the Chem Chem camps, five vintage styled tents pitched on the Tarangire side of the Burunge Wildlife Management Area. Campaign furniture, canvas, and bucket showers heated over a fire outside. Nothing about it is rough, but it does not pretend to be a hotel either.
The camp's position matters for what you can do from it. Because the Burunge Wildlife Management Area sits outside the national park boundary, night game drives are permitted here and are included in the rate, which is not the case for camps inside Tarangire. That single fact changes the shape of an evening: genets, civets, bushbabies and occasionally a hunting leopard, on a drive that inside the park would have to end at dusk.
Five tents means the camp is rarely more than ten guests. Every booking carries a private guide and vehicle for the day, so you are not sharing a plan with strangers. Full board covers three meals, soft drinks, laundry and internet, and a one hour massage per person is included on stays of four nights or more. The Family Tent has two bedrooms and two bathrooms under one canvas roof.
It suits travellers drawn to the older shape of a safari camp, couples who want somewhere quiet, and families with children of eight and over. Game is strongest from June to October when the Tarangire herds concentrate.
Guests usually fly into Chem Chem Airstrip with the arrival transfer included, or arrive by road on the northern circuit.
Signature experiences
Why guests choose it.
Night game drives
Included in the rate and legal here because the camp lies in a management area rather than inside the national park. The list of what comes out after dark is completely different from the daytime one.
Walking with an armed guide
Guided walks through the management area at a pace set by what you find rather than by distance.
A private day in Tarangire
A full day in the national park in a private open vehicle. Park fees are charged separately.
Gallery
A closer look.
Room types
Where you will sleep.
Up to 3 guests
Family Tent
Two bedrooms and two bathrooms under one canvas roof, sleeping two adults and up to three children under sixteen.
At a glance
The essentials, in brief.
Amenities
- Full Board Dining
- Soft Drinks Included
- Private Guide And Vehicle
- Guided Walking Safaris
- Laundry Service
- Wireless Internet
- Spa Treatments
- Cultural Visits
- Airstrip Transfer On Arrival
Best for
- Couples
- Walking Safari
- Photography
- Second Time Safari
- Small Camps
Wildlife and nature
- Elephant moving through the Kwakuchinja corridor between Tarangire and Lake Manyara
- Large buffalo and zebra herds on the Burunge floodplain
- Lion and leopard resident in the management area
- Flamingo and pelican on Lake Burunge in the wetter months
Best time to visit
When to go.
- January: not a best month
- February: not a best month
- March: not a best month
- April: closed
- May: closed
- June: best
- July: best
- August: best
- September: best
- October: best
- November: best
- December: not a best month
Best monthsClosed
Best months: June to November. Closed in April to May.
Location & access
Getting there.
Location
Burunge Wildlife Management Area
Arriving by air
About two and a half hours: an hour by road to Arusha Airport, twenty to forty minutes by light aircraft to Chem Chem Airstrip, then about forty five minutes by road to the camp. The arrival transfer from the airstrip is included in the rate.
By road
About three and a half to four hours: an hour west to Arusha, then about an hour and a quarter south west on the Great North Road to the Makuyuni junction, thirty to forty minutes further south past Minjingu, and a last half hour on unsurfaced track into the Burunge Wildlife Management Area.
On the map
Where it sits.
3.845° S, 35.908° E
What's included
What the rate covers.
Included
- Three Meals Daily
- Water And Soft Drinks
- A private guide and vehicle each day, for Chem Chem's own protected area and for Tarangire National Park
- Morning and afternoon game drives in the Burunge Wildlife Management Area
- Guided walks and evening game drives
- A game drive into Tarangire National Park in a private open vehicle, park fees not included
- Morning Sunrise Hill Climb
- Cultural visits with the Maasai, to the village and the local school
- Arrival road transfer from Chem Chem Airstrip
- Laundry And Internet Access
- One hour massage per person per stay, on stays of four nights or more
- Tourism Development Levy of one percent
Not included
- All road transfers other than the arrival transfer from Chem Chem Airstrip
- All Air Transfers
- Conservation and Community fees, 210 USD per adult per night and 180 USD per child aged 4 to 15 per night
- Park fees for Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater
- Additional spa treatments, personal purchases, phone calls and gratuities
- Emergency evacuation insurance, available at 30 USD per person
- Tanzania mandatory travel insurance fee of 44 USD for foreign non residents
Frequently asked
Questions, answered.
How many tents does Little Chem Chem have?
Five vintage styled tents plus one Family Tent, so the camp rarely holds more than ten guests.
Are night game drives really included?
Yes. The camp sits in the Burunge Wildlife Management Area rather than inside Tarangire National Park, and the management area permits night drives. They are included in the rate at Little and Forest Chem Chem.
Are families with children welcome?
Children aged eight and over are welcome, and all ages when the camp is taken on an exclusive use basis. The Family Tent has two bedrooms and two bathrooms and sleeps two adults with up to three children under sixteen.
When is the camp open?
It closes through April and May. The rest of the year it is open, with June to October the strongest months for game.
What is included in the rate?
Three meals a day, soft drinks, laundry and internet, a private guide and vehicle each day, and the safari activities in the Burunge Wildlife Management Area. The Tourism Development Levy is included. Conservation and Community fees and national park fees are charged separately.
How do guests reach the camp?
Most guests fly to Chem Chem Airstrip, and the road transfer from the airstrip on arrival is included in the rate.
Is there a minimum stay?
Yes, two nights on all bookings. Three nights suits the area better, since it gives you a full day in the management area and a day in Tarangire National Park.
Is there wireless internet, and is laundry included?
Both are included in the rate rather than charged for. With five tents and a family tent the camp is small, so plan on a connection that suits messages and photographs rather than working.
What is the camp like in the green months?
It closes through April and May, which are the wettest weeks here. Either side of that, March and November are green and quiet, the resident game is still about, and the management area feels emptier than the national park next door.
What is there to do besides game drives?
Guided walking safaris, which the management area permits and the national park does not, night drives, spa treatments at camp, and cultural visits to the villages nearby. A private guide and vehicle come with the rate, so the shape of the day is yours.
Do I need travel insurance to visit?
Yes. From 1 October 2026 visitors entering mainland Tanzania must hold the government inbound travel insurance, 44 USD per adult and valid for up to 92 days, covering emergency medical care, evacuation, repatriation and lost luggage. Children aged 3 to 17 pay half and infants under 3 are free. It is bought online before you fly or on arrival, and residents of Tanzania and of East African and SADC countries are exempt. If you land in Zanzibar first, the Zanzibar policy covers you instead. It is paid by you directly and is not part of our quote.
What's nearby
Worth the short trip.
Tarangire National Park
A private open vehicle game drive among the baobabs and the dry season elephant herds. Park fees are charged separately.
Lake Manyara National Park
Groundwater forest, troops of baboon and the flamingo shallows, about an hour from camp.
Maasai village and school visit
A cultural visit arranged with the communities Chem Chem works alongside in the corridor.
Plan this stay
Build a Tarangire trip
Build your bespoke Tanzania safari with our team. Real lodge rates and itemised pricing throughout.
Build & price your trip