Gibb's Farm, Ngorongoro Highlands, Tanzania

Gibb's Farm is one of the most loved places to stay in northern Tanzania: a historic coffee farm on the forested slopes of the Ngorongoro highlands, where guests sleep in garden cottages and eat food grown on the farm. It is a peaceful, characterful contrast to the safari camps of the Serengeti, and the Ngorongoro Crater is only about 30 minutes away.

Location: Ngorongoro Highlands, Tanzania

Gibb's Farm stands near Karatu, on the slopes of the Ngorongoro highlands above the Great Rift Valley, with forest on one side and coffee and gardens all around. The rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, the vast volcanic caldera famous for its wildlife, is about a 30-minute drive away, and the Lake Manyara airstrip is about an hour's drive. It makes a natural stop between Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti.

The farm began as a coffee estate in the 1920s. James Gibb bought it after the Second World War, his wife Margaret turned it into a working farm and garden, and the Gibbs built guest cottages in 1972, making it one of the first guesthouses in northern Tanzania.

Cottages at Gibb's Farm

There are around 20 cottages scattered through the gardens, each with polished eucalyptus floors, exposed beams, kilim rugs, an antique writing desk and large timber windows. Each has a private veranda, and the bathrooms have indoor and outdoor showers and deep soaking tubs with garden views. Evenings at altitude can be cool, so the common areas have fireplaces.

Facilities at Gibb's Farm

Food is the heart of the stay. Almost everything is grown or raised on the farm, from a large organic vegetable garden to the dairy, and meals are served by the fire, in the garden or on the veranda. Guests can help milk the cows, bake bread with the chefs, and walk or cycle through the coffee plantation.

There are spa treatments and massages, guided walks into the forest and to waterfalls, cultural visits to nearby communities, and, of course, game drives into the Ngorongoro Crater.

The mountain moment

The defining moment is an early morning on the veranda, coffee from the farm in hand, as mist lifts off the forested slopes and the gardens come alive with birds.

Then drive up to the crater rim and descend into the caldera at first light, before returning to the farm for a long lunch from the garden.

Why Gibb's Farm is one of the best mountain hotels

Gibb's Farm earns its place for its history, its food and its sense of calm. It offers something rare on a Tanzanian safari: a sense of place and community, in a beautiful highland setting, with the crater on the doorstep.

For a more contemporary stay on the crater's edge, compare it with The Highlands. For more of Africa's great mountain lodges, read our guide to the best mountain hotels in Africa.

When to go to Gibb's Farm

The long dry season, from around June to October, is the classic time for safaris in northern Tanzania, with good game viewing in the crater. January and February are also excellent, between the short and long rains, and coincide with the calving season in the southern Serengeti. The long rains, from around March to May, bring lush green landscapes and fewer visitors. The highlands are cooler than the plains all year.

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