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Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Usangu Expedition Camp

Price per night from$1,529.24

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD1,529.24), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Usangu Expedition Camp Photos

Style

Trailblazing base

Setting

Wild, wild wetlands

Explore

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Asilia Africa’s Usangu Expedition Camp is bringing creature comforts and pioneering research to the remote southern wetlands of Ruaha National Park. Seasonal game drives ensure safari headliners are spotted, while on-foot excursions put under-studied species into the spotlight. Back at base, canvas suites come kitted out with ensconcing extras, and you’ll have a transportable tent and camera trap for out-in-the-wild nights studying the bush. 

Once you’ve booked your safari stays, the Asilia team will be in touch within 48 hours to help arrange travel between camps, which may include charter or private small-plane flights and/or overland transfers.

Smith Extra

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A souvenir glass animal, handmade in Tanzania or Kenya

Facilities

Photos Usangu Expedition Camp facilities

Need to know

Rooms

Six tented suites.

Check–Out

10am. Check-in is at 2pm. Please note that late check-out may incur additional park fees, food, drink and transport charges.

More details

Rates at Usangu Expedition Camp include all meals and drinks (except premium wines), limited laundry service, private open-vehicle game drives, walking safaris and return transfers to Jongomero Airstrip. A minimum three-night stay applies.

Also

Unfortunately, this remote camp is not suitable if you have limited mobility.

Hotel closed

Usangu Expedition Camp closes during Ruaha's rainy season, from early December until the end of May.

At the hotel

Library and information centre, lounge areas, fire pit and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: radio, electric fan, torch, USB charging ports, free bottled water, laundry detergent, bathrobes and Cinnabar Green bath.

Our favourite rooms

There’s only one type of suite at Usangu Expedition Camp, with all-embracing views, furnished verandas and cushy king-size beds for post-safari slumbers. There are also mesh-like ‘star cubes’ that staff are happy to set-up around camp — or further out — should you fancy a night out in the bush.

Packing tips

All the classics (neutral tones, hats, hiking boots), as well as a notebook for documenting lesser-known sightings, which help contribute to the Usangu region’s ongoing research.

Also

Once you’ve booked your safari stays, the Asilia team will be in touch within 48 hours to help arrange travel between camps, which may include charter or private small-plane flights and/or overland transfers.

Children

Kids aged 12 or older are welcome; there aren’t any dedicated family tents, but all beds can be twinned on request.

Sustainability efforts

Asilia is a B Corp business and sustainability sits at the core of their safari offering, with camps designed to have minimal impact, and every operational choice rooted in reducing harm. This starts with the camp build itself, using locally sourced, natural materials.  Across all safari operations they minimise waste, prioritise renewable energy and respect the wilderness. The primary power source in their camps is solar, waste is weighed, segregated, and recycled, emissions are tracked, and Scope 1 carbon is offset via REDD+ projects. Asilia invests in initiatives that enhance sustainability and your experience at their camps, such as farm-to-fork projects that ensure the freshest produce and reduce the need for supply runs across the fragile landscapes where they operate. As part of the Nawiri Group, Asilia contributes over $10m annually to nature protection and impact funding, providing long-term stable funding to partners across Africa. Their impact approach is community-led and includes a focus on expanding access to quality education in rural areas, funding programmes that benefit over 20,000 primary school students and over 200 vocational scholarships annually.

Food and Drink

Photos Usangu Expedition Camp food and drink

Top Table

Make like moths to a flame and secure yourself a seat around camp’s alfresco fire pit.

Dress Code

Come as you are in this remote, outdoorsy stay.

Hotel restaurant

Expect flame-grilled dining that showcases seasonality and is proudly low on food miles. A commitment to sustainability and a celebration of local, indigenous ingredients underpin Asilia Africa’s approach to cuisine across all camps.  

At Usangu Expedition Camp, breakfast might be a picnic in the bush consisting of fresh fruits, yoghurt, muesli, freshly squeezed juices, baked pastries, breakfast sandwiches and wraps. But if you're staying in camp, you also have an option to start your day with hot dishes à la carte. 

Across all Asilia Africa camps, the menu changes by the day; at each meal, there’ll be a choice of starters, mains, sides and desserts, with vegetarians as well served as meat eaters. Lunch on Wednesdays and dinner on Sundays are a distinctly Swahili affair, spotlighting local culinary traditions. If you have food preferences or dietary requirements, the camp’s kitchen team will be happy to adapt dishes to suit. 

Hotel bar

You won't find a formal bar here, but drinks of all varieties can be ordered straight to your tent, or anywhere else around camp. 

Last orders

Rather than working to scheduled hours, meals fit around your plans and staff are happy to flex to meet your wishes.

Room service

Available 24 hours: you can order drinks and snacks to your tent; meals, too, can be arranged chez vous.

Location

Photos Usangu Expedition Camp location
Address
Usangu Expedition Camp
Ruaha National Park
Iringa
Tanzania, United Republic of

Make for Ruaha National Park’s southern wetlands, and you'll find the intimate Usangu Expedition Camp, embraced by miombo woodlands and far-reaching views of the floodplains.

Planes

From Kilimanjaro, Arusha or Dar Es Salaam airports, connecting flights touch down at Jongomero Airstrip, where you’ll be met by Asilia staff for the two-hour drive to camp, included with your stay.

Automobiles

All the driving at Usangu Expedition Camp is taken care of by trained staff using Asilia vehicles.

Worth getting out of bed for

Usangu Expedition Camp puts you in the midst of Ruaha National Park’s diverse wetlands and miombo woodlands, making day and night game drives, and walking safaris quite the seasonal spectacle between July and October. The rainy season ends in May, making June prime for boating excursions; and you’ll each be given a personal camera trap to secure sightings from behind the lens. You're also welcome to spend a night in the bush, with tent-like ‘star cubes’ set-up near camp for constellation spotting, or further afield for out-in-nature sleepovers. 

In Ruaha National Park, waterways are the area’s lifeblood and focal point for abundant game viewing. To explore this exceptional safari destination in detail, after three nights exploring the wetlands around Usangu Expedition Camp, you could head to its upscale big-sister stay, Jabali Ridge, which sits alongside the seasonal Mwagusi River and — like Usangu — has night drives and walking safaris at certain times of year.  

Local restaurants

You’ll feast on the spectacular scenery of the Usangu Wetlands and enjoy your fill of safari adventures, but other than this, you can expect all your dining to take place either in camp or arranged by your hosts out in the bush. 

Reviews

Photos Usangu Expedition Camp reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this conservation camp in Tanzania and recounted their rare sightings, a full account of their bush-side break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Usangu Expedition Camp in Ruaha National Park…  

The clue’s in the name at Usangu Expedition Camp, where Asilia Africa’s talented team have set-up a low-footprint launchpad from which to explore Ruaha National Park’s undiscovered wetlands.  

Set above Ihefu’s high-water mark and secluded by native miombo woodlands, the six-tent camp comes with enough creature comforts (cushy wood-framed beds, private verandas, flame-grilled fare) to keep you in good spirits. Daily game drives come as standard, and are most likely to secure predator sightings between July and October; but this base’s mainstay is its walking safaris. Your proximity to the biodiverse Usangu area means you’re invited to wander through the bush, studying little-known species with local guides and learning more about conservation efforts back at the camp’s research centre. You’ll also be given a camera trap and mesh-fronted ‘star cube’, allowing you to spend time documenting nocturnal wildlife and watching as the Milky Way tints Ruaha’s star-freckled skies. 

Book now

Price per night from $1,037.50

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