Gibb’s Farm, Tanzania | Ngorongoro Farm Lodge with EVC

Karatu · Northern Tanzania · Seventeen cottages and two farm houses

Gibb’s Farm

A coffee plantation since the 1920s, on more than 80 acres of forested slope at the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, with views across the Great Rift Valley. Seventeen cottages and two farm houses, most of what is served grown on the farm, and the Crater two hours from the gate. Arranged privately by Exclusive Villa Collection on inquiry.

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The house

In stills

A first reading of the stay: rooms, light, and the quiet between them. Each still is a note, not a catalogue.

The organic vegetable beds seen from above — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A red tower cottage among lush gardens — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A cottage bedroom with twin beds and a stone fireplace — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A garden path beneath old trees in late sun — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A freestanding bath with flower petals and a wall of garden windows — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A cottage bedroom with twin beds beneath a large painting — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A sitting room of windows looking into the garden — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A bowl of fresh mushrooms, greens and nasturtiums from the garden — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A calf drinking from a bottle in the farmyard — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Afternoon tea poured at a table on the veranda — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A long table on a lantern-lit deck at dusk above the forest — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A candlelit table on the deck under the trees at nightfall — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Lanterns lit across the deck at dusk — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A plate of farm vegetables and herbs — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Dessert in a crystal coupe by candlelight — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

The pool and loungers from the air among green slopes — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

The pool beneath an umbrella at dusk, the hills beyond — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

The main lounge with a fire burning and leather armchairs — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A sitting room hung with paintings and prints — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Singers on the terrace at sunset — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

A wood carving of elephants taking shape in the studio — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

The Experience

How the days feel

Gibb’s Farm sits on the forested outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater, above the town of Karatu, looking out across the Great Rift Valley. It has been a coffee plantation since the 1920s. James Gibb bought the farm in 1948 and returned it to production, and Margaret Gibb, an avid gardener, planted the vegetable and flower gardens that still frame every path. When the Ngorongoro Conservation Area was established along the farm’s northern boundary, the Gibbs built guest cottages for the travelers it drew, and Gibb’s Farm became one of the first guesthouses in northern Tanzania.

The farm is still worked the way it always has been, organically and without irrigation. Its acres hold Arabica coffee, vegetables and fruit, flowers and herbs, and a working dairy, and the kitchen is built around what comes in from the gardens each morning and afternoon. Days take on the rhythm of the place: the early bird walk, the vegetable harvest, coffee roasting, afternoon tea in the garden and sundowners as the light falls into the valley.

It is also one of the most rewarding bases in northern Tanzania. The farm lies on the main safari route from Arusha to Tarangire, Lake Manyara and Lake Eyasi, before the road climbs to the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, so it works as the beginning, the middle or the end of a safari. The Crater is a full day out, Lake Manyara is about 45 minutes away and Lake Eyasi about an hour and a half, and walking trails lead from the gardens into the forest of the Conservation Area itself.

Why EVC loves it

Why we would send you here

A farm that still works Coffee, vegetables, fruit, flowers and a dairy on more than 80 acres, farmed organically, with most of what is served grown on the farm.
Cottages with a story Seventeen cottages, each with its own art, furnishings and history, and every one with an open fireplace, a bathtub and an outdoor shower.
The Crater at the boundary The forest of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area begins at the edge of the farm, with walks to a waterfall, the elephant caves and the Crater rim.
Time in the farmyard Join the morning harvest, collect eggs, help with the milking or watch coffee roasted the way it has been for generations.
A pause on the safari route Between Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the Serengeti, Gibb’s Farm is a restoring stop at the start, middle or end of a safari.

Accommodations

Seventeen cottages, two farm houses

Seventeen one-bedroom cottages, each with its own story told through art and furnishings, and two farm houses, Bustani and Deutsches, for families and friends traveling together.

Room 01

Farm Cottages

Seventeen cottages · One bedroom · King or twin queen beds

Each cottage holds its own story of Tanzanian culture and history, told through hand-selected local art and furnishings. A private terrace and sitting area look over the garden or the valley, an open fireplace warms the evenings, and the en-suite bathroom has a bathtub and an outdoor shower. Cottages sleep up to two adults and a child, or two adults and three children, and stand near enough to one another to be combined.
Room 02

Farm Houses: Bustani and Deutsches

Two houses · Two en-suite bedrooms each · Up to four adults, or two adults and four children

Bustani, named for the Swahili word for garden, is set back on the farm with landscaped gardens directly below and the Great Rift Valley beyond, and an expansive private terrace. Deutsches, named in honour of the German duke who founded the farm, stands near the main farmhouse with a fireplace in the living room and a large veranda. Each has a king bedroom and a second bedroom with two queen beds, and every bathroom an indoor shower, a bath and an outdoor shower.

Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Inside the stay

The house, in notes

Where you sleep, what you eat, and how you arrive: the essentials, in brief.

A wooden walkway leading to a cottage veranda through the garden — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Cottages & farm houses

Seventeen cottages and two farm houses

Seventeen cottages and two farm houses are set through the gardens, each with a garden or valley view.

Farm Cottages. Each one-bedroom cottage tells its own story of Tanzanian culture through its art, many pieces from the farm’s Artists in Residence program, with a private terrace, an open fireplace, a bathtub and the outdoor shower Gibb’s Farm is known for.

Bustani House. Set back on the farm with the most spectacular views of any stay here, over the gardens to the Great Rift Valley, with two en-suite bedrooms opening onto a private terrace.

Deutsches House. Close to the main farmhouse and suited to families with younger children, with two en-suite bedrooms, a fireplace and a large private veranda.

Good to know. Both farm houses sleep up to four adults, or two adults and four children. There are no televisions, by design.

A table set for dinner on the terrace at dusk, the valley beyond — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Dining

From the garden to the table

The kitchen follows the farm. What is harvested in the morning is served at lunch, and the afternoon picking becomes dinner.

Farm to table. Most of what is served is grown on the farm, organically and in season, and meat comes from local, sustainably raised farms. The farm’s own cows give the milk for its cheese, yoghurt, butter and ice cream, free-range hens supply the eggs, and bread, pastries and cakes are baked every day.

Every table. Each meal brings a daily African dish alongside vegetarian, vegan and meat dishes, and the chef leads cooking classes for groups on request.

Afternoons and evenings. Afternoon tea is served in the garden with the farm’s organic Arabica coffee and freshly baked cakes, and each evening brings sundowners with stories from the naturalists or live cultural performances.

The pool among the gardens with forest beyond — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Wellbeing

Tulia Spa and the quiet of the farm

Wellbeing here begins with the farm itself: birdsong at first light, long walks through the gardens and forest, and evenings by the fire.

Tulia Spa. Treatments draw on the farm and the region: muslin parcels of hand-picked medicinal herbs warmed over a fire, Olkaria red clay, and a full body scrub of the farm’s freshly ground Arabica beans mixed with clay and herbs, alongside restorative massage, foot rituals, facials with Anaya products from Zanzibar and treatments for two.

In your cottage. Treatments can be taken at the spa or in the privacy of your own cottage, a gentle way to begin or end a safari.

Unplugged. With no televisions in the cottages, the farm invites you to reconnect with each other, with nature and with yourself.

Hands gathering fresh eggs into a woven basket — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Experiences

The farm, the forest and the Crater

Farm life. Join the farm hands for the daily vegetable harvest, collect eggs, help with the milking and watch coffee roasted the traditional way. Birders can join the naturalists on the morning bird census; more than 200 species are recorded on the farm each season.

Into the forest. A two-hour hike through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area leads to a waterfall and the elephant caves, dug by elephants for their vitamin-rich soil, where buffalo, bushbuck, waterbuck and baboons also come. For committed walkers, a guided wilderness walk with a naturalist and Conservation Area rangers climbs from the farm through untouched forest to the Crater rim.

The Ngorongoro Crater. A full day on the Crater floor begins early in a closed safari vehicle with a pop-up roof, with a picnic lunch among some 25,000 large animals and one of the densest lion populations in Tanzania.

Lakes and cultures. Lake Manyara, about 45 minutes away, is a haven for more than 350 bird species and, in the wet season, flamingos by the thousand. At Lake Eyasi, an hour and a half away, a day with the Hadzabe shares their history and traditional ways of living. Closer to the farm, visits to the village of Tloma introduce Iraqw culture, and bicycles explore the back roads.

Chairs and tables on the lawn at dusk, the valley beyond — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Who it is best for

For two, for families, for the whole party

Family
Two travelers

Travelers who want a safari with roots, and a pause that restores.

Couples. A cottage with its own fireplace and outdoor shower, treatments for two at Tulia Spa and sundowners over the Rift Valley.

Families. Children of all ages are welcome. Deutsches House, close to the main farmhouse, suits younger children, and the farmyard does the rest: egg collecting, milking, harvest walks, and time at the easel with the artist in residence.

Generations and friends. Cottages stand near one another and can be combined, and each farm house sleeps up to four adults.

Safari travelers. A restoring stop between Tarangire and the Serengeti, with the Crater, Lake Manyara and Lake Eyasi each within a day.

The view from the farm across forest to the Great Rift Valley — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Arrival

By air to Lake Manyara, or by road from Arusha

Gibb’s Farm lies on the main safari route between Arusha and the Serengeti.

International arrival. Fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport, then 45 minutes by road to Arusha.

By air. For the quickest arrival, a short flight from Arusha to Lake Manyara Airport, where the farm’s own vehicles meet you.

By road. A scenic drive from Arusha, or a transfer from the Serengeti, Tarangire or elsewhere in Tanzania, arranged as part of your stay.

Good to know. The Ngorongoro Crater is about two hours by road from the farm’s gate, Lake Manyara about 45 minutes and Lake Eyasi about an hour and a half.

The farm’s vegetable gardens framed by forest — Photo courtesy of Gibb's Farm

Seasonality

Two rains and a green farm

Northern Tanzania has two rainy seasons, and each shapes the farm and the parks around it.

The long rains. The Masika usually fall from mid-March into May.

The short rains. The Vuli usually arrive in late October and run into November.

After the rains. The land turns green and lush and the animals are well fed. In the dry months the plateau below grows dusty, while the forested slopes of Ngorongoro around the farm stay green and full of flowering plants.

Lake Manyara. Flamingos gather along the edge of the lake in their thousands in the wet season.

Pair it with

A natural companion

A second stay that belongs on the same itinerary.

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From the Journal

A story that includes this stay

Where this house appears in our writing, beside the places and companions we pair with it.

Journal · 6 min read

Gibb’s Farm: A Working Coffee Farm on the Rim of the Ngorongoro

Seventeen cottages and two farm houses among the gardens of a coffee plantation on the Ngorongoro Crater’s forested slopes: the farm we choose to begin, pause or end a Tanzanian safari.

Read the story

Plan My Trip

Begin with a conversation.

Tell us the season, the company, and the feeling you want to keep. We will write back with a considered path, not a link to a search.

Write to an advisor

Gibb’s Farm, Outer slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater, Karatu, Tanzania

Gibb’s Farm

How the days feel

Why we would send you here

Farm Cottages

Farm Houses: Bustani and Deutsches

Seventeen cottages and two farm houses

From the garden to the table

Tulia Spa and the quiet of the farm

The farm, the forest and the Crater

For two, for families, for the whole party

By air to Lake Manyara, or by road from Arusha

Two rains and a green farm

Cottar’s 1920s Camp

Cottar’s Bush Villa

Sossusvlei Desert Lodge

Tswalu Kalahari

Sirai House

Sandibe Okavango Safari Lodge

Wild Frontiers

Gibb’s Farm: A Working Coffee Farm on the Rim of the Ngorongoro

Begin with a conversation.