Lodges & partnersArusha City
A 1905 farmhouse under Mount Meru, with spring fed lakes, fifty acres of forest and horses in the stables.
About
Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge sits on fifty acres of forest and garden at Usa River, about twenty kilometres east of Arusha and roughly half an hour by road from Kilimanjaro International Airport. The house at the centre of it was built in 1905 and became a lodge in 1974, and it still feels like a private farm rather than a hotel. Spring water rises on the property and runs through two lakes below the lawns, and the forest around them is loud with birds from first light. Mount Meru stands directly behind, and on a clear morning Kilimanjaro shows to the east.
This is not a game viewing address and it does not pretend to be one. What it offers is the softest possible landing or finish to a safari, within an easy drive of the airport, and good birding without leaving the grounds. More than two hundred species have been recorded on the property, among them turacos, kingfishers and the colobus monkeys that move through the high canopy. Arusha National Park, with the Momella lakes and the Mount Meru crater, is a short drive away for a day trip.
The ten Garden Rooms are spread among the trees between the main house and the lakes, each with a large bed under netting or twin beds, a private bathroom and a door that opens straight onto the lawns. Meals come from the kitchen garden and the trout farm on the property, and are taken in the dining room of the main house or, when guests ask for it, at the pavilion by the water. There is a thirty metre pool in the gardens, a spa tent for massages, scrubs and facials, stables with five horses, a punt on the lake that seats eight, and a croquet lawn. The lodge generates its own hydroelectricity from the spring.
It suits the first and last nights of a trip, and it suits birders, honeymooners who want quiet, and families who need somewhere unhurried to recover from a long flight. Guests who want a pool, a lawn and a long lunch after two weeks in a vehicle tend to stay a night longer than they planned. Travellers looking for game drives from the door should build those days into the parks instead and treat Ngare Sero as the bookend.
Getting there is simple, which is much of the point. The lodge is about thirty minutes from Kilimanjaro International Airport and about thirty minutes from Arusha, with no internal flight and no long transfer needed. Airport transfers are not included in the room rate.
Signature experiences
Two spring fed lakes sit below the lawns, and the lodge keeps a punt on them that seats up to eight. Going out late in the afternoon, when the light drops and the kingfishers are working the edges, is included for every guest.
More than two hundred species have been recorded on the property, from turacos and hornbills in the high canopy to waders on the lake margins. The nature walk and the bird watching are both complimentary, and a guide from the lodge can walk you round the grounds and the conservancy.
Five horses are kept at the stables on the property. You can ride for an hour inside the grounds or take two hours out onto the village trails, both bookable at the lodge.
A tent set among the trees where full body massages, scrubs and facials are given. It is the thing most guests use on the last afternoon of a safari, before the drive back to the airport.
Meals are normally served in the dining room of the main house, but the lodge will lay a private table at the lakeside pavilion when you ask. The kitchen works from the organic garden and the trout farm on the property.
Room types
One of ten rooms set among the trees between the main house and the lakes, with a large bed under netting or twin beds, a private bathroom and a door onto the lawns. Full board, sleeping two. The lodge publishes its own price for one guest in the room, so a solo traveller books the same room at the single occupancy rate.
At a glance
Best time to visit
Best months: June to October and December to February.
Location & access
Arusha City
No bush flight is needed. Most guests land at Kilimanjaro International Airport and drive about 30 minutes to the lodge. Guests arriving on a light aircraft at Arusha Airport are about 40 minutes away by road.
About 30 minutes in total from Kilimanjaro International Airport. The lodge lies off the Usa River road between the airport and Arusha, so there is no long transfer and no internal flight. From Arusha town it is also about 30 minutes, heading east. The room rate does not include an airport transfer.
On the map
3.359° S, 36.837° E
What's included
Frequently asked
At Usa River, about twenty kilometres east of Arusha and roughly thirty minutes by road from Kilimanjaro International Airport. It sits on fifty acres of forest and garden on the lower slopes of Mount Meru, with Kilimanjaro visible to the east on a clear morning.
About seventeen units in all, of which ten are Garden Rooms. Savannah and Sands currently sells the Garden Room on a full board basis, for two guests sharing or for one guest at the published single occupancy rate. The suites and cottages are not bookable here at the moment.
All year. Rates are published for every month and the lodge has no closed season, so you can stay in the long rains as well as in the dry months.
By road, in about thirty minutes from Kilimanjaro International Airport or about thirty minutes from Arusha. No internal flight is needed. Airport transfers are not included in the room rate.
No, and it does not try to be. It is a garden and birding lodge close to the airport, best used for the first and last nights of a safari. Arusha National Park, with the Momella lakes and the Mount Meru crater, is a short drive away for a day trip, and the park entry fee is paid separately.
Full board, meaning breakfast, lunch and dinner. The nature walk, bird watching, boating on the lake, the swimming pool, croquet and Wifi are all included. Horse riding, yoga, spa treatments, the village tour, the coffee farm visit and the apiary visit are charged separately.
Airport transfers, any park entry fees, the priced activities, meals taken outside the full board arrangement, gratuities and personal items. The lodge contract also lists a holiday supplement of 50 US dollars per person among the items paid at the lodge, without naming its dates. Tanzania also requires every visitor to hold inbound travel insurance, currently 44 US dollars per adult.
Yes. Children under five stay free sharing a Garden Room with adults, children of five to twelve pay half the adult rate, and from thirteen the adult rate applies. The lodge prints no price for an extra bed, so a Garden Room sells for up to two guests until the lodge confirms otherwise.
More than two hundred bird species have been recorded in the grounds, along with colobus monkeys in the high canopy and bushbuck and duiker in the forest. This is birding and forest walking rather than big game, and sightings are always a chance rather than a certainty.
Yes. The lodge generates its own hydroelectricity from the spring that rises on the property, and Wifi is free, though it can be slow at busy times.
Any month works, because the lodge does not depend on the game seasons. The gardens are at their greenest from April to May and in November, which is also when the rates are lowest. June to October and the festive period are the busiest and the dearest.
What's nearby
About 45 minutes by road
The Momella lakes, the Ngurdoto crater and the lower slopes of Mount Meru, with giraffe, buffalo, colobus and flamingo on the lakes. It is the one northern park where you can walk with an armed ranger and canoe on the lakes. Entry fees are paid separately.
Trailhead about an hour away
The three or four day route up Meru through Arusha National Park, quieter than Kilimanjaro and a serious walk in its own right. Many climbers use it as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro.
On the doorstep
A two hour guided walk from the lodge into the neighbouring village and its farms and small businesses. Booked at the lodge.
A short drive
A working coffee farm where the picking, drying and roasting are shown through to a cup at the end. Booked at the lodge, with transport charged for the vehicle.
About 30 minutes by road
The town itself, plus the large gallery and craft centre on the Dodoma road for Tanzanian art, carvings and gemstones. A useful last morning before a late flight.
Nearby
The Arusha City guide: where to stay, when to go and how to get there.
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