The Highlands

The Highlands offers its guests an experience of the Ngorongoro Crater like no other. Combining ultra-luxury with low-impact, the Highlands is without a doubt the place to go to discover the wild and beautiful crater. Eight elegant domed suites, inspired by the local Masai bomas, offer guests king-sized beds with floor-to-canvas-ceiling bay windows, en-suite bathrooms with hot running water, showers and flushing toilets, and wood-burning stoves. Perched high on the slopes of the Olmoti Volcano, guests can enjoy awe-inspiring views of the Gol Mountains in the northwest, the Empakaai Crater in the east and all the way to the Olmoti crater in the west. The Ngorongoro Crater – a 45 minute drive from the Highlands – is one of the most iconic natural wonders of the world. Believed to have once been a contender of Mount Kilimanjaro as the highest peak in Africa, its dome collapsed in on itself a little over 2. 5 million years ago resulting in the gigantic caldera; the largest un-flooded and intact caldera in the world. As a result of its mineral rich soil, the crater overflows with wildlife year-round. Indeed, the park is one of the most densely crowded wildlife areas in the world – home to an estimated 30,000 animals. Year round the crater is teeming with wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, hyenas, lion, warthog, hippo, giant elephants and a small population of black rhino. Although outstanding, the crater is not the only draw to this beautiful area. The Highlands offer a range of activities that most other lodges do not, enabling the guest to experience the area in all its glory. Other than the Ngorongoro descent and spectacular game drives, activities include the Olmoti climb and the Empakai descent. The Olmoti climb follows an ancient Masai cattle trail through mountain forest, grasslands and rocky outcrops. Along the way you will be able to enjoy the vast array of butterflies and birds. The camps proximity to the Empakai Crater allows you to take the exclusive half day excursion down into the crater to the glistening soda lake on the crater floor covered with pink flamingoes that crowd along its shore.