Grumeti Reserves · Western Serengeti, Tanzania
Track the wildebeest migration from horseback in ultimate luxury
Singita Sasakwa, an Edwardian country-house lodge reimagined in the African bush within the private 350,000-acre Grumeti Concession, western Serengeti. Nine individual stone cottages, a wine cellar to rival Cape Town's best, and its own equestrian centre offering dawn horseback rides through the reserve, alongside tennis and croquet. The private concession shares a boundary with Serengeti National Park but has no other safari vehicles and its own wildlife management and anti-poaching programme. The migration passes through Grumeti typically in June.
Riders' ability is tested on arrival. You should be able to control a horse at all paces in open country, including cantering and galloping to move around game, and be comfortable riding up to about five hours a day. Not for beginners.
A stable of well-schooled safari horses at the lodge's own equestrian centre; ability is matched carefully and tested before riding out.
Riding here is woven into a stay at Singita Sasakwa, an Edwardian-style lodge in the bush. Mornings begin with a ride out across the plains before the heat, with relaxed afternoons back at the lodge, or game drives, tennis and croquet. The concession borders the Serengeti National Park but sees no other vehicles, so the riding is genuinely private.
Singita Sasakwa Lodge: nine individual stone cottages with pools and views over the plains, and one of the finest wine cellars in Africa.
All meals and most drinks included, to a very high standard.
Best months: June to October
The migration typically passes through Grumeti around June; the reserve rides year-round, with the drier months best for game.
Nearest airport: Kilimanjaro (JRO) or Arusha, then a light aircraft to the Sasakwa airstrip
Transfers: Fly to the Sasakwa airstrip in the reserve, about one hour from Arusha and one and a quarter hours from Kilimanjaro, then a short drive to the lodge
Fly to Kilimanjaro or Arusha, then a scheduled light aircraft to the Grumeti reserve.
