African Travel is dedicated to protecting the places we love. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we prioritize working with African lodges and camps that have earth-friendly practices as much as they do show-stopping safaris.

From restoring ecosystems to using new technology, here are some of Africa's top sustainable lodges and camps and our recommended safaris where you can experience them.  

South Africa

Cheetah Plains

Cheetah Plains became the first South Africa safari lodge with an entirely electric fleet of game vehicles. The specially adapted Land Cruisers fitted with Tesla batteries run silently as they move through the bush, leaving the animals more-or-less completely undisturbed. Experience a Cheetah Plains silent safari on our Extraordinary South Africa all-villa safari.

The lodge also produces the vast majority of its electricity through a network of solar panels. During the summer months, the lodge practically meets 100 percent of their energy needs from the sun alone.

 

Tswalu

On the southernmost edge of the Kalahari, Tswalu is a privately protected reserve in South Africa focused on restoring the Kalahari ecosystem to its natural state. Home to three luxury safari camps, the ratio of guests to wilderness is one of the lowest in South Africa. With guaranteed access to private safari vehicle, guests can enjoy game drives and meet researchers. Tswalu runs the Kalahari Endangered Ecosystems Project (KEEP), a research unit that is focused on assessing the impact of climate change in the region and how this has affected the fauna and flora.  

There are plenty of opportunities to meet a researcher from the Tswalu Foundation in the field in our South Africa Private Villa Safari and by just visiting the area, each guest contributes to preserving the southern Kalahari for future generations. 

 

Bushmans Kloof

Bushmans Kloof is home to a remarkable array natural treasures and conserving the landscape, and the heritage it holds, is the bedrock of everything they do at the wilderness reserve and wellness retreat. Some of South Africa's most important rock art is found here and the area has been designed a South African National Heritage site. 

The Red Carnation lodge makes sure to have a minimal impact on the area and enforces a strict environmental protocol centered on reducing water waste, cleaning with only biodegradable detergents and using organic waste for mulch and compost in the gardens. The lodge’s gardening team reduces the property’s carbon footprint by growing indigenous herbs and vegetables and all crops are organic.

Guests can add a stay at Bushman's Kloof to a South African safari. Beyond living well with nature, guests will enjoy nature drives, botanical walks, canoeing and special interest presentations. 

 

Kenya

Angama Mara

High above the Maasai Mara on the very site where some of the most romantic scenes from 'Out of Africa' were filmed sits Angama Mara. The lodge takes their responsibility to the environment and to local communities very seriously.

To limit its carbon footprint, the lodge, which is plastic free, recently established “The Shamba” (Swahili for vegetable garden). The verdant garden supplies much of the property’s food and guests on our Under Kenyan Skies safari can even pick their own ingredients for a special lunch under towering moth trees with the Mara as the backdrop. 

 

El Karama Lodge

El Karama Lodge is an owner-operated, award-winning lodge in the heart of Laikipia. Built by Murray Grant, one of Africa’s gifted wildlife sculptors, and his wife Sophie, who live here with their two young children.  The lodge relies exclusively on renewable energy for lighting, electricity, water heating, and an eco-washing machine.

Guests on our Family Safari in Kenya will enjoy warm hospitality, guided nature walks and photographing wildlife from a rock hide. Guided game drives will give you an understanding of the working farm and reveal the area’s mammal species like lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, hippo, reticulated giraffe, rare Grevy’s zebra, the strange long-necked gerenuk, and much more.

 

Rwanda

Bisate Lodge

Amid the mist on the cusp of Volcanoes National Park is Bisate Lodge. Sustainability is a cornerstone of Bisate, and the lodge aims to be as local and natural as possible. Rainwater is a natural resource at Bisate. Annually, two-hundred thousand liters of rainwater are harvested for use on the property. The lodge’s exceptional reforestation program sees over 100,000 seedlings planted per year and has directly led to a natural recolonization of the reforested land by birds and animals.

Guests on our Discover Rwanda safari can witness how the land has changed at Bisate and how Mother nature has taken over. One of our Make Travel Matter Experiences invites guests to join one of Bisate agronomists who will show you around the tree nursery and helps you plant a sapling.

 

Kwitonda Lodge

Located on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, where more than a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas live, Kwitonda Lodge Kwitonda was built as one of Africa’s most sustainable lodges and has been responsible for 250,000 indigenous trees and shrubs planted as part of a reforestation project. Furthermore, the lodge consulted thermal engineers to evaluate and optimize energy performance, rendering air conditioning unnecessary thanks to the use of a mechanical ventilation system. 

On our Ultimate Tanzania and Rwanda safari, guests can enjoy several MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experiences by participating in conservation efforts during their stay, visiting the interactive space at the Conservation Room, or touring the lodge's on-site nursery, the Akarabo, which has a teahouse serving fresh herbal brews, as well as local artisans such as a basket weaver, seamstress and stick carver showcasing the intricacies of their craft.

 

Botswana

Xigera Safari Lodge

Xigera Safari Lodge occupies a remarkable location in the heart of the Okavango Delta, which guests on our Platinum Botswana safari can experience.

On the surface, this UNESCO World Heritage Site may appear abundant with life, resilient to the impact of humankind, but this delicate ecosystem requires constant protection to safeguard it for future generations. The lodge promotes our TreadRight commitment to removing all single-use plastics and the lodgeis fully solar powered. Hot water at Xigera is provided via thermodynamic geysers, while SolarView tinted glass ensures temperature stability indoors for energy-efficient air conditioning.

 

Zambia

Mfuwe Lodge

Mfuwe Lodge is an excellent eco-friendly base, for guests on our Leopards, Lions and Tiger Fish safari, to explore the South Luangwa National Park. Each suite has its own solar water heating system and also relies on solar panels for power, lighting and to pump water. Furthermore, the lodge nurtures a ‘worm farm’ where organic waste is composted down to produce an organic fertilizer, which is then used in tree planting programs at surrounding villages.

 

Namibia

Hoanib Valley Camp

Hoanib Valley Camp is very in tune with its sustainable ethos, limiting plastic use – every guest is issued with their own glass water bottle in a natural cork holder, all-electric and hot water energy is supplied by the extensive solar heating systems with the fresh water from its own artesian well.

Safari goers on our Desert and Dunes of Namibia  can even join the Giraffe Conservation Foundation and help monitor the desert-giraffe population and provide data to the organization that provides conservation and managment for Africa's wild giraffes.