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A small, secluded and very comfortable tented camp in a concession area of the Greater Serengeti eco-system called Ikoma Wildlife Area. This camp is sometimes called Ikoma Safari Camp and is part of the Moivaro Lodges collection based in Arusha.
Serengeti Tented Camp is just 2 km from the official gate to the Serengeti National Park. Ikoma Wildlife Area covers 450 sq km and acts as a buffer zone to the park itself where animals are free to come and go. The camp has the concession for this area which means they can operate game drives and walks and they work closely with the local villages. Fort Ikoma is 17km to the west and is now the headquarters of Serengeti National Park.
The camp is small and comfortable with en-suite tents having hot and cold running water and flush toilets. Solar power provides electriciy and also the hot water. There is a traditional thatched grass dining room and bar area.
Game viewing by vehicle from Ikoma include drives in the northern Serengeti near Lobo, the Seronera River Valley and one of the nicest drives in the park, the western corridor circuit via Banagi, the Grumeti River, Kirawira and back to Ikoma.
Some of the more unusual animals in the region are nocturnal and from Ikoma as it is officially outside the national park, night drives are allowed. Species which you might see here include Aardvark, Ratel, Serval, Genet, Civet, African Wild Cat, African Porcupine and various Mongoose. There is an extra charge for night drives.
Another appeal of staying in a concession area such as Ikoma is that walks are allowed here and it is excellent wildlife country. Vegetation is mostly acacia woodland and grassland and you do not often see other people in this area. Longer walks overnight can be done to incorporate overnight stops in small basic bush camps.
Astronomy is great here. On clear nights from the camp you can use the telescope to see the planets and stars of the southern hemisphere including at times the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.
32km away is the Nyagoti Gold mine and an example of how gold used to be extracted here. There is abandoned machinery here dating to the early 19th century and a visit here can be combined with game viewing on the way.
The Ikoma people migrated to this region in the 19th century from eastern Serengeti. Low stone walls were built to keep out the Maasai and their cattle and these ruins can be seen but these days are no longer in use. The village has several traditional grass roofed huts. Again a visit to Robanda Village can be incorporated into game viewing.