Traveler with a backpack watching giraffes among acacia trees in the Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge

Explore Tanzania

Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge

Map of the Eastern Serengeti showing Eastern Serengeti Nyumba Camp, the Nature Refuge, Wasso and Loliondo

Welcome to the Eastern Serengeti

Bordering the Serengeti to the west and Lake Natron to the east, the Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge offers a personalized experience of the region’s best wildlife and landscapes. This private 10,000-acre area is a remarkable example of the importance of ecological conservation—and it’s exclusively available to Thomson guests.

Experience the Reserve

Destination Highlights

  • Walking Safaris

    Explore on foot for a rare, ground-level perspective of the Serengeti ecosystem—an opportunity few travelers ever get. Track wildlife, observe animal behavior up close, and learn from expert naturalist guides.

  • Maasai Community Visits

    Engage with a local Maasai community, where you can visit a market run by the Enjipai Women’s Group and enjoy storytelling sessions.

  • Night Wildlife Drives

    Experience the unique nocturnal behavior of wildlife, including sightings of bat-eared foxes, aardvarks, and bush babies, on night wildlife drives.

Walking Safaris with Thomson Safaris

Smiling Maasai man in a red shuka as warriors behind him perform a jumping dance

Meet the Maasai Community

Neighboring the refuge is an authentic Maasai community where residents welcome genuine cultural interactions. Maasai elder Nekaaki Kioki, a grandmother and storyteller, shares folktales by the campfire, while entrepreneurs from the Enjipai Women’s Group discuss their beaded craftwork and community life.

Thomson’s sister nonprofit, Focus on Tanzanian Communities (FOTZC), has completed several community-requested projects, including schools, teachers’ housing, and a medical dispensary. The Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge offers accessible and meaningful connections to the local people, landscapes, and wildlife.

  • Group of smiling Maasai women in colorful shukas and beaded jewelry, Eastern Serengeti
  • Ostriches displaying their feathers in the grassland of the Eastern Serengeti Nature Refuge
  • Giraffe splaying its front legs to drink from a waterhole
  • Many giraffes and wildebeest on green grassland in the Eastern Serengeti
  • Maasai men in red and blue shukas holding walking sticks during a dance
  • Wildebeest and a giraffe gathered at a waterhole in dry bush
  • Small group on a walking safari across green grassland under acacia trees
  • Two helmeted guineafowl at the edge of a waterhole in the Eastern Serengeti

Photo 1 of 8

Canvas guest tent on a stone base surrounded by bush

Where You’ll Stay - Nyumba Camp

Double bed with red blanket and patterned pillows inside a Nyumba tent

Your camp sits on the slope of Moruga Hill with views of grazing wildlife during the day and fiery sunsets in the evening. Enjoy top-notch service from the camp staff, delicious meals in the dining tent, and comfortable amenities in your tent. Sit back with a cocktail or a book in the lounge tent, by the campfire, or on the verandah of your Nyumba tent.

Learn More

Safaris in the Eastern Serengeti