Mara Mara Tented Lodge

A Hilltop in Kogatende

Mara Mara sits on high ground in the Kogatende area of the Northern Serengeti, about 30 minutes from the Kogatende airstrip and roughly 45 minutes from the main Mara River crossing points. The elevation is the trade-off: you are a little further from the river than the camps pitched on its banks, but in exchange you get wide views, cooler evenings, and plains game grazing right through the property.

• The Crossing Zone: The Kogatende stretch of the Mara holds most of the well-known crossing points on the Tanzanian side. Your guide can set out early with a picnic lunch and spend the whole day along the river when the herds are building up on the banks.
• A Hub for the Whole North: The Lamai Triangle lies across the river, the Wogakuria kopjes and plains are close to the south, and Bologonja Springs is an easy excursion to the east.
• Fewer Vehicles: Roughly 30 miles of the Mara River lie inside the Serengeti. The Kenyan side of the border often sees heavy traffic, while the Tanzanian bank remains comparatively quiet.
• Fly In or Drive In: Most guests fly into Kogatende on a scheduled charter. Driving in from the Central Serengeti via Lobo Valley is a full and rewarding game drive in its own right.

The lodge is unfenced and open year-round. During the dry season the migration often settles on the grassland around the property, and guests regularly watch wildebeest, zebra, impala, and giraffe from their own terrace.

The Dry Season North

Mara Mara is a base for the Serengeti’s most dramatic dry season game viewing, with four distinct regions within reach and a fifth on the drive in or out.

• The Mara River: From July through November the migration’s most dangerous moment plays out here, as hundreds of thousands of wildebeest and zebra gather on the banks and eventually plunge across in a churning mass. Nile crocodiles, the largest in the world, lie in wait and feed only once or twice a year during these crossings. A mile or so east of Kogatende the river forms an oxbow where pods of 50 or more hippos huddle together. Lion and leopard are common along the river but tend to be more secretive here than in the central Serengeti. The Mara is also one of the few places in the park where walking is permitted under the protection of an armed ranger, so you can step onto the sandbanks to photograph the hippos at eye level.
• The Lamai Triangle: Across the river lies a 300-square-mile wedge of rolling red oat grassland between the Mara and the Kenyan border. Research by the Serengeti Research Institute suggests only 15 to 35 percent of the wildebeest actually cross into Kenya in the dry season; the rest spend those months here, which means Masai Mara scale game viewing without the Masai Mara crowds. Lamai is arguably the best place in East Africa to see the giant eland, a 2,000-pound antelope that can still clear a 10-foot fence from a standstill, alongside resident ostrich, topi, buffalo, elephant, and giraffe. The lions and cheetahs are well fed and relaxed after months of following the herds.
• Wogakuria: Between the lodge and the river the acacia woodland gives way to broad-leafed Terminalia forest and then opens onto rolling plains studded with 300-foot granite kopjes. This is the cheetah stronghold of the north, with open ground to run on and fewer lions and hyenas to compete with. Wogakuria is also home to Tanzania’s only population of the oribi, a 30-pound dwarf antelope recorded here in the highest density in Africa, and the kopjes are the place to watch klipspringer bounding between boulders. Leopard sightings are consistent, and old bachelor buffalo bulls favor the area.
• Bologonja Springs: To the east, a clear, cool stream rises out of the ground and winds through a vine-hung pocket of forest before joining the Mara. The springs draw species rarely seen on the open plains, including mountain reedbuck, bushbuck, and the little steenbok with its black-smudged nose, and the forest is a birder’s favorite for kingfishers, hoopoes, rollers, and crowned cranes. A few miles downstream, the Larelemangi salt lick is a 1.5-acre patch of bare, wet earth that pulls in buffalo herds sometimes numbering over 1,000, along with elephant.
• Lobo Valley (Full Day or En Route): 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. From Mara Mara, Lobo makes an excellent full-day excursion with a picnic lunch, and it is the route we normally take when game driving between the lodge and your camp in the Central Serengeti, so the transfer day becomes one of the best game drives of the trip.

In Camp

Wildebeest and zebra grazing in front of the tents, impala and giraffe wandering between the decks, and the sound of the herds moving through camp at night are the signature Mara Mara experience during the migration months. Light sleepers should pack earplugs; everyone else calls it magic.

Tents on the Deck, Views on the Plains

Mara Mara has 20 tents and 4 bungalows across its two camps, all en suite and all facing the grassland. Each tent is built on a raised timber platform with a private terrace, and the interiors follow the bright, modern African style of the main house.

• Standard Tents: A king bed or two singles, with room for a third guest. The bathroom has a bathtub and an outdoor shower with hot water, a highlight for nearly every guest.
• Family Tents: Two interconnected tents sharing one deck, sleeping four to five, so parents and children have separate rooms and bathrooms with a private connection between them.
• Bungalow Rooms: Two interconnected rooms under a solid roof, also sleeping four to five, for families who prefer walls to canvas.
• In Every Room: Mosquito nets, a fan, tea and coffee tray, mineral water, internal phone, bathrobes, 24-hour electricity, and WiFi.

• House Drinks Included: Local beer, house wine, house spirits, and soft drinks are included in the rate, served at the bar, at happy hour by the fire, and with meals. Premium labels are available at an extra charge.
• Two Pools: Each camp has its own infinity-edge swimming pool looking out over the plains, with giraffe and zebra often grazing below.
• Family-Style Dining: The partly open-air restaurant serves generous family-style meals, and the kitchen is practiced at gluten-free, dairy-free, and other dietary needs. Weather permitting, dinner moves outside under the stars.
• Sundowners and Campfire: A firepit is lit every evening with drinks and appetizers at sunset, and private sundowners can be set up out on the plains.
• View Deck and Lounges: The main house holds comfortable lounges and a view deck for sunrise coffee and sunset photography.
• Picnic Lunches: Well-stocked picnic meals for full days along the Mara River.
• Massage: An in-camp massage therapist is available on request.
• Practical Comforts: WiFi, 24-hour electricity, same-day laundry service, welcome drinks on arrival, credit cards accepted, and staff escorts to and from the tents after dark.
• Open All Year: One of the northern lodges that stays open through the green season.
• Eco-Friendly and Accessible: Designed with a light footprint, and set up to accommodate travelers with special needs.