Mila Tented Camp
Mila Tented Camp is permanent luxury tented camp located in the western corridor of the Serengeti National Park.
Mila Tented Camp is one of Legendary Expeditions permanent tented camps, and offers a similar experience to sister camps Songa and Nyasi. The tents themselves are very comfortable and luxuriously furnished, whilst maintaining the feel of an authentic tented experience. The central areas off a similarly simple but elegant set up, with sophisticated lounge and dining tents leading out to camp fire areas with views out over the surrounding plains. The food and service are superb, and their guides are very good too. A key factor to consider with all Legendary Expeditions camps is that they focus very hard on providing an exclusive safari environment for each group of guests. A private guide and vehicle are included as standard, but Mila also provide private dining and private sunset drinks for all drinks. Mila is not the right camp if you are seeking communal dining and a vibrant bar in the evening, but it is perfect for any couple, family or group seeking a very sophisticated and private tented camp experience.
Rooms
The camp caters for around 14 guests in six very comfortably furnished tents, each set on a low wooden platform with en suite plumbed facilities including toilet, double vanity and indoor shower. One of the tents is two bedroomed and designed for families – it comprises two en suite bedrooms connected by a shared internal living area/lounge.
Central Areas
The central areas include a mess tent and dining area, though meals are often taken ‘al fresco’, together with campfire.
Facilities
Wi-Fi – Yes
Power for Charging – Yes
Swimming Pool – No
Habitat & Wildlife
With an area of some 14,000 sq. km, Serengeti is probably the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world. The ecosystem includes the National Park itself, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve and Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve, together forming one of the most complex and least disturbed ecosystems on earth. The landscape was originally formed by volcanic activity in the Ngorongoro highlands and it varies from the open short grass plains in the south, to savannah and scattered acacia woodlands in the centre, to extensive woodland and black clay plains in the west, to hilly wooded grassland in the north. Most of the permanent water is found towards the northern and western areas, the lack of permanent water and food in the south being the main reason for the annual migration.
The park is home to approaching 2,000,000 wildebeest, 500,000 Thomson’s gazelle and 250,000 zebra: the largest concentration of plains game in Africa. More than 30 species of herbivores are found here, as well as all the major predators and nearly 500 species of birds.
The southern reaches of the park consist of endless ‘short-grass’ open plains. The hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, gazelles and zebra congregate on these plains from December to April, usually calving around the end of January when the nutritious grass is at its best. Depending on grazing conditions and water supply, the start of the Serengeti annual migration begins at the end of this period, and the herds begin to march north/westwards, ‘lowing’ incessantly so that the air hums like a dynamo (zebra first, then the wildebeest and gazelles). Lion, cheetah, hyaena and wild dog follow, ensuring that only the fittest survive, while jackals trail behind and vultures circle overhead.
The central and western sections of the park are fantastic for game viewing all year round, though wild dogs and rhino are not encountered.
Mila is located in the ‘western corridor’ of the Serengeti, an area of the park that can offer year round excellent game viewing. The habitat is varied, changing quickly from vast open plains to thick riverine forest along the Grumeti River. The migration herds can often be seen close to Mila Camp between May and July as they pass through on their way north.
Activities
As the camp is located in the Serengeti National Park, activities focus on day time game drives, but each booking includes sole use of vehicle so you can plan your day to suit, whether heading out for a full day, or having a morning and afternoon game drive. Guided walks are also available. Hot air ballooning can be arranged from June to October at extra cost.
Seasons
Mila Tented Camp is open from mid May through to the end of March and while game viewing is good year round, the migration season is between May and July.
Children are welcome from the age of four years. Nyasi Tented Camp offers a good family tent option and the flexibility of a private guide and vehicle, however with activities limited to game drives, it will naturally suit families travelling with older children looking for an exclusive big game Serengeti experience.
Every guest staying in a Legendary Expeditions safari camp contributes a voluntary contribution that goes towards the community projects supported by the Friedkin Conservation Fund (Legendary Expedition’s philanthropic and conservation arm) including education, health and income generation activities for the rural communities in the areas the camps are located.
These community projects are part of a wider, multi-faceted approach to the conservation of the areas in which Legendary Expeditions operates. Much of the Fund’s work focuses on measures to ease human-wildlife conflict. Operating in the buffer zones between the Serengeti National Park and local settlements (Legendary Expeditions manages Mwiba and Maswa Wildlife Reserves which together comprise eight percent of the entire protected Greater Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater ecosystems) means Legendary Expeditions are well placed to make significant impact in resolving human-wildlife conflict and helping communities to benefit from wildlife and habitat conservation.
2024 will see the role out of the Economic Empowerment Project which has identified income-generating opportunities to sustainably support communities in the southern Serengeti ecosystem centering around honey, poultry and sunflowers. In partnership with Hand in Hand Tanzania, entrepreneurial training will be given in these areas to equip community members with the skills needed to start small businesses and create income streams and further job opportunities.
Efforts also focus on education and the Fund has succeeded in reducing low school attendance through an engaging environmental education initiative, a school nutrition program and the construction of new school infrastructure.
Conservation work includes wildlife monitoring, specifically the collaring of elephants (to address human-wildlife conflict problems) and supporting the Serengeti Rhino Repatriation Project’s rhino monitoring program. Anti-poaching measures are also key and the Fund supports the Tanzanian authorities with anti-poaching teams and aerial surveillance.
