Nine of the best places to stay in Africa for incredible lion encounters
Whether on a romantic afternoon open-vehicle game drive in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve or an adrenaline-thumping walking safari in Mana Pools in Zimbabwe, little can compare to the stirring experience of encountering a lion in its natural habitat. Here are the best lodges and camps to stay in for incredible lion sightings
Angama Mara
Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
9Telegraph expert rating
Angama Mara, balancing high on the Great Rift Valley overlooking the Maasai Mara plains, is all about the utterly mesmerising view. The lodge brings next-level luxury to the usual safari experience, offering swanky glass-fronted tents, excellent cuisine and warm hospitality. Angama's prized location, on the site where scenes from the film Out of Africa were filmed, is also close to where Big Cat Diary and David Attenborough’s Dynasties were shot, so you can expect some spectacular lion-viewing. The lodge is designed to make sure every moment, from eating to sleeping to working out, is done with the view of the Mara and, if you are lucky, its magnificent prides of lions in the background. Read expert review From £667 per night
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&Beyond Phinda Mountain Lodge
Hluhluwe, South Africa
9Telegraph expert rating
Set in an expanse of African bush, Phinda Private Game Reserve is home to all of the Big Five and you can expect to see prides of lions huddling in the grasslands. The focal point of the rooms at this luxury lodge are the outdoor private plunge pool on every terrace – so you can sip a gin and tonic in the cool water while listening to the hysterical hollars of the hyenas and squinting for sights of golden manes in the savannah below. Read expert review From £426 per night
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Singita Lebombo Lodge
Kruger National Park, South Africa
8Telegraph expert rating
Set within a private concession neighbouring Mozambique that is known for its lions, this stylish lodge has almost guaranteed great sightings of big cats. The 17 glass-fronted rooms overlook the game-rich banks of the N’wanetsi river and the Lebombo hills, which provide pretty terrain in which to hike and bike. There are few safari lodges with quite so many things to do: a three-storey 'pod' holds a private wine room for tastings, a library and a roof-terrace for private dining. Then there is the spa, gym, two lap pools with loungers, a long lamplit bar and glass-walled dining room – this is certainly no back to basics bush experience. Read expert review From £3,687 per night Check availability Rates provided by Mr & Mrs Smith
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Mombo Camp and Little Mombo
9Telegraph expert rating
The Okavango Delta's Moremi Game Reserve is known as the 'land of plenty', as the surrounding plains are teeming with a plethora of wildlife – the large number of lion prides makes for incredible predator interactions. Mombo Camp has a magical location among these endless rich plains and should be on every safari enthusiast’s bucket list. A top-to-toe rebuild has elevated the camp to the highest sustainable standards and a style that certainly doesn’t scrimp on luxury. There are regular conservation talks at the camp, as well as a hide where you can view and photograph sleeping lions on the savannah. Read expert review From £2,910 per night
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Ruckomechi Camp
Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe
7Telegraph expert rating
Wilderness Safaris' 24-bed camp, in an 18-square-mile concession adjoining Mana Pools National Park, is one of Zimbabwe’s leading safari destinations, offering visitors a chance to see lions (as well as elephants, buffalo and leopards) in one of the continent’s great wildernesses, all while staying in supreme comfort. The camp, lying in the shade of an ancient riverine forest, has spectacular views of the broad Zambezi river, but the real draw is the guiding. Zimbabwean guides are known to be among the best in the world, due to the their rigorous training and the incredibly strict pass rate, so you can expect them to lead you to some magnificent sightings – lionesses are a particularly common predator in the area. Read expert review From £1,040 per night
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Rhulani Safari Lodge
Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa
9Telegraph expert rating
Rhulani, situated in the remote Madikwe Game Reserve, is one of South Africa’s hidden treasures. It doesn’t get any better than being in the heart of the country's fifth-largest game reserve, which boasts the Big Five ( lion, along with leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino) as well as an untouched landscape that doesn’t allow day visitors. The lodge is gorgeously designed in local wood, stone and thatch, with epic views, and a prime position amidst a vast swathe of wildlife-rich bush. Read expert review From £821 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Jabali Ridge
Ruaha National Park, Tanzania
9Telegraph expert rating
Ruaha, in southern Tanzania, is the country’s largest national park yet one of its least visited. Despite fascinating wildlife and intriguing landscapes of baobab forests and sand rivers, it is still little-known in comparison to Tanzania’s northern parks (such as the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater), so you will likely enjoy observing a pride of lions with no other vehicles in sight. Jabali Ridge is the best place to stay here, a beautiful, sophisticated lodge built on a hill amid huge granite boulders with mesmerising views across the vast wilderness. Blending in seamlessly with the natural surroundings and with an elegant, contemporary style, it’s a truly special place to stay. Read expert review From £868 per night
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Singita Sasakwa
Serengeti National Park, Grumeti Reserves, Tanzania
9Telegraph expert rating
On a hill overlooking 350,000 acres of private game reserve lies arguably Africa’s most glamorous camp. Singita Sasakwa is impossibly stylish, with all the facilities of a five-star hotel (including a spa, tennis court, infinity pool with Serengeti views and library) and a prime location to see the annual wildebeest migration. Tanzania has the continent's largest lion population, and here they can be seen wandering along the plains below the camp or viewed up-close from an open-sided vehicle or on a walking safari, accompanied by expert guides. Read expert review From £1,915 per night
Serian 'The Original'
Mara North Conservancy, Kenya
8Telegraph expert rating
Meaning 'serene' in the Maasai language, Serian effortlessly lives up to its name. In the private Mara North Conservancy on the fringes of the Maasai Mara, this tented camp offers exceptional wildlife viewing with award-winning guides, elegant accommodation and exceptional dining. Serian is one of only 11 camps in the 75,000 acres that make up Mara North Conservancy, affording a true feeling of exclusivity. Unlike the nearby Maasai Mara Reserve that can be jam-packed with Land Cruiser convoys in peak season, undisturbed lion-viewing is virtually guaranteed. Read expert review From £910 per night
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Contributions from Anna Dubuis, Lisa Grainger, Lauren Ho, Sherelle Jacobs, Simon Veness, Susan Veness and Sue Watt.
