Answer the call of the wild in the windswept plains of Northern Tanzania’s wildlife parks, visit her extraordinary natural wonders and encounter her ancient cultures on this 8-day voyage!

Not only does northern Tanzania offer you the best game viewing in the country, but her other natural sites offer you an opportunity to discover her amazing landscapes in off-the-beaten-track areas such as the Lake Natron – Ol Doinyo Lengai region. Add to that encounters with the Maasai and Makonde tribes, and you will surely be in for a memorable adventure!

A tour fully adaptable to your needs

As with all of our tour packages, this suggested itinerary can be adapted to suit your own personal preferences.

An extra day can be added to this itinerary for those who wish to climb Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano (please send us an inquiry via the “Send Inquiry” button at the top of this page).

Departure dates are also completely flexible.

Accommodation

On this tour, your seven nights will be spent in campsites with facilities (public toilets and showers and communal dining areas), either on the outskirts of the national parks or inside the parks, depending on the itinerary.

If you wish to inquire about the price for another category of accommodation (ex. lodge) for this tour package, or add any other adventures to this itinerary (ex. hot air balloon flight over Serengeti or Tarangire National Parks), please do not hesitate to contact us.

Itinerary

Day 1: Moshi or Arusha – Tarangire National Park

Activities: Travel to Tarangire  National Park (2 hrs from Arusha or 3.5 hours from Moshi) / Half-day game drive in Tarangire
Meals: Lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Camping

Meet your professional tour guide/driver in Moshi or Arusha and receive a short briefing about your tour before starting your journey in direction of Tarangire National Park. We will arrive at Tarangire around noon and immediately head out on our first game drive in this beautiful reserve.

Tarangire National Park runs along the Tarangire River and is made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. The park is defined by lush grasslands studded with giant baobab trees and sun-baked termite hills. Tourists who prefer to visit its more famous neighbours often ignore this lesser-known game reserve; yet during the dry season, it has a greater concentration of wildlife per square kilometre than any other park in Tanzania.

The huge swamp areas in the south attract large numbers of animals such as zebras, wildebeest, buffalos and giraffes, to name just a few. Moreover, the reserve is not only notorious for having some of the largest elephant herds in Africa, but also for being home to three very rare species that are almost impossible to find in other Tanzanian parks – the Oryx, the Elk and the Greater Kudu.

We will have a late lunch at a picnic area inside the park before our exploration of Tarangire continues. Our game drive will end at sundown when we retire to our campsite for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2 : Tarangire National Park – Esilalei Maasai Village

Activities: Half-day game drive in Tarangire / Afternoon visit to a Maasai boma (village)
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Camping

This morning we will wake up very early in order to get a taste of the Tarangire at sunrise. Capturing the sun rising over the baobab and acacia trees is an extraordinary sight and one not to be missed while on safari. After all, Africa is famous for her spectacular sunrises and sunsets so get your camera ready, sit back, relax and enjoy! The early morning is also a time when many big cats go hunting, so with a little luck, we could witness some action in the bush…

After the early morning excitement, we will stop for a bush breakfast inside the park before continuing on our journey through the beautiful and diverse landscapes of Tarangire until lunchtime, after which we will leave the park and move on to Esilalei Maasai village. Here we will meet a local Maasai guide who will take us on a guided tour of the boma (village). You will learn about the culture and lifestyle of this legendary tribe and be able to interact with the Maasai men and women. You will be able to take part in a traditional dancing and singing ceremony as well as see their herds of cows and goats, learn how to make fire in the traditional way, and maybe even participate in some of their daily activities alongside them.

Following this informative and eye-opening experience, we will head to our campsite in the early evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 3: Mto wa Mbu area

Activities: Hiking on Balaa Hill / Cultural visit to the Makonde tribe
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Camping

After breakfast, we will meet with a local guide from Mto wa Mbu village for a morning hike at the foot of the Great Rift Valley. Our walk will take us through small local villages and farms and will end at the top of Balaa Hill, otherwise know as "the hill of misfortune". Once at the top, you will be able to admire the beautiful views over Lake Manyara, Mto wa Mbu village and the Maasai steppe in the distance. In addition, you will see a number of magnificent 2000-year-old baobab trees as well as a variety of local bird species along the way.

After lunch, we will head to the village of the Makonde tribe to admire their handicrafts. The Makonde tribe is mostly found in south eastern Tanzania and is estimated to total over one million people. Traditionally a matrilineal society where children and inheritances belong to the women, in the Makonde culture, the husbands move to the villages of their wives after marriage. Although many of them have converted to Islam, a significant number still practice their traditional animistic religion.

The Makonde people are famous mainly for their unique artwork – primarily woodcarvings made from black wood. The artists traditionally carve household items, figurines, statues and masks. Since the 1930s, Makonde art has been an important addition to the African continent’s contemporary art scene.

We will return to our campsite in the early evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 4: Mto wa Mbu – Ngorongoro Crater

Activities: Travel to Ngorongoro Crater / Game drive in Ngorongoro
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Mid-range lodge

After an early breakfast, we hit the road for the drive to the astounding Ngorongoro Crater for the next leg or our safari.

Upon arrival at the gate, we will enter the misty rainforest and drive on the rim of the crater for approximately 45 minutes. Here, we may already get a chance to see some wildlife, depending on the season, as well as have great views of the crater from above. We then enter the majestic Ngorongoro Crater - the world’s largest intact and unfilled caldera - for an incredible adventure!

The crater alone is home to approximately 25,000 game animals, all of which live together in this natural enclosure including some of Tanzania’s last remaining black rhinos. Here you will spot the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhinoceros) as well as a multitude of other wild animals, from the pink flamingos of Lake Makat, to large herds of wildebeest, zebras, buffaloes, elands, and warthogs. Another big attraction in this picturesque national park is its dense population of predators, which include hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and leopards, although the latter often requires a trained eye to spot.

After an event-filled day, we will head to our campsite on the crater rim for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 5: Ngorongoro – Serengeti National Park

Activities: Travel to Serengeti  National Park with en-route game drive / Afternoon game drive in Serengeti
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Camping

This morning after breakfast, we embark on a beautiful drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area as we make our way to Serengeti National Park.

As we descend into the heart of wild Africa, we will see the endless plains rolling into the distance, as well as varied landscapes such as swamps, lakes, savannahs, and mountains as we drive through the region. These sublime landscapes are home to the Maasai herdsmen who live in relative harmony alongside the region’s abundant wildlife. You will also see animals here, as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife, including Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, giraffes, wildebeest, zebra and large herds of buffalo.

We will arrive at Serengeti National Park's Nabi Gate at lunchtime. Here we will fill our stomachs before embarking on our first game drive that will take us to the Seronera region (home of big cats!) in the central Serengeti area. Seronera is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. Here, the Seronera River provides a valuable water source to the area and therefore attracts an abundance of wildlife, well representative of most of the species common to Serengeti.

After our wonderful afternoon exploring East Africa's most beautiful wildlife park, we will head to our campsite after sunset for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 6: Serengeti National Park – Lake Natron

Activities: Game drive in Serengeti / Travel to Lake Natron region
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Camping

Today we will embark on a sunrise game drive in the central Serengeti area. After approximately 2 hours, we will head back to our campsite for a late breakfast before continuing our explorations along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River. This area is good for spotting lions, Thomson gazelle, topis, ostriches and cheetahs among other animals.

We will also discover the Kopjes Circuit which goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes. Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains, most of which are miniature ecosystems, providing shade and drinking water in pools left in the rocks after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife as the animals come here to drink - while the lions wait for their unsuspecting prey...

In the afternoon, our game drive will continue as we head towards the exit of the park in direction of the Lake Natron region. Here we will have dinner and camp for the night before our adventures continue...

Day 7: Lake Natron

Activities: Exploring the Lake Natron area
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner
Accommodation: Camping

After an early breakfast, we will meet with our local Maasai guide who will take us on a hike to the remote and very sparsely populated Lake Natron region; an area known for its spectacular and seemingly unreal scenery.

Lake Natron is like no other lake you have ever seen or heard of before. Apart from the fact that it sometimes turns bright red, the lake is also extremely caustic from the nearby volcano. This makes it poisonous to most animals, which is why you will find many bird and animal corpses in the area, and why we sometimes refer to Lake Natron as Tanzania’s beautiful but deadly lake.

The region surrounding Lake Natron is not a place you would normally visit for game viewing. The neighbouring national parks are much better adapted for that. Nonetheless, some wildlife species are occasionally spotted here such as zebras, giraffes, gazelles, wildebeest, golden jackals, lesser kudus, fringe-eared oryxes and even a few camel.

The main attraction and reason for visiting Lake Natron is the amazing and unusual landscape, the strangely coloured water and of course, the tens of thousands of lesser flamingo who have turned Lake Natron into their largest breeding ground in the world!

Some of the other birds to look for while visiting the area include ostriches, marabou storks, kori bustards, secretary birds, bateleurs, white-back vultures and chestnut-banded plovers.

After our beautiful walk, we will return to our campsite for lunch before heading back out to explore the region. This afternoon we will go on a guided walk to the lovely  Kamakia Waterfall where we can rest, swim and take in the beautiful scenery.

In the late afternoon, we will return to our camp for dinner and our final night.

Day 8: Lake Natron region – Arusha or Moshi

Activities: Travel (4.5 hours) to Arusha or (6 hours) to Moshi
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

This morning, breakfast will be served a little later than usual, giving us more time to relax at the camp before the long drive back to Arusha or Moshi.

Included in package

• Professional English speaking driver/guide
• Pick-up at Kilimanjaro or Arusha Airport if arriving the day before the start of your safari
• Pick-up at your hotel in Moshi or Arusha on Day 1
• Drop-off at your hotel or Kilimanjaro/Arusha Airport on Day 8
• All meals prepared by an experienced cook, except breakfast on Day 1 & dinner on Day 8
• Unlimited bottled water
• Campsite accommodation with common showers, flush toilets & common dining area

Not included in package

• Flight tickets
• Visa fees
• Travel insurance
• Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, soft drinks, juice or alcoholic beverages, any other items of a personal nature)
• Tips for your safari guide and cook (suggested amount: $30 per day per vehicle for your guide / $15 per day per vehicle for your cook)