St. Catherine Monastery

We had a wonderful stay at St Catherine's monastery. A very peaceful place and beautiful grounds. We enjoyed the guided walk around the gardens and saw the farm animals including newborn piglets! A delicious supper. The pumpkin soup was very tasty. The beds were comfortable. Thank you to sister Noella and her team. We appreciated all your care. This is a great location for a stay prior to or after visiting the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

I wrote this on another site, and will elaborate more: "I just stayed with the most wonderful group of Benedictine nuns ( living representatives of his ‘work and pray’). The Camaldolese order runs a Monestary/guest house 5 minutes from Ngorongoro crater entry gate in Karatu Tanzania. So if you had ever thought of a safari ( Serengeti) in the area, look into staying with them. They are so peaceful and loving, and the food ( very organic and almost everything grown/raised there) is included in the price ( around $65 u.s. for 3 delicious often cooked to order meals+ accomodations). The manager Japhet will arrange the transport and game drives for/with you. You can find them on the internet for more photos." For a solo female traveler, trust is important, and difficult in a country where you have no contacts. So I put myself in the hands of God, and was not disappointed. Communication with Japhet was prompt and easy (though you have to figure out the 13 hour difference with the US). He has a transportation from the airport driver (Jackson) and safari driver for the day trips. They have been working together for about 15 years. January is considered a mini-respite during the rainy season, though it was quite dry and hot while I was there. I never saw a mosquito, tho if you leave the light on in the bathroom, you will attract moths:-). I based out of the guest house and did day trips to S. Serengeti (where wildebeasts were calving at the time). 2nd day trip was to Ngorongoro crate, and 3rd day Lake Manayara morning and return to Arusha airport in afternoon. In retrospect, a day to just relax and enjoy the nuns/property at the guest house would have been a good idea. Sometimes you will hear the nuns singing and wonder if it is angels. Not only are the food ingredients wonderfully flavorful, but the chef is also very talented. All the staff is wonderful and caring, and they often have visiting priests you can interact with. I wasnt feeling well (beware the food on Ethiopian air) or would have liked to have interacted more with staff and other visitors. The accomodations are 'basic.' But my 2 biggest concerns were fine: The room stays a comfortable temperature and the bed/mattress was also fine/comfortable, and I'm somewhat sensitive due to recent hip replacements. Try to keep your devices charged, as the village tends to lose power for a few hours in the evenings. The sisters have some lights connected to solar, but not the outlet to charge your phone. I know many people do volunteer work in foreign countries. It has not been for me yet, but I felt good/happy that my tourism dollars were going directly to help a great organization. When Japhet shows you around the Guest house, you will see all the programs the sisters have set up to help the local people.