Itinerary

Day 1: Arusha
Upon your arrival you’ll be met at the airport and transferred by road to a charming eco-friendly guesthouse located just outside of Arusha. In the early evening you will be met at the lodge by your safari guide for a pre-trip briefing outlining the route that you’ll be taking with plenty of time for any questions that you have regarding your safari.

Day 2: Tarangire National Park
This morning after an early breakfast at the lodge you’ll head to Tarangire National Park, a quiet seasonal park with excellent game viewing in the summer. Tarangire has regions of dense bush with high grasses and huge old baobab trees instead of the green forests of Manyara. The land is hilly and dominated by the impressive valley of the Tarangire River which attracts high numbers of migratory animals during the dry months of June through September. During the dry months the concentration of animals around the Tarangire River is almost as diverse and reliable as in the Ngorongoro Crater, but the ecosystem here is balanced by a localized migration pattern that is followed by most animals other than lion, who maintain their territory throughout the year. You’ll spend the night at a permanent tented camp set in the Tarangire Conservation Area, astride the elephant migratory route which is thought to run from Tarangire National Park right through to Amboseli in Kenya.

Day 3: Tarangire - Lake Eyasi
This morning after breakfast you’ll leave Tarangire and the main tourist trail behind and enter the true tribal areas of Tanzania on the road to Lake Eyasi. Lake Eyasi, just south of the Serengeti, is a wild and scenically stunning area where you can get a real insight into the way of life of some of Tanzania's fascinating tribes, most notably the Wahadzabe and Datoga peoples. The road from Tarangire is the same road that leads to the Ngorongoro Crater and Highlands, but divides in Karatu, just below the Crater Rim. The north-eastern tip of the lake lies in the shadow of Oldeani Mountain on the edge of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Lake Eyasi lies in one of the oldest parts of the Eastern Rift Valley, it runs northeast - southwest for a distance of about fifty miles below the impressive three thousand foot escarpment, which forms the south-eastern boundary of the Serengeti National Park and Maswa Game Reserve. To the southeast of the lake is the Yaida valley, home to the Wahadzabe tribe of hunter-gatherers. This area is inhabited by small groups of bushmen - the Hadza and Watindiga, who live in small groups hunting with bow and arrow and gathering roots, tubers and wild fruits much as humankind lived in the Stone Age. Over 100 years ago, when the stronger Maasai tribes moved into the Ngorongoro and Serengeti, the tribes made the area around Lake Eyasi their home. Another interesting tribe in the area is the Datoga, one of the last click-speaking hunter-gatherer tribes in East Africa. Your base in Lake Eyasi is a small tented camp situated on the shores of the lake with sweeping views toward the Rift Valley. The camp is beautifully set in a date palm and acacia forest and is part of 200-acre family-owned farm. You’ll have the opportunity to spend the remainder of the day exploring the lake and interacting with the local Wahadzabe and Datoga communities before settling down for the night at the camp.

Day 4: Lake Eyasi - Crater Highlands
Today after a very early morning wake-up call you can take part in a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, a morning of traditional hunting with your Wahadzabe guides. There is perhaps no better way to understand the way of life of the local communities than by joining them in their quest for sustenance. There are other early morning cultural activities available for anyone who doesn’t wish to take part in the hunt. After returning to the camp for brunch you’ll leave the Lake Eyasi region to head for the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater Highlands. Your base for exploring the highlands is a luxurious lodge consisting of individual cottages perched overlooking the Rift Valley. You’ll spend the afternoon exploring the Crater Highlands with your guide on a walking safari through the farms and villages of the Rift Valley escarpment. Today will be spent learning about another fascinating local tribe, the Iraqw, who are culturally very different than the Wameru and Maasai of the surrounding areas. You will be led on a guided walking safari culminating in a cultural tour of a traditional Iraqw village in the Ngorongoro highland forests above the Great Rift Valley. The Iraqw people settled the Ngorongoro area some two thousand years ago and speak a Cushitic language with its origins in Ethiopia. Today they are primarily agriculturalists and live along the hills and valleys of the plateau that stretches from the Ngorongoro Highlands south towards Lake Manyara.

Day 5: Crater Highlands – Ngorongoro Crater
This morning after an early breakfast you’ll head out of the highlands and continue on to the world famous Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Crater is the remains of a once massive volcano, nearly three million years old, on the eastern border of Serengeti National Park. Now collapsed and eroded to leave the world's largest unbroken caldera, it forms an extraordinarily fertile ‘bowl’ in the midst of rolling highlands, with permanent water sources and steep sides ensuring that the wildlife that thrives here has little reason to leave. Situated in the midst of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, a wildlife preservation area roughly the size of Crete, the crater forms an important aspect of the northern Tanzania safari circuit. The crater is the spectacular stalking ground of around 20,000 to 30,000 wild animals at any one time, the most densely packed concentration of wildlife in Africa. The crater holds an astonishing microcosm of East African wildlife within its boundaries, and has achieved renown as 'the eighth wonder of the world.' Upon arrival you’ll descend into the Crater for an incredible game drive. The Crater comprises areas of grassland, swamps, lerai forest (small patches of forest made up of yellow-barked acacia and yellow fever trees), and Lake Makat, a central soda lake filled by the Munge river. These habitats attract all kinds of wildlife to drink, wallow, graze or hide, and although the animals are free to move in and out of this contained environment, the rich volcanic soil, lush forests and spring-fed lakes on the crater floor incline both grazers and predators to remain. After the game drive and a picnic lunch you’ll head out of the Crater and up to the Crater rim for the evening. Perched high on the Ngorongoro Crater rim, your lodge overlooks one of the most fascinating volcanic calderas in the world and provides extraordinary accommodation in a spectacular situation.

Day 6: Ngorongoro Crater – Serengeti
This morning you’ll leave the Ngorongoro Crater behind and continue on to Serengeti National Park, perhaps the most famous park in all of Africa. The drive to the Serengeti is for all practical purposes an extended game drive through the plains and greater Ngorongoro Conservation Area and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to stop and spot wildlife en route. The drive will take you through the Olduvai Shifting Sands region of the Ngorongoro Conservation area. This fascinating area is not only the home to mankind’s earliest hominid remains but also the fascinating volcanic ash dunes known as the “shifting sands.” After exploring the area with your guide and visiting the museum you’ll continue on to the central Serengeti for two nights at our luxury tented camp. The camp has varying numbers of tents throughout the year to accommodate guests, the environment and the location of wildlife. This new camp is intimate and special, with only four to ten luxury tents at any one time. The vast Serengeti is one of the most stunning wildlife sanctuaries on the planet and this vast savannah hosts the world’s largest surviving concentration of plains game. In addition to the short grass plains there are beautiful rocky out-cropping called kopjes (pronounced copies) and thousands of acres of bush and acacia woodland. The Seronera area has permanent water and therefore is an excellent area to spot big cats and elephant in the dry season. In addition to daily game drives the camp offers guided night walks and a large amount of cultural interaction with Maasai from the neighboring communities.

Day 7: Serengeti – Esilalei - Arusha
This morning you’ll have time for another fantastic game drive in the park before heading to the Crater Highlands through the Maasai corridor between Lake Manyara and Tarangire parks. The afternoon will be spent at the village of Esilalei for an in-depth cultural experience. All of our safaris directly benefit the local communities and you will have an opportunity to meet members of the village, see the schools and community buildings, listen to stories by the Mzees, or elders, and go on a walking safari through the surrounding bush. There are also opportunities for collecting food and water in traditional Maasai ways and taking part in arts and crafts. In the early evening you'll return to Arusha and your lodge for the night

Day 8: Arusha Onward
This morning you'll be met at the hotel and transfered to the airport for your onward flight.

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