13-day Safari in Tanzania

DAY 1

KILIMANJARO – UMBWE CAVES

In the morning you are picked up at 8am from your hotel and drive to Machame gate to collect your permits. There is then an hour drive to the Umbwe gate where after checking in you set off up through the forest zone. The first day hiking is not overly difficult but certainly steepens towards the latter end of the day. In the late afternoon you arrive in the first camp for dinner and overnight (full board).

DAY 2

KILIMANJARO – BARRANCO

The second day ascends from the forest zone into the heath zone and there are some very steep sections here. Taking it easy is essential to allow your body to acclimatize. A picnic lunch is taken on route and then in the afternoon you arrive into Barranco camp in time to relax for a while before dinner. The views of the Barranco wall and Western breach pertain to events some 60,000 years ago when this whole part of the mountain collapsed. Dinner and overnight Barranco Camp (full board).

DAY 3

KILIMANJARO - LAVA TOWER

The ascent today is very steep and into alpine dessert. The air is generally very dry here and as you ascend the guides will be carefully assessing your progress. Note that if your body is not acclimatizing well then, the routing may well be switched to an ascent via Stella Point instead. Lunch is taken at Lava Tower with the afternoon to rest. Overnight Lava Tower (full board).

DAY 4

KILIMANJARO – ARROW GLACIER

There is leisurely ascent to arrow glacier this morning and plenty of time just to let your bodies get used to the thin air. You can also hike the area with your guides to keep the See you soon on these great wonders! blood flowing. A very dramatic part of the mountain, it is also known to be quite dangerous for rock falls and so extreme care must be taken when walking up towards the breach. There is a very early dinner and then time for some rest. Dinner and overnight Arrow Glacier Camp (full board).

DAY 5

KILIMANJARO – SUMMIT / MILLENIUM

There is a very early ascent up the breach at 4am. It takes around 4 to 6 hours to reach the crater rim and then you head into camp. In the afternoon there is a chance to visit the ash pit and Furtwangler glacier. Dinner and overnight Crater Camp (full board).

DAY 6

KILIMANJARO – MWEKA

Your start is timed to reach the summit at the break of dawn which only takes around 1 hour. Sunrise here is truly spectacular with stunning views of the crater, Mt Meru and the Southern Icefields. You then descend to Mweka camp arriving mid-afternoon for your final evening on Kilimanjaro. Dinner and overnight Mweka Camp (full board).

DAY 7

KILIMANJARO

After breakfast you descend once again through montane forest and around mid-day after saying farewell to your crew, you are picked up and transfer back to Arusha

DAY 8

ARUSHA TO LAKE MANYARA

Today after breakfast you will begin your drive to Lake Manyara National Park which sits at the bottom of a towering escarpment on one side and an extensive soda lake on the other side.  

The lake plays host to many species of migratory and resident water birds such as the pink-hued flamingos. In the acacia forests of Lake Manyara, you will see giraffes, elephants, buffalos, zebras, wildebeests, impalas, warthogs, gazelles, and the resident tree-climbing lions.  Leopards and cheetahs can also be seen with the park. you will have a picnic lunch at Lake Manyara National park picnic site.

MEALS (Breakfast, lunch (picnic), Dinner)

VEHICLE (4*4 Safari Jeep)

OVERNIGHT: BOUGAINVILLEA LODGE (Optional), GIBBS FARM (Optional), NEPTUNE NGORONGORO LUXURY LODGE (Optional), NGORONGORO FARM HOUSE (Optional)

DAY 9

MANYARA TO SERENGETI

After breakfast leave Lake Manyara and drive to Serengeti National Park. Covering 14.763 sq km the park is the largest in Tanzania; it is part of the Serengeti ecosystem with Ngorongoro Crater Area and Masai Mara in Kenya. Stop over will be made for lunch and for the first panoramic views of Ngorongoro Crater from the top. Along the road you see the typical Maasai “bomas” – villages and their cattle. Proceed through the grass plains and semi-arid area after entering the gate of the National Park. The first game drive is on route to your lodge

MEALS (Breakfast, lunch (picnic), Dinner)

VEHICLE (4*4 Safari Jeep)

OVERNIGHT: FOUR SEASONS LODGE (Optional), SERENGETI MELIA LODGE (Optional), DUNIA CAMP (Optional), SIRINGITI CAMP (Optional), TORTILIS CAMP (Optional)

DAY 10

SERENGETI (FULL DAY)

After early breakfast, you go for long game drive. You can choose if you wish to come back for lunch and rest at the lodge or if you wish to leave with packed lunch and spend more time in game drive. The Seronera Valley is a transitional are between the open grassland in the South and the wooded grassland in the North - West, criss-crossed by rivers like Seronera and Orangi which end into Grumeti River and provide water reserve all year long. For this reason you will find in this area a very high concentration of wildlife. Among the resident mammals are included giraffes, buffaloes, impalas, Thompson’s gazelles, bushbucks, leopards, lions, spotted hyenas and the endangered black rhino. The number of animals is higher when the migration is back from the Northern plains to the South, between December and May, which is normally a rainy period. This phenomenon interest’s species like the wildebeests or gnus, the zebras, elands, Thompson’s gazelles. It is amazing to see the long columns of the animals move in one direction in search for water until the next dry season. Return to your lodge

MEALS (Breakfast, lunch (picnic), Dinner)

VEHICLE (4*4 Safari Jeep)

OVERNIGHT: FOUR SEASONS LODGE (Optional), SERENGETI MELIA LODGE (Optional), DUNIA CAMP (Optional), SIRINGITI CAMP (Optional), TORTILIS CAMP (Optional)

DAY 11

SERENGETI (FULL DAY)

Today is another beautiful opportunity to encounter the best experiences from this magnificent wildlife park, another day to proceed with a thrilling experience, our guide will head towards the highlands or along the scenic roads and Turner springs of Serengeti to give you the opportunity to meet wildlife at its core, meeting the herds of wildebeest, zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes or cats like lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas in their abundance, and so much more of what Serengeti has to offer.

You will break under the beautiful acacia shades for a hampered picnic lunch (expect nothing like an ordinary picnic lunch) while the sun calms for another outstanding experience in the evening, continue with a game drive in the evening as you finalize your day with a slow drive back to your lodge for another relaxed evening in Serengeti and healing from the African bumpy massage drive.

MEALS (Breakfast, lunch (picnic), Dinner)

VEHICLE (4*4 Safari Jeep)

OVERNIGHT: FOUR SEASONS LODGE (Optional), SERENGETI MELIA LODGE (Optional), DUNIA CAMP (Optional), SIRINGITI CAMP (Optional), TORTILIS CAMP (Optional)

DAY 12

SERENGETI TO NGORONGORO

After breakfast, you leave your lodge for morning game drive. After lunch, you will exit the park through Naabi Hill gate in the direction of Ngorongoro and Oldupai Gorge (this is the original name of the so called “Olduvai Gorge”). This is found to the North West of the Ngorongoro crater; it is about 55 km in length and its depth varies from 30 to 100 meters. Optional: you can visit one of the Maasai “bomas”, the typical village of the Maasai. This tribe has migrated to the Ngorongoro area about 200 years ago and it has always lived in harmony with the rest of the environment. There are about 42 thousand Maasai pastoralists living within the Ngorongoro area, with their cattle, donkeys, goats and sheep. The maasai are allowed to graze freely within the protected areas.

MEALS (Breakfast, lunch (picnic), Dinner)

VEHICLE (4*4 Safari Jeep)

OVERNIGHT: NEPTUNE NGORONGORO LUXURY LODGE (Optional), NGORONGORO FARM HOUSE (Optional), NGORONGORO TORTILIS (Optional), LIONS PAW CAMP (Optional)

DAY 13

NGORONGORO

After breakfast, descend into the caldera of Ngorongoro Crater for an unforgettable experience of wildlife. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers an area of 8.292 sq km, ranges in altitude from 1020 to 3.587 meters. The crater itself is only a small part of this; the caldera is large 19.2 km, is 610 meters deep and covers 304 sq km. The permanent presence of water in the floor of the crater supports a large resident population of wildlife. This includes wildebeests, zebras, impalas, dikdik, elephants, buffaloes. Large predators are easily seen, with families of lions, cheetah, spotted hyenas, leopard. The lunch with picnic boxes can be taken from the hippo pool point. In the evening transfer to Arusha for the transfer to the Airport (in alternative, we can book an extra night in Arusha with supplement). Half Board

Note: The transfer is about 240 km, 4 hours’ drive.