Lodges & partnersKogatende Northern Serengeti (Mara River)
Ten tented rooms on a Kogatende hillside, minutes from the Mara River crossing points, pitched for the season and struck in October.
From $1,880 per person per night
About
Songa sits on a hillside in the Kogatende region of the northern Serengeti, facing east so that the first light comes up over the plains while you are still in bed. The ground below the camp rolls away in long folds and then flattens into the open savannah that the northern Serengeti is known for. The Mara River runs a short drive to the north, and that proximity is the whole reason the camp stands where it does. When word comes through that a herd is massing at one of the crossing points, the drive to the bank is measured in minutes rather than hours.
The camp is seasonal and unapologetic about it. It goes up in the middle of June, ahead of the herds arriving from the west, and comes down in the first week of October. Through July, August and September the wildebeest and zebra gather on the southern bank in their thousands and go over in waves, sometimes several times in a day and sometimes not at all for a week. Crocodiles hold the deeper water and lion and cheetah work the banks and the stragglers. It is not a gentle spectacle and the camp does not pretend otherwise. Outside the crossings there is resident plains game across the Kogatende sector, and the northern Serengeti stays quieter than the central park through the same months.
The ten tented rooms are en suite, with king or twin beds, bespoke linen, a twin vanity, a dressing area and a rainfall shower with properly hot water. Curated antiques carry the vintage feel through the interiors. There are fans rather than air conditioning, wifi in the rooms and the main areas, and a gym basket in the room instead of a gym. There is no pool and no spa here, which is the honest trade for a camp that sits this close to the river for this few months of the year. Meals run to no set timetable and are taken in the open under the acacias, or as a picnic wherever the morning has taken you.
Every booking includes a private vehicle and a private guide, so the day is yours to shape and you are never waiting on another party to finish breakfast. That matters more at a crossing camp than almost anywhere else, because the herds keep their own hours. Songa suits travellers who have come for the migration specifically and want to be in position for it, photographers who need the flexibility to sit at a crossing point for six hours, and returning safari guests who already know what the central Serengeti is like in August. Children from four years are welcome and share with an adult up to fifteen.
Access is by air. Scheduled and charter flights reach Kogatende airstrip from Kilimanjaro International or Arusha in roughly one hour to one hour thirty, and the camp is about forty five minutes further by game drive vehicle, which is a transfer most guests count as their first drive. The road journey from Arusha runs to a long day and a half and is not how the camp is reached.
Signature experiences
From July to October the herds mass on the southern bank and go over in waves, at several points along the river and sometimes more than once in a day. Songa sits close enough that word of a crossing turns into a short drive rather than a morning lost.
Every stay carries its own vehicle and its own guide. At a crossing camp that is the difference between sitting at the bank for as long as it takes and leaving because somebody else wanted lunch.
Lion, cheetah and crocodile all work the crossing season in their own way. The banks and the shallows above and below the crossing points are where the season turns from spectacle into something harder to watch.
Meals are set out under the acacias in the open air, or packed as a picnic and eaten wherever the drive has reached. There are no sittings and no shared tables.
Through November and December the herds turn back towards the calving grounds and cross the river a second time heading south, a quieter window than the northbound rush of August.
Gallery
Room types
A tented room held for one guest, at the single occupancy price the contract publishes for it. King or twin bed, en suite bathroom with a rainfall shower, twin vanity and a dressing area, and a view east over the Kogatende plains.
A tented room with a king bed for two guests sharing. En suite bathroom with a rainfall shower and properly hot water, twin vanity, dressing area, fans, safe and wifi. A third guest aged 4 to 15 can share with the adults.
The same tented room made up with twin beds rather than a king. En suite bathroom with a rainfall shower, twin vanity, dressing area, fans, safe and wifi. A third guest aged 4 to 15 can share with the adults.
At a glance
Best time to visit
Best months: July to September. Closed in November to May.
Location & access
Kogatende Northern Serengeti (Mara River)
About 2 hours from the airport to camp. A scheduled or charter flight from Kilimanjaro International, or from Arusha Airport, reaches Kogatende airstrip in 1 hour to 1 hour 30 depending on the routing and the number of strips on the way, then about 45 minutes by game drive vehicle to the camp. Later arrivals into Kilimanjaro usually overnight in Arusha and fly up the following morning.
Songa is reached by air. The road route from Kilimanjaro runs about 90 minutes to Arusha and then 8 to 9 hours on to the Kogatende sector by way of Ngorongoro and Naabi gate, which almost always means an overnight at Manyara or Tarangire on the way. The operator does not offer a road transfer to this camp.
On the map
1.685° S, 34.922° E
What's included
Frequently asked
Ten tented rooms, each with an en suite bathroom. The camp takes a maximum of twenty guests and there is no separate family unit, so a family travelling together books adjoining tented rooms.
The camp is pitched in the middle of June and struck in the first week of October. It is a seasonal camp built around the Mara River crossing season and it does not trade outside that window.
By air. A scheduled or charter flight from Kilimanjaro International or Arusha Airport reaches Kogatende airstrip in one hour to one hour thirty, and the camp is about forty five minutes further by game drive vehicle. The road journey is a day and a half and is not offered.
July through September is the heart of the crossing season and the busiest period on the river. June and early October are quieter on the bank but still good for resident game, and the camp is open at both ends of its season for that reason.
Children from four years of age are welcome. Anyone up to fifteen must share a tented room with an adult, and from sixteen a guest takes their own room at the adult rate. A tented room sleeps up to three.
All meals, soft drinks, unlimited game drives with a private vehicle and a private guide, the return transfer from Kogatende airstrip, daily laundry, wifi and the one percent Tourism Development Levy. Park entry fees and concession fees are charged separately.
No. Songa is a seasonal camp and carries neither. There is a gym basket in each tented room. Guests who want a pool and a spa in the same trip usually pair Songa with one of the permanent lodges in the portfolio.
There is complimentary wifi in the main areas and in every tented room, though the speed varies with the connection on the day. Sockets are UK type. The rooms have fans rather than air conditioning.
Every tented room is en suite, with a rainfall shower and properly hot water, a flush toilet, a twin vanity and a separate dressing area.
No camp can promise one. The herds cross when they decide to, sometimes several times in a day and sometimes not for a week. What the position of this camp buys is the ability to reach a crossing point quickly once one starts, and the private vehicle means you can wait as long as you like.
Night drives are not permitted anywhere inside Serengeti National Park, so they are not offered here. Walking is not among the activities the camp lists for Songa.
The light aircraft limit is fifteen kilograms per guest including hand luggage, in a soft bag. Nights on the Kogatende plains drop to around twelve degrees in the dry season, so a warm layer for early game drives is worth the space.
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
A short drive north of camp. Several established crossing points along the same stretch of river, which is why a camp this close is worth the seasonal inconvenience.
The triangle of country between the Mara River and the Kenyan border, good for big cats and quieter than the Kogatende sector in peak season.
A dawn flight over the Kogatende grasslands, arranged through the camp at an additional cost.
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