Warangi Ridge

A Ridge Between Central and North

Warangi Ridge sits on a granite ridge in the north-central Serengeti, about 41 km (25 miles) northeast ofthe Seronera airstrip and 45 km from Fort Ikoma Gate. Like the Four Seasons and Mbuzi Mawe, it occupies the quiet country between the Seronera Valley and the Lobo hills, which gives it two advantages: a secluded setting well away from the busiest tracks, and easy reach of both the central big cat circuit and the northern woodlands. That position makes it an especially strong dry season choice. On our classic fly-in, drive-out itineraries the drive down from the Mara River camps is noticeably shorter than to a Seronera lodge, Lobo Valley is at its best from July through November and sits right onthe way, and the Seronera circuit remains an easy morning’s reach for the resident cats.

• Seronera in Under an Hour: The Seronera River, Retina Hippo Pool, and the Maasai Kopjes are a comfortable morning’s drive, and the road south passes through good game country the whole way.
• Lobo Within Reach: The Lobo Valley lies to the north, so a full day in the Big Cat Capital of the North is on the menu here when it would be a stretch from Seronera itself.
• Off the Beaten Path: The ridge is not on the main game-drive loops, which is exactly why lion, buffalo, elephant, and baboon treat the lodge grounds as their own. Guests should expect a drive to reach the densest sightings and plan on full days out with a picnic.
• Getting There: How you arrive depends on the season. On our dry season itineraries, guests fly into the Mara River area in the North Serengeti first and then drive south, so Warangi Ridge is reached by road through the Lobo hills, a shorter and more scenic transfer than continuing all the way to Seronera. On our green season itineraries, guests fly directly into the Seronera airstrip and transfer by road, about 41 km with game viewing along the way, before heading onto the eastern and southern Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater.

The lodge is unfenced. Buffalo and baboons at the plunge pool in the morning, a family of elephants spending the day beside the family suite, and three lion brothers on the ridge are all recent guest reports.

Big Cats to the South, Elephants to the North

Warangi Ridge gives you the central Serengeti’s famous predator country on one side and the quieter northern hills on the other, with several regions within a morning’s drive and three that make superb full days out.

• The Seronera Valley: The valley takes its name from the Maasai word for the bat-eared fox, but it is better known as the Big Cat Capital of Africa. Its perennial rivers keep a huge resident prey population in place through every month of the year, which in turn supports the densest and most diverse concentration of predators on the continent. A single day’s drive here can realistically produce lion, leopard, cheetah, and hyena, with serval, caracal, and jackal in the supporting cast. The landscape is the quintessential Serengeti: endless golden savanna broken by ribbons of riverine forest, umbrella acacias, and granite kopjes where lions sprawl in the sun. The migration pours through twice a year, north in May and June and south in November and December.
• The Seronera River: The largest of the four green fingers that wind across the valley floor, lined with yellow-barked fever trees and sausage trees, is widely considered the best place in Africa to see leopard. A long-term study recorded one leopard per ten square miles along this river, one of the highest densities ever documented, and because the trees along the banks are relatively sparse, spotting a tail twitching from a sausage tree branch is a daily event rather than a lucky one. The riverbanks also hold the largest and most stable lion prides in the park, including the Seronera, Maasai Kopjes, Makoma Hill, and Campsite prides, studied continuously since 1966 by the Serengeti Lion Project. Hippo, crocodile, waterbuck, and reedbuck live along the pools.
• Retina Hippo Pool: On the road between the lodge and Seronera, the Seronera and Orangi rivers converge in a deep, swirling basin that is the hippo headquarters of the Serengeti, with roughly 200 animals huddled together. It is one of the few places in the park where you can step out of the vehicle: a natural viewing bank ten feet above the water puts you a few yards from the pod, close enough to hear the squabbles and smell the pool. Nile crocodiles bask on the far shore, elephant families drink along the quieter stretch to the west, and the riverine forest is busy with baboons, grey crowned cranes, lilac-breasted rollers, and kingfishers.
• The Maasai Kopjes: Standing like sentinels at the eastern entrance to the valley, these towering stacks of two-billion-year-old granite are home base for the Maasai lion pride, one of the large stand most studied prides on Earth. The lionesses use the crests to survey the plains and the swamp below as an ambush site for prey coming to drink. The swamp on the south side is also the best place in the park to find the rare bohor reedbuck, and the rocks themselves teem with hyrax, mongoose, porcupine, and electric-blue agama lizards. Leopard and cheetah stage ambushes in the vicinity.
• Makoma Hill: The wooded hill on the western wall of the Seronera Valley is one of the top highlights of the central circuit. The Makoma Plain between the hill and the river is a natural bottleneck for game moving between wet and dry season ranges, and the Thatch Kopjes in its center are the den site of the Makoma lion pride, famous for lounging in plain view and ambushing buffalo herds of 100 or more in the tall grass. Makoma is one of only eight places in the southern Serengeti with a resident cheetah population, its hyena clans are legendary for their feud with the lions, and a hidden track behind the hill leads to one of the best private bush lunch viewpoints in the park.
• Lobo Valley (Full Day): North of the lodge, Lobo is the Big Cat Capital of the North Serengeti and the one place in the region where lion, leopard, and cheetah are regularly seen on a single drive.The Lobo pride is the second largest in the Serengeti at around 26 animals, often found draped across granite kopjes that rank among the oldest rock formations on Earth. Yellow-barked acacias along Lobo Springs are prime leopard country, and the valley holds the Serengeti’s largest concentration of elephants, including some notoriously short-tempered bulls. From Warangi Ridge, Lobo is a natural full day with a picnic lunch, and the route north through the hills and woodlands is excellent game country in its own right.
• Moru Kopjes (Full Day): Southwest of the valley, 45 square miles of smooth granite monuments and candelabra euphorbia trees rise out of golden grassland in what Kay Turner called the most beautiful scenery in the Serengeti. Moru is the park’s last stronghold of the black rhino, a population rebuilt from two survivors after a bull named Rajabu walked 70 miles from the Ngorongoro Crater to find them, and now numbering around 19 under round-the-clock protection. A short climb leads to the Maasai rock paintings and Gong Rock, a boulder that rings like a bell when struck. Lake Magadi draws flamingos and ambushing lions, elephants climb the kopjes, and in May the migration stalls here for the wildebeest rut. From Warangi Ridge this is along full day with an early start, best combined with the Seronera circuit on the way.
• Sametu Marsh and Kopjes (Full Day): East of the valley on the remote edge of the short-grassplains, Sametu is widely regarded as one of the top three highlights of the entire Serengeti, and few vehicles ever reach it. A cluster of granite island-kopjes rises from a flat sea of grass with a permanent spring-fed marsh at its feet, the only year-round water for miles and a magnet for cheetah, hartebeest, gazelle, and warthog. The kopjes are home to the Sametu pride, the largest lion pride in the Serengeti and the subject of Jeanette Hanby’s book Lions Share; the great-great-granddaughters of the original lionesses still hold the same rocks today. From Warangi Ridge, Sametu is a full day out with a picnic lunch, and in the green season the migration is often spread across the plains on the way.

In Camp

Buffalo grazing below the decks at breakfast, baboon troops at the plunge pools, a family of elephants parked beside the family suite for the day, and three lion brothers on the ridge are all recent guest reports. The spotting scope on every deck earns its place.

A Plunge Pool in Every Suite

Warangi Ridge has 15 insulated luxury tented suites strung along the ridge for privacy, each on its own timber platform with a private deck facing the plains.

• Luxury Tented Suites (13): King beds that convert to twin or triple on request, a lounge area, and an en-suite bathroom with a freestanding bathtub positioned for the view, an indoor shower, and an outdoor shower. A private plunge pool opens directly off the bedroom.
• Two-Bedroom Family Suite (1): Two full suites joined into one, with a shared living room, two bathrooms, and a plunge pool for each bedroom, for families and friends who want to stay together.
• In Every Suite: A fireplace for cool evenings, ceiling fans, a stocked minibar, Nespresso coffee machine, Dyson hairdryer, Lululemon yoga mat, Healing Earth bath products, a spotting scope on the deck, safe, desk, bathrobes, and complimentary WiFi

• All-Inclusive Dining: À la carte breakfasts, lunches, and five-course dinners with house wines, beers, spirits, and soft drinks included. Champagne and premium labels are extra. The kitchen handles teenagers, toddlers, and special diets with equal ease.
• Dining Decks Over the Rocks: Covered viewing decks cantilevered out over granite outcrops beside a cascading crevasse, with the option of private dinners on your own deck or at a secluded spot on the ridge.
• Infinity Rock Pool: A communal infinity pool set into the boulders below the main decks, reached by stairways from the lodge or from the tent paths.
• Bush Breakfasts and Sundowners: Breakfasts and lunches out on the plains, sundowner cocktails at a viewpoint, and campfire evenings with games and the staff.
• Wellness: In-suite massages and treatments, plus yoga and acupuncture sessions with a resident practitioner, at an additional cost.
• Gym: A fully equipped fitness room, included.
• Balloon Safaris: Hot air balloon flights over the central plains can be arranged, often at short notice.
• Family Friendly: Children welcome, with the two-bedroom suite, a kids’ club, and board games in the lounge.
• Practical Comforts: Complimentary WiFi and laundry, staff escorts between the suites and main areas after dark, and a manager who is visibly present throughout the day.
• Eco-Sensitive Build: Locally sourced materials and a footprint designed around the existing rocks and trees.