Elewana Tarangire Treetops

Tarangire Treetops sits inside a three-hundred-and-twelve-square-kilometre community wildlife area on the border of Tarangire National Park, on the route of an annual elephant migration. The lodge holds twenty suites, each raised above the ground and built among baobab and marula trees, with open-fronted rooms and private balconies that look out across the Tarangire plains. Each suite is sixty-five square metres with a double-shower en-suite bathroom — among the larger safari rooms in Tanzania.

The main lodge is built around a thousand-year-old baobab tree. The dining area, lounge, and reception face a swimming pool and a waterhole where wildlife comes to drink; you can watch from the table without leaving the building. Dining options include candlelit poolside meals and lantern-lit dinners in a traditional boma accompanied by Maasai chants.

Because the lodge sits within the Randilen Wildlife Management Area rather than inside the national park itself, guests can do night game drives — something the national park does not permit. Day game drives, two- and four-hour guided walking safaris, bush breakfasts with views over the plains, and a bush sundowner on Sunset Hill are all available. A Maasai boma visit offers a look at a traditional circular village enclosed by acacia thorns.

The lodge is one of the principal contributors to conservation work in the Randilen Wildlife Management Area, including projects that manage conflict between local farmers and elephants.