Located on a hill just back from the Crater rim, Lemala Osonjoi is named for the trees that characterize the area. Osonjoi trees have both symbolic and medicinal significance for the Maasai.

The lodge features 16 suites and two 2-bedroom suites for families. All suites are spacious and furnished in a modern and fresh design. All rooms have a large king-size bed or twin beds, a lounge with a small balcony and a cosy alcove with daybeds, plus a bathroom with double sinks, indoor shower and a freestanding bathtub.

To reach the main building, guests follow a path that winds through dense rainforest. The main hub compromises two dining areas, various lounges and an outdoor terrace with fire pit. Further down the hill, in a separate building, an indoor pool offers a refreshing dip in the heated water after a long day out.

Lemala Osonjoi is located on the eastern rim of the crater near the quieter Lemala access route. Early risers have the advantage that the route offers very fast access to the crater and guests of the Lemala Osonjoi are often the first in the crater.

The Ngorongoro Crater is the world's largest inactive, intact, and unfilled volcanic caldera with 19km in diameter and walls 600m high. Its floor covers 260 square kilometres and acts like a natural zoo, providing food for a high resident animal population.

The mineral-rich crater floor is covered with nutritious grass and attracts large herds of animals. Up to 25'000 mammals, primarily herbivores can be found at any one time in the Ngorongoro Crater. The list includes wildebeest, eland, hartebeest, zebra, gazelle, buffalo, rhinos and warthog. Moors and forests provide food for hippo, elephant, baboon, waterbuck and bushbuck. Big cat such as lion, cheetah, leopard and serval find rich pickings here. Large packs of hyena also roam the crater, hunting or pinching the prey of other predators.

Activities for most guests will of course be focused around game drives in the Ngorongoro Crater itself, usually departing early in the morning to spend the day exploring the crater floor.

While game drives in the crater are the main reason to stay here, for those with a little more time guided walks can be arranged, as can longer hikes in the nieghbouring Olmoti Crater or Empakaai Crater.

SwissAfrican Travel Service
Dammstrasse 27
8702 Zollikon
Zurich, Switzerland


Telephone: +41 (0)44 451 40 51