Lake Masek Tented Lodge
Tented lodge with pool · Lake Masek, Ngorongoro Conservation Area · Tanganyika Wilderness Camps
Mid-range
Outside the gate
Safari company
Lake Masek Tented Lodge stands "on the banks of lake Masek in Ndutu", in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area between the Serengeti plains and the NCA, run by Tanganyika Wilderness Camps. It is outside the national park, so NCAA fees apply, but it is 4 km from Ndutu airstrip and 6 km from Kusini, among the calving herds from December to March. It is open all year, has a lake-view main area and a pool, and welcomes children. TWC's page gives 30 tents, older listings 20. No rates are published. Choose it for the calving season with a pool; skip it if you want to be inside the park.
Pros and cons
Pros
- On the calving plains in season
- Swimming pool and lake view
- Two airstrips within 6 km
- Open all year
Cons
- Outside the national park, in the NCA
- No published rates or email
- Tent count differs between sources
What's here
- Swimming pool
- En-suite bathrooms
Arranged from the lodge:
- Game drives
Read from Lake Masek Tented Lodge's own website in July 2026. Anything not listed we could not confirm, which is not the same as it being absent.
What the park charges on top
The rate above buys you a bed. Serengeti National Park charges its own entry fee for every day you are inside. Here is what that adds up to.
- Park entry$70 plus 18% VAT, so $82.60, per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March; $70.80 from 15 March to 15 May.
- $83per person, per day
- Vehicle$40 plus VAT, so $47.20, for a foreign-registered vehicle up to 2,000 kg; a Tanzanian-registered safari vehicle pays TSh 20,000, about $8 at TANAPA's TSh 2,555 to the dollar.
- $47per vehicle, per day
Three nights means three days inside, so two adults sharing one vehicle pay $639 in park fees before anyone pays for a bed.
A lodge or camp inside the park adds TANAPA's concession fee on top: $70.80 per adult per night from July to September and $59 from October to June, VAT included. Arriving by road from Arusha adds the Ngorongoro permit of $70.80 per adult each way.
The full fee schedule for Serengeti National ParkRates at Lake Masek Tented Lodge
Rates on request. Tanganyika Wilderness Camps publishes no rates. The lodge is in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, so NCAA fees apply: $70.80 entry per 24 hours and $59.00 concession per adult per night, VAT included. A day in Serengeti National Park adds TANAPA's $82.60 conservation fee. Whether VAT is in the lodge's own rate is not stated.
What the rate covers is not confirmed. We do not know yet whether meals, drinks and activities are included, so read this as the bed only.
Every figure on this page is in US dollars.
Rates checked on 6 October 2026 against each operator's own website or rate sheet, in US dollars per person per night sharing unless the entry says otherwise. Two figures are per room, not per person: Serengeti Serena's $728 and Serengeti Explorer's $750 (a January 2025 opening offer). One figure is a reseller's, not the owner's: Africa Safari Serengeti Ikoma's $154 a night on Priceline (6 Oct 2026, basis not stated). Ndutu Safari Lodge's figures come from a rate sheet that ran to 15 December 2025, the newest on its site. Unless the entry says otherwise, TANAPA fees come on top of every rate inside the park: the conservation fee of $70 plus 18% VAT ($82.60) per adult per 24 hours from 16 May to 14 March, $70.80 from 15 March to 15 May, and the hotel concession fee of $70.80 per adult per night from July to September or $59.00 from October to June, VAT included. Camps at Ndutu and Lake Masek pay the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority instead: $70.80 entry per 24 hours and $59.00 concession per adult per night. Wilderness Usawa is the one rate we found that includes park fees.
Questions about Lake Masek Tented Lodge
Is Lake Masek Tented Lodge in the Serengeti?
Not in the national park. TWC files it under the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, on Lake Masek in the Ndutu area. NCAA fees apply.
Which airstrip is closest to Lake Masek?
Ndutu airstrip, 4 km away, or Kusini, 6 km, according to TWC.
Does Lake Masek Tented Lodge have a pool?
Yes, TWC lists a swimming pool.