Entamanu

Entamanu sits on an extraordinary site in the sharp air of the highlands and there’s nothing tame about this location – the high-altitude sun has some real heat, and the wind can be biting and sometimes noisy. We’ve taken up the challenge to create a camp that makes the most of the extraordinary view while providing warmth and shelter from the elements, while being entirely removable.

The Crater itself takes on a life of its own when it comes to weather patterns. With an altitudinal range of 960m to 3,648m, its climatic zones range from semi-arid to montane forest, and there is often a remarkable difference between the conditions on either side of the Crater, and particularly between the rim (often cold and foggy in the mornings) and the crater floor which is much hotter and often clear. Temperatures on the rim can drop to around or below freezing so warm clothes are a must throughout the year, and it can get windy at Entamanu particularly in July and August.

As its own little microhabitat, the Crater includes a variety of small ecosystems, a saline lake, swamps, plains and forests - and all this supports a population of about 25,000 mammals and an impressive number of bird species. Most of the wildlife never leaves the Crater floor and it has a well-earned reputation as one of the most epic wildlife experiences in Africa. It can get busy with vehicles on the Crater floor, but our location on the rim means we can beat most of the crowds onto the Crater floor in the mornings, and retreat back to our remote corner of wilderness to explore on foot or venture further afield to the less famous but equally impressive sites such as Empakai and Ol Moti.