Reviews of The Highlands
(93%) From 15 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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The Highlands review
Very professional camp. Warm welcoming and the service, food and wine all excellent. The tents had wood burning stoves to keep them warm and the views from the terrace were stunning.
The best part of the visit was the hike up to the mini caldera with a Masai warrior, guide from the Highlands and Asilia guide. Lovely hike and beautiful views.
The worst part of the visit was the journey to and fro Highlands. It took about two and half hours from the airport. The first half was fine but after the viewing area for the Ngorongoro Crater we turned off onto an extremely bumpy, dusty track that wound it's way round the caldera and then eventually up to Highlands. While Highlands was lovely we did not feel it was worth the journey.
Expert Africa comments
The Highlands is located in a wonderfully remote and peaceful location, giving it unrivalled access to all the area’s craters (Ngorongoro, Empakaai and Olmoti) but we do recognise that it is quite a long drive from the nearest airstrip – advising our travellers it is around a 3 hour transfer from Lake Manyara Airstrip. The crater road has degraded over the years but the owners of The Highlands are investing a considerable amount to improve the conditions to their camp. They hope that the Ngorongoro Conservation Area authorities will also step up their efforts to maintain the road around the crater rim. We are confident it will be a much more comfortable transfer once the improvement work has taken place.
The Highlands review
My stay of 2 nights was superb in every way down to the manager lending me a pair of her shoes (my luggage was lost but arrived the next day) so I was able to continue my day out with Adam on safari.
The accommodation was fabulous I was in a honeymoon suite with spa. Very spoilt by all including a fire going all night and a hotwater bottle inn my bed.
Very cosy considering I was on my own!!
The surprise lunch amongst the zebras was beautifully cooked by the chef and myself and two other guests loved it.
A big Thank you to all at The Highlands for a wonderful experience.
Amazing time at the Highlands
Our stay at Highlands was one of the best trips we have had. The team at Highlands were hospitable and made an effort to get to know us over our 3 day stay. The food was great and we had a great visit to a Maasai village. The crater was stunning and lives up to its status as a world heritage site!
To points others have raised - the ride is not for the faint of heart and is quite bumpy. However, we managed it without problem.
Modern tent accommodation of high standard
Tents were of a standard expected in a top hotel.
Pleasant staff and good food and drink. Quite long transfers but interesting countryside.
Long drive to crater for game drive but it gave opportunity to see Masai villages en route.
The Highlands review
excellent installations, service attentive and organized
all our programming for activities was done and performed
staff very good. Peti very nice and our guide Simon excellent. Even William, the guide for the hikings very good
the lunch at ngorongoro reserve awsome
Magic in the mountains
Another excellent Asilia Camp. Cooler and high altitude. Tents were truly special, superb bathroom, beds, and view.
Good deck to enjoy afternoon sun.
Again excellent food and wine.
We enjoyed the visit to the Maasai village plus the two walks, first to Empakaai Crater Hike, (large lake), then to Olmatic Crater, where we walked to a waterfall.
It was so good to walk after all the safaris. Still the bumpy roads to get there.
Bumby ride, excellent views
Long bumpy ride from the gate entrance to the accommodation, last leg of the road up to the Highlands could use a touch up
Excellent location, wonderful food.
Some minor issues with malfunctioning hot water pump, hard to light the open fire. Quite steep on the slopes so hard work if you're Senior (or out of shape) walking back up to the restaurant.
Masai interaction was very interesting but perhaps a bit "forced" and touristy, a more casual approach with smaller groups might promote more interaction. But still very memorable.
The guide we had here (Festo) wasn't as knowledgeable as the guides in Little Olivers and frankly perhaps a bit junior for a 5 star resort. Nice guy but didn't seem to have as deep of a network with the guides on the radio, leaving him out of the loop of the spotting chatter on the radio. I had to go and fetch him in the workers office 10min after our agreed morning departure, not very impressive.
Lovely to see so many locals and Masai enrolled in the workforce, a detail we found particularly nice with Asilia (same was true for little olivers).
Overall a lovely stay in a spectacular location but a lot of jeep hours stacked up at the end.
Spectacular scenery at the Highlands
The Highlands is located in spectacular countryside with stunning views (at least from our dome which was nearest the communal area) .We spent four nights here (three full days) which was just right for the activities offered.
The accommodation is pretty luxurious and comfortable. The rooms do cool down at night but we didn't find them as cold in the morning as some have commented. The camp is nearly a hour's drive from the Ngorongoro crater entrance so an early start and a full day out with packed lunch is necessary. We expected the crater to be chocker with jeeps but it was relatively quiet.
On the other hand the half day hikes out to Olmoti and Empakai offer something a bit different - an opportunity to stretch your legs, tremendous views and hardly a tourist in sight. A degree of fitness is required though! The Masai village visit is also very interesting as it's quite natural and not a peep show like most tourists see. Asilia are involved with the local community and school. There were only a handful of other guests at the camp during our stay. Lunches were good but dinner (we're vegetarian) was very much a hit and miss affair.
The Highlands at Ngorongoro review
This new camp was fabulous! Clearly, the drive to the crater, and then to the Highlands, was long and bumpy. But upon our arrival, we knew that this facility and location made the trip worthwhile.
The facilities, including the "guest rooms," were spectacular. The food was a step above the other locations (especially the lunches).
The "activities" here were remarkable. Our day in the crater was amazing! We then hiked into the crater, also very exciting, and visited a Massei village. Just driving through the "countryside" was also so very interesting.
The Highlands at Ngorongoro review
The Highlands was a breathtakingly beautiful lodge. From the moment we arrived we felt welcome, comfortable. The rooms were incredibly comfortable with hot showers, coffee delivered every morning, fire place, and hot water bottles to keep things warm. The food was delicious (even the picnic meals!) - by far the best food we had on our trip. Eggs benedict on Christmas Eve morning while overlooking Olmoti crater from the deck was particularly nice.
The service was outstanding - everyone on staff was so kind and knowledgeable. We had a great time.
One of the afternoons we walked down to a Masai boma. This was incredibly interesting, but we did feel a little bit uncomfortable navigating negotiations with the Masai when purchasing their handicrafts. We were given the impression before hand that negotiation was customary, but it quickly became apparent that this was not the case. It would have been helpful to be a little more prepared for these interactions.
We loved hiking Olmoti and Empaki craters - this was a nice change of pace from sitting in a safari vehicle.
