GUIDE ON NGORONGORO SOPA LODGE IN TANZANIA

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For the spectacular view alone, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge would be an enviable home base for a vacation in Tanzania. Set alone, high on the eastern rim of Ngorongoro Crater UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge caters for cost-conscious explorers for whom rich wildlife, beautiful surroundings and a view from the crater rim are more important than luxurious living or a tented experience. But Sopa Lodge offers unusual standards of design and convenience for AfricanMecca guests.



Steeply rising terraces of thatched rondavels are accessed by stepped walks between walled flower beds in a landscaped setting against a backdrop of rain forest, inhabited by a wide variety of African fauna in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Here, native Maasai herdsmen lead their cattle to graze in a balanced ecosystem designed for the sustainable co-habitation of pastoralists, indigenous animals and the tourists whose desire for a wilderness experience on an African holiday makes it all possible.

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge sits almost 7500 feet above sea level and 2,000 feet above the floor of a ten-mile wide collapsed volcanic cauldron where a plethora of magnificent animals live in a balanced microcosm of varied habitats: deceptively harmless-looking hippopotamus wallow in the marshes; massive horned buffalo wander by the swamp and plains, reclusive leopard and inquisitive monkeys inhabit the fever-tree forests and stilt-legged pink flamingos pose in the central lake. The vast plains are home to wildebeest, buxom zebra, and graceful eland and gazelle, trailed by expectant prides of lion, heavy-bellied cheetah and slinking hyena, iconic wildlife images of a safari in Africa.

Accommodation At Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge split-level reception area and lobby are vast and colorful with a high, domed ceiling, wide bay windows and a magnificent view. There is a gift shop, internet cafe, bar, TV lounge and canopied verandah overlooking a large, unheated outdoor swimming pool. Swimming can be a breathless effort at this altitude. 97 spacious en-suite rooms accommodate 376 maximum numbers of guests on tour in Tanzania staying at the lodge.



Most have excellent views of the Ngorongoro Crater from cane rocking chairs on glassed-in balconies. Because it can be quite cool at this altitude, central heating and wall-to wall carpeting are standard. No mosquito nets are necessary due to the high altitude and coolness. All 91 double rooms have two queen beds (maximum 4 AfricanMecca guests) with curtained dressing area, and en-suite bathroom with hand basin, WC, bidet and shower.

The room also has a writing desk, fridge with bottled water and mini-safe. A mini-bar, hairdryer, laundry and baby-sitting services are available on request. Complimentary bath sundries include tissues, soap, shower gel and shower hat. Hot water pumped and heated from local springs and a borehole, is only provided between 5 and 8 o’clock morning and evening. The lodge has three generators. Power is limited, so candle-lit dining is complemented. Families on safari and independent groups are very welcomed and the norms of independent travelers and couples.

Safari At Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Game viewing drives are timed for 6 hours for early morning or afternoon departures, descending to the crater floor in specially adapted 4 x 4 vehicles with pop-up roofs for unobstructed views. You will need a warm jacket for your Ngorongoro Crater trip. Using a private access path, you will be there before the crowds arrive from the other lodge in and around the crater allowing for a great early start to your Tanzanian safari.



Your AfricanMecca guide will rely on his knowledge of the Ngorongoro and experience in the Tanzania parks, as well as discretionary radio communication with other guides to share and track the most interesting wildlife sightings. As you cross the wide, grassy plains, you may overtake a lumbering old elephant carrying massive ivory.

Or you may spot some of the famous black-maned Tokitok lions, members of lion prides in the crater. As a highlight of your Ngorongoro Crater Sopa tour, you may be able to sight the black rhino that are protected from threatened extinction by strict anti-poaching surveillance. Another day, you could visit Ol Doinyo Lengai ("Mountain of God"), a neighboring live volcano -- Paramount Pictures had shot an excellent volcano footage with Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raiders II by.



After your Ngorongoro safari on the way to Serengeti, you can visit the birthplace of the ancestors of modern man at Olduvai Gorge, or the villages of the red-robed Maasai who continue their age-old way of life in the 21st century. You will take back more than dramatic memories from your vacation in Tanzania. You will take back a whole new awareness of what really matters to you.

Dining At Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

You may not enjoy an attentive personal butler and a la carte cuisine, but nowhere else in the world can you drink in the spectacle of sunrise over the Ngorongoro Crater as clouds gather and spill over the rim like an avalanche while the sky behind shades slowly from gray, to rosy pink and then to new-washed blue.

Nowhere else on tour in Africa can you see the play of shafts of sunlight through gray storm cloud and watch the rain fall, like distant mist, from silver-edged banks of swirling candy floss that race across the crater as you sip your welcoming fruit juice on arrival and wipe your dusty face on a cooling towel. On this part of your travel in Africa, breakfast can be taken in the amazing red restaurant, its walls painted with larger-than-life flamingos.



The wooden ceiling and carved wooden pillars complement elegant wooden chairs and large tables with colorful settings. Packed lunch meals are available to take on a late morning game-viewing Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge Safari with AfricanMecca. For the early morning starters, buffet lunches are available if you prefer to return to the lodge after your 6 hour crater floor game drive; afternoon tea with biscuits, scones, jam, and cream is served in the lobby area.

If you decide to take tea on the verandah, you will have to watch that the monkeys don’t help themselves. Dozens of noisy swifts dart overhead and kites can be seen gliding above the crater rim. A served dinner is available in the evenings followed by ethnic dancing and singing on certain days. Savory snacks are available in the Crater Bar where a central fireplace ensures cosy comfort on cool evenings.

Related Pages

1. Ngorongoro Crater Safari Park Guide	2. Best Time & Weather To Visit Ngorongoro Crater
3. Ngorongoro Crater Map	4. Safari Lodges, Camps & Hotels In Ngorongoro Crater