Kambi ya Tembo Lodge in Tanzania

Located on the northwest foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro, Kambi ya Tembo is within the Sinya Reserve, a Masai controlled area that extends north to the Amboseli Reserve in Kenya. It is a delightful tented camp operated by Tanganyika Wilderness Camps, very well managed by Sylvester and his excellent staff.

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Oh what a delight this camp is. Not only fantastic scenery (Mt Kilimanjaro directly in front of our tent), but lovely lovely staff and enough food for one, which would feed a family, at each sitting.

We stayed here for two nights whilst on our safari, the road to the camp was non existant due to the rains but when we got there it was worth the drive.

The tents were large with excellent en-suite showers and toilets with plenty of hot water supplied by the solar panels.

It was very dry whilst we were there so the game drives were dusty and there was not a large amount of game.

The dining area is semi open so if it is windy try to get a table away from the entrance.

Food was good and the staff were friendly and they were keen to let us know that we were all inclusive and we could drink as much as we liked (this is the only time we have had all inclusive on any of the 4 trips to Tanzania) On the whole a very enjoyable visit

We also had the luck to see Kilimanjaro for a short time when the cloud covering cleared from the summit

Game drives saw many large corps of giraffe, one with over two dozen members. Gerenuk, zebra and gazelle were also seen.

The area is known for large bull elephants; though we saw much fresh track we never didn’t see any elephant at all.

The Masai made this experience truly unique, much better than any other cultural interaction that came later. It was surprising to see how many boma were here and the number of cattle, goats and donkeys grazing in the area.

Kambi ya Tembo is a great place to start a Safari: Good introduction to the animals, good food, comfortable accommodations, friendly staff, time to rest from jet lag, and time to take in the experience of Tanzania.

We recommend a couple of nights here, but only at the beginning of a safari that has a larger number of days.

We think there are too few animals (and mostly the same as other locations/parks) and it is too far away if you have limited time or are thinking of ending your Safari here