Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge was built with deep appreciation for the vast Lost World of the Ngorongoro Crater. It’s famous floor-to-ceiling windows face the setting sun (African sunsets being rivaled only by African sunrises for sheer spectacle). The Lodge sits on the rim’s highest point, looking 1,600 feet down to the 100 square-mile, animal-thronged caldera of the once-fiery, now sublimely peaceful, volcano. A great lodge, paying happy respect to one of the world’s greatest natural masterpieces.

Brightly flowered walkways lead to our double-bedded, fully amenitied rooms, furnished in traditional African motifs and wooden ceilings—and a memorable Sopa touch: a solarium from which to sip early morning coffee, gazing down at the awakening crater, into which we’ll soon wend for a game drive.

Ngorongoro Sopa’s public rooms are extraordinarily spacious, with an inviting lounge and lobby decorated with indigenous sculptures and carved wooden columns. The Lemala Hill Restaurant caters to all tastes and fancies, as does the aptly-named Crater View Bar—both of which feature those huge windows overlooking the great crater’s verdant floor.