Tarangire Sopa Lodge sits low among kopjes, baobabs and long grasses, built to blend into the park around it. Your first glimpse comes as you crest a rise on the drive in, with the lodge suddenly spread out just below.
Step inside and the scale takes over. The cool lobby has polished marble floors, hand-woven carpets and a soaring roof, and a perfumed towel and chilled drink are waiting. A few steps up, the lounge and bar look out through floor-to-ceiling windows onto a terrace made for sundowners.
Meals follow the day around the lodge. Breakfast is on the long terrace overlooking the plains. Lunch is served beside the pool, next to a dry riverbed that fills during the rains. Every other night, dinner moves out onto the patio under the stars. In between, the coffee shop pours Tanzanian highland coffee with freshly baked pastries.
ACCOMMODATION
Rooms fan out on either side of the main building, each one round with a tall conical roof. You step first into a private lounge with a minibar, then through to a bedroom with two queen-size beds under mosquito nets and a roomy bathroom. A sheltered veranda looks out over the bush. The lodge is unfenced, so the odd elephant may wander past, and a guard will walk you to and from your room after dark. Interconnecting rooms suit families, and there are wheelchair-accessible rooms too.
Tarangire Sopa Lodge lies inside Tarangire National Park, 129 kilometres from Arusha. The drive takes around two and a half hours. Alternatively, a 20-minute flight from Arusha Airport lands at Kuro Airstrip, followed by a one-hour transfer. The lodge is tucked among kopjes and ancient baobabs, with views across tree-studded grassland. The park’s permanent river draws big herds of elephant, and its swamps and woodlands are rich in birdlife. The lodge is unfenced, so wildlife moves freely through the grounds.
Speak to a specialist for availability and pricing.
