Ol Tukai Lodge

Highlights

• Set at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro inside Amboseli National Park
• Renowned as one of the best places in the world to watch elephants
• 80 chalet-style rooms with uninterrupted views of the wetlands or Kilimanjaro
• Twice-daily game drives plus night drives accompanied by a park warden
• Maasai village visits, bird walks and bush or gala dinners as signature experiences

You Should Know

• Children under 3 stay free
• Children aged 3 to 11 sharing with parents pay 50% of the accommodation rate, or 70% on the ground package
• Park fees are not included in any published rate
• Christmas supplements apply with a minimum 3-night stay over the festive period
• Two rooms are adapted to EU standards for guests with reduced mobility

The Details

Location

Ol Tukai Lodge sits at the centre of Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya, on a 4,000 acre concession with Mount Kilimanjaro rising directly to the south across the border in Tanzania. The lodge stands on the original setup built for the 1948 film crew that shot The Snows of Kilimanjaro with Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Susan Hayward, and it opened to guests in 1996.

Amboseli is best known for its elephant herds, which gather in large numbers along the swamps fed by underground springs from Kilimanjaro's snowmelt. The wider park is home to lion, cheetah, buffalo, spotted hyena, wildebeest, zebra and around 400 bird species.

Rooms

Accommodation is in 80 chalet-style twin rooms, each with a private bathroom, individual terrace, fan, safe and tea and coffee facilities. Every room looks out over either the Amboseli wetlands or Mount Kilimanjaro. Two rooms are designed to EU accessibility standards for physically challenged guests.

Dining

The main restaurant features a sisal tapestry depicting the Maasai people and opens onto a garden veranda where lunch is usually served, with elephants and other game often grazing close to the boundary. The Elephant Bar sits between the lounge and dining room, with a roof-level deck looking across the marshlands to Kilimanjaro, and the pool bar serves snacks and drinks between meals.

Signature dining experiences include bush or gala dinners under the stars and champagne breakfasts at Observation Hill, the only high point in the park.

Activities

Twice-daily game drives in Amboseli focus on the park's renowned elephant population and the predators that follow the migrating herds along the swamps. Night drives run in two slots between 19h00 and 23h00, accompanied by a park warden and an experienced guide.

Beyond game viewing, guests can visit a Maasai village, walk with a guide to look for some of the 400 recorded bird species, or tour the long-running Amboseli elephant research project. The lodge also has a swimming pool, a spa offering massages, and a small gift shop and clinic on site.

Price Includes

• Accommodation on full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
• Children under 3 years stay free of charge
• Children aged 3 to 11 sharing with parents pay 50% of the accommodation rate
• Park fees are charged separately