Lodges & partnersSeronera Central Serengeti
Six tents in the Kemarishe Hills, half an hour north of Seronera, where the grass runs to the horizon and the cats stay all year.
About
Zawadi sits in the Kemarishe Hills, about twenty five kilometres north of Seronera and roughly two kilometres from the Orangi River. It is a small camp, six tents in all, set back from the track with nothing built up around it. The ground in front falls away into open grassland dotted with acacia, and because the camp is unfenced the plains simply carry on through it. Zebra graze past the guest tents in the early morning. Elephant come through in small family groups. At night you hear hyena, and often lion, from your bed.
This is the part of the Serengeti people mean when they talk about the Seronera valley: permanent water, rocky kopjes and long grass, which together hold predators that are resident rather than seasonal. Lion are resident here and are seen year round rather than seasonally. Leopard work the river lines and the big trees along them. Cheetah hunt the open ground where the grass is short. The migration passes through the central Serengeti twice in most years, moving north in roughly May and June and back south later in the year, so in those months the herds are an event on top of the resident game rather than the whole reason to come.
The camp itself is run by its owners rather than by a brand, and it feels that way. Tents are canvas under a high peak with a hardwood floor, two beds made up as a double or a twin, a private veranda, and a bathroom behind the sleeping area with a shower, hot running water and a flushing toilet. Lighting is solar and there are sockets in the tent for cameras and phones. There is WiFi, though the signal in this part of the park is what it is. The mess tent is the heart of the place: woven lamps overhead, deep sofas at one end, dining tables at the other, and canvas sides that roll up so you are looking at grassland while you eat. Meals are cooked fresh each day and the kitchen handles vegetarian, vegan and other requirements if you tell them in advance. When the weather allows, dinner moves outside to a table under the stars at no extra cost, which is unusual at this price.
Zawadi suits a traveller who wants the central Serengeti for its cats, wants a camp small enough that the staff learn their name, and would rather spend the difference on more days in the park than on a larger lodge. The Standard Tent takes up to three, so couples, solo travellers and a family of three all fit in one tent; larger families take two. It is not a place with a pool or a spa, and it does not pretend to be. The nearest airstrip is Seronera, about half an hour away by road, and the camp's rate does not include the transfer.
Signature experiences
When the weather holds, a table is carried out beyond the mess tent and laid for dinner in the open, lanterns on the ground and the Serengeti going quiet around you. It is included rather than sold as an extra.
The valley is twenty five kilometres south and is known for its big cats. Leaving camp at first light puts you among the kopjes while the lion are still moving and before the day vehicles arrive.
The camp is unfenced and the plain runs right up to the tents, so a morning coffee on your own veranda regularly turns into zebra, elephant or topi grazing a short way off.
Benches are set around an open fire a short walk from the mess tent, facing west. It is where most guests end up between coming back from the afternoon drive and sitting down to dinner.
Gallery
Room types
Canvas under a high peak with a hardwood floor, two beds made up as a double or a twin, and a private veranda onto the grass. The bathroom is en suite with a shower, hot running water and a flushing toilet. Solar lighting and sockets for charging. Sleeps up to three, and Zawadi publishes its own price for single use.
At a glance
Best time to visit
Best months: All year.
Location & access
Seronera Central Serengeti
About 3 hours in total. Roughly 45 minutes by road from Kilimanjaro International Airport to Arusha Airport, about 1 hour in a light aircraft to Seronera airstrip, then about 30 minutes by road from the airstrip to camp. Bush flights carry a soft bag limit of around 15 kg.
About 8 to 9 hours in total from Kilimanjaro International Airport. Roughly 1 hour from the airport to Arusha, then about 1 hour 45 minutes on to Mto wa Mbu and Lake Manyara, about 1 hour 45 minutes up through Karatu to the Lodoare gate, around 2 hours 30 minutes across the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Naabi Hill gate, then 1 to 1 hour 30 minutes into the central Serengeti and a final half hour north from Seronera to camp. The camp gives about 7 hours from Arusha.
On the map
2.276° S, 34.750° E
What's included
Frequently asked
Six guest tents. Each Standard Tent sleeps up to three people in a double or twin layout with an en suite bathroom. The camp also has a larger family tent of two interconnected rooms, which is not bookable through Savannah and Sands at the moment.
In the Kemarishe Hills in the central Serengeti, about twenty five kilometres north of Seronera and roughly two kilometres from the Orangi River. The camp is unfenced, so wildlife moves through it freely.
All year. Rates are published for every month and there are no closed periods, so you can stay in the long rains as well as in the dry season.
Most people fly to Seronera airstrip and drive about thirty minutes to camp. By road it is about seven hours from Arusha and eight to nine hours from Kilimanjaro International Airport, going through Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Yes. Children under five stay free sharing a tent with adults, and children from six to fifteen pay a published child rate. Children aged sixteen and over pay the adult rate. Children up to fifteen must share a tent with an adult, so the camp does not take a child in a tent of their own.
Full board, so dinner, bed, breakfast and lunch, with lunch either hot at the restaurant or packed as a picnic box. VAT is included. A bush dinner under the stars is laid on each day when the weather allows, at no extra cost.
Park entry and concession fees, the bed levy collected by the camp, drinks, transport and transfers, game drives and excursions run from the camp, laundry, tips and personal items. Tanzania also requires every visitor to hold inbound travel insurance, currently 44 US dollars per adult.
The central Serengeti holds resident big cats rather than seasonal ones, so lion are typically seen on most days and leopard and cheetah are a realistic chance rather than a certainty. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe, topi and hyena are around the camp through the year, and the migration herds pass through the area in most years.
No. Zawadi is a small camp built around game viewing and meals in the open, not around facilities. If a pool matters to you, a larger lodge in the Seronera area will suit you better.
Yes. Lighting is solar and there are sockets in each tent for charging phones, cameras and laptops. The camp offers WiFi in the tents, though connections anywhere in the central Serengeti can be slow or drop out.
The central Serengeti is the one part of the park worth visiting in any month, because its predators are resident rather than seasonal. July and August are the busiest and dearest. The quietest and cheapest months are November, March, April and May, which is also when the grass is greenest and the migration herds are often nearby.
What's nearby
About 25 km south, under an hour
Permanent water, kopjes and long grass, where lion, leopard and cheetah are resident rather than seasonal.
Near Seronera, about an hour
A bend in the Seronera river where hippo pack in close together and you can get out of the vehicle at the marked point.
South west of Seronera, a half day
Granite outcrops with Maasai rock paintings and a gong rock, and some of the better rhino country in the park.
Launch sites near Seronera, very early start
An hour aloft at first light with the licensed balloon operators in the park. Not run by the camp; you add it to your trip in the trip builder.
Nearby
The Seronera Central Serengeti guide: where to stay, when to go and how to get there.
View : Every lodge we work with in Seronera Central Serengeti
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