Elewana Tarangire Treetops

Treetops offers 20 suites raised up on wooden decking and sheltered by rustic thatched roofs to help immerse you in that treehouse feel! From there you’ll have access to truly special views of the plains, the much-visited waterhole and the animal trail in front of the lodge as well as both the sunrise and sunset. Each suite has a double bed, en suite bathrooms, a table and chairs, a safe for personal belongings and an extensive viewing balcony.

The chefs are Treetops serve menus designed to creatively blend international and traditional East African cuisines. Guests can have their meals served in the open-plan dining area or on the outside decking where they can enjoy views of the waterhole. There is also the option to dine in an outdoor Maasai boma amidst hanging lanterns and the glow of a bonfire, accompanied by traditional Maasai music and dance.

Journey to the heart of one of Africa’s most pristine and remote plains of wilderness for unmatched experiences in connecting with nature and witnessing the magnificent wildlife up close. While staying at Treetops, you’ll have excellent chances to see an array of animals – zebra, elephant, tree-climbing lions, olive baboons, wildebeest and more. For a fully rounded safari experience, night-time drives are also available so you can see how the bush is still bustling with life even after the sun goes down.

Walking the same ground as the animals of the Tarangire is an incredible way to take safari to a far more intimate level. Once you slow down your eyes will be opened to all these new things you hadn’t noticed before. Your expert guide will be there to explain things that you wouldn’t be able to appreciate on a game drive, like wildlife tracks, the role of smaller animals and smaller plants, and different features of the landscape.

In keeping with Elewana’s close relationship with local communities, guests staying at Treetops are invited to visit one of the nearby Maasai villages on an unforgettable cultural tour. You’ll have the chance to meet and get to know some of the locals, see how they live their day-to-day lives and learn about their vibrant culture.

With so many picturesque sites at your door how could you pass up the chance to enjoy a bush meal or sundowners? Picnic lunches can easily be packed up for you to take on your game drives and it’s no trouble to arrange a dinner under the open sky, so you can enjoy some delicious food surrounded by the Tanzanian wilderness. Then at the end of the day you can head out to a beautiful secluded spot with your favourite drink in hand as you bathe in the glow of the sunset.

Elewana is a steadfast partner and supporter of the Land and Life Foundation, a charity committed to supporting local people and preserving wildlife and their habitats. Because Elewana covers 100% of their operational costs, all donations can go straight towards their amazing projects. The Foundation focuses on 4 types of programs to achieve its goals: the Wildlife Warrior Program, nature conservation, medical support and education support.

The Wildlife Warriors Program was designed for the purposes of sharing conservational knowledge between generations, encouraging innovative thinking and proactivity in wildlife conservation. It’s the ultimate aim to take the most talented children through to tertiary levels of education so they can become the top conservationists of the next generation. Across Tanzania and Kenya there are already over 2000 children as part of this program, and around 40 have been awarded scholarships that will take them all the way through their primary and secondary education.

Elewana is committed to its responsibility of nature conservation, with focus on protecting areas that fall outside of national parks and reserves. The Land and Life Foundation is working on a large scale project to mitigate conflict between human and elephant populations – elephants will often leave protected reserves and raid the crops of nearby villages, which in turn causes retaliation from the farmers who are losing their livelihoods. For this reason there are programs designed to negate these hostilities by protecting farming lands and providing safe deterrents to ward away the elephants without harming them before they can damage crops.

The Land and Life Foundation works to ensure local communities in Laikipia and the Maasai Mara have access to quality healthcare. They have been supporting the Aitong Health Centre in the Maasai Mara for 8 years through providing medical supplies and hold free clinics, and in 2018 they partnered with Ewaso Dispensary in Laikipia. So far, 4,520 patients have been treated free of charge and donated vast sums of medical treatments/equipment including:

• Antibiotics, antihistamines and multivitamins
• Hormonal contraceptives and pregnancy tests
• Blood pressure machines and cuffs
• Syringes and needles
• Oxygen pumps and gauges
• First-aid kits

Land and Life Foundation supports a number of schools in key conservation areas across Tanzania and Kenya as they understand the need of ensuring that communities in these areas can actively benefit from tourism. One of the schools they support is Ganko Primary School in Tanzania. It currently has 510 pupils and the Foundation is helping the school progress towards getting what it needs to grow and optimise the education it can provide.

Elewana has banned plastic bottles at their camps and lodges and provides each new guest with a reusable aluminium bottle that can be filled up at the properties. ‘Historically, when reusable bottles were introduced to six of Elewana’s camps in Kenya, this was shown to prevent over 160’000 non-biodegradable plastic bottles a year from ending up in landfills. At the beginning of 2019, we were the first in East Africa to eliminate the use of plastic straws. We now offer biodegradable paper straws and encourage guests to go to ‘War with the straw’.

Elewana’s camps and lodges also employ recycling systems to reduce waste. For instance, glass is sent to the Shanga workshop in Arusha, where disadvantaged Tanzanians are able to use the glass for creating artwork and jewellery.