• Wildlife Sanctuary - often described as the 8th Wonder of the World, the Ngorongoro Crater is a natural sanctuary for over 25,000 animals, including black rhino.

• Where Life Began - visit Olduvai Gorge, the 'Cradle of Mankind', where the remains of our earliest ancestors, the hominids, were found.

• Room With A View - your private balcony overlooking the crater ensures leisurely game viewing experience from the privacy of your own room.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge is built into the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, which allows the plant and ivy-covered native stone to blend with its surroundings. Today the volcanic crater is part of a vast conservation area inhabited by the Maasai tribe.

The lodge, close to some of the earliest dwellings of man in Olduvai Gorge, has taken their cave paintings as inspiration. The interiors are filled with wooden furniture and African artefacts, and prehistoric-style frescoes of running wildlife decorate the walls. The boulder-built buildings are linked by rope-lashed timber walkways.

You can choose to spot the area's big game and birdlife on a drive around the crater floor or a guided hike around the crater, across the Serengeti Plains or amongst the volcanoes (some of them active) of the Crater Highlands. All tours have an armed escort and Maasai guide and to keep your hunger at bay, picnics, snacks or sundowners are included.

If you're interested in historical and cultural tourism there are a number of interesting day trips available. You can visit Olduvai Gorge, the site of one of the most important and controversial Palaeolithic finds in recent history. Alternatively, you may choose to go to a selection of authentic Maasai villages which include unique visits to Maasai homesteads, traditional cattle markets and women's handicraft groups. At the end of an action-filled day you can relax with an herbal massage at Serena or browse the lodge's library of books on Africa.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge is built high on the south-western rim of Ngorongoro Crater in a vast conservation area in Tanzania.

• A La Carte Restaurant
• Air-Conditioning
• Balcony
• Bar Facility
• Curio Shop
• Fireplace
• Hair/Beauty Salon

The Maasai-inspired, split-level dining and bar area features a 2-tier wall of windows so while enjoying your meal you can look down onto the constantly changing vistas of the crater below. The atmosphere is relaxed and candle-lit whilst the menu choices include traditional Maasai fare, as well as international cuisine.

The lodge provides you with many opportunities to dine al fresco; from a full safari breakfast under an Acacia grove to a barbecue lunch by a hippo-filled pool. Sunset is a magical time of day and sudowners high on the Caldera Rim is an experience not to be missed.

Ngorongoro Serena Lodge has 75 rooms, each with its own rock-enclosed balcony with views of the crater floor. The rooms are decorated with brass lamps, embossed leather headboards, wildwood mirrors and Maasai carvings. All rooms are centrally heated and have en-suite shower facilities.

• Select Currency: EURGBPZARUSD †
• 1 June 2008 - 2 January 2009
  
  From € 177 £ 141 R 2230 $ 275 per person sharing

† All prices are accurate but you may find that the final rates in your quotation vary slightly due to room type, seasonality and currency conversion.