Elite Traveler September-October 2015

DISCOVER

Travel

1 Limalimo

2 Benguerra

3 Namiri

Take a walk on the wild side

As lesser-known parts of Africa open up to luxury tourism, new hotels are injecting style and glamour into emerging regions of the continent 1 Stylish ecolodge Limalimo opens this month in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia. The resort has 14 elegant rooms that look onto the Unesco World Heritage-listed national park, a bar with awe-inspiring views of the lowlands, hammocks strung lazily between acacia trees and some very unusual visitors – troupes of local Gelada monkeys (pictured) that pass through. limalimolodge.com 2 The beautifully secluded Benguerra Island resort, overlooking the Mozambique coast and sheltered by a pine forest, has reopened after a $5.5m renovation. The colonial bandas are styled with a nod to the region’s Portuguese heritage and the fresh seafood is exquisite. Guests are assigned a Mozambican butler and private dinners can be arranged on the beach or in your cabana. andbeyond.com/benguerra-island 3 Serengeti National Park isn't exactly untapped by tourists but the new Namiri Plains has reopened in a remote eastern area of the park, after being closed for 20 years to create a cheetah haven. There are no other lodges, so guests at the semi-permanent eight-tent camp can view the migration of wildebeest and zebra, which starts in October, totally undisturbed by others. namiriplains.asiliaafrica.com