Itinerary Details
Upon your arrival at the Kilimanjaro Airport, you will be welcomed by a Rahhalah representative who will transfer you to the Amini Maasai Lodge (approx. 2 hrs drive) where you will have the opportunity to connect with the Maasai and their traditional way of living.
In the afternoon, you will enter a fun competition of spear throwing against the Maasai. Try to beat your rivals while learning from the experts the secrets on how to throw a spear successfully. It looks quite easy when you try to hit an imaginary lion. However, it takes a great amount of skill to hit a real one.
Later, an herbalist will accompany you on a serene walk through the hills of the surrounding area and will introduce you to the Maasai's medicinal plants.
You will end this first day in Africa, enjoying the sun going down while relaxing either in the veranda or on one of the surrounding hills. Accommodation: Amini Maasai Lodge in a traditional room with full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Recommended arrival time: with Qatar airways flight arriving at 7:10 am. Note: Only one group transfer from the airport to the lodge is included in the price. Timings will be advised in due course. Additional transportation can be arranged at an extra cost.
Early in the morning, you can enjoy from your bed the view of the sun rising over Mt. Kilimanjaro, while sipping hot coffee or chocolate that can be brought to your room.
After breakfast, a Maasai guide will takes you on a nature walk in the area surrounding the lodge. You will see the famous rock climbing trees, and pass a Maasai cave that has its own tradition and history. There is also a small lake close to the lodge where the wild animals often come to drink water in the early morning. The walk will last for 2-4 hours, depending to your fitness and preferences.
After a freshly prepared lunch at the hotel, you will check out from the Maasai Lodge and drive back to Arusha (approx. an hour and a half drive) where you will relax for the rest of the day. Accommodation: Night at Gold Crest Hotel Arusha with dinner & breakfast (HB)
After an early breakfast, you will head to Tarangire National Park for a full day of game viewing. Named after the river that flows through it, this National Park is lesser known and, as such, which offers an authentic feel of undiscovered Africa.
Despite its small size, Tarangire National Park is famous for its tree climbing pythons, massive baobabs, large herds of elephant, and a significant size of wildlife population, its density matching only that of Ngorongoro. Birding is particularly good here, since more than 550 species find home in the park’s green swamps (the largest number of bird species in only one habitat). Among other things, Tarangire is best known as a refuge for the largest elephant population in northern Tanzania. Elephant viewing in Tarangire is outstanding, as you most possibly see hundreds of these beautiful mammals in a single day. Accommodation: Night at Manyara's Secret Boutique Lodge with full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
After breakfast, you will head to Serengeti National Park, passing on the way through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and stopping for a while at a viewing point to admire the famous Ngorongoro Crater.
Serengeti National Park offers the finest game viewing in Africa. Unrivaled concentrations of wildlife, stunningly beautiful landscapes and vast pristine areas justify Serengeti’s international fame. Besides the migration of ungulates that passes through its plains, Serengeti National Park is well known for its healthy stock of other resident wildlife, particularly the "Big Five", named for the five most prized trophies taken by hunters (lion, leopard, elephant, black rhinoceros and buffalo). The park also supports many other species, including cheetah, Thomson's and Grant's gazelle, topi, eland, waterbuck, hyena, baboon, impala, African wild dog and giraffe. Finally, the park boasts about 500 bird species, including ostrich, secretary bird, Kori bustard, crowned crane, marabou stork, martial eagle, lovebirds and many species of vultures.
You will stop for a picnic lunch along the way before proceeding with your game drive safari. Accommodation: Night at Ole Serai Luxury Camp with full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
You will rise early to enjoy an early morning game drive. At sunrise, you may encounter animals grazing under the fresh morning light, while some predators may still be hunting before retiring for the day. Sunrise on the Serengeti is not to be missed, so keep your cameras ready. Later, you have the option to return to your accommodation for a hot lunch or opt for a packed lunch which can be enjoyed at one of the various picnic sites found in the Serengeti.
After lunch you will continue with your game drive. As the day comes to an end, be on the lookout for lions. Cheetah can also be spotted on the plains in the early morning and late afternoon when temperatures are not too high. They rely on daylight and speed to catch their prey. Hippo pods can be seen in the bigger pools and rivers while crocodiles can be seen sunning themselves on the riverbanks.
You will return to Camp in time to enjoy a sundowner before your evening meal. Accommodation: Night at Ole Serai Luxury Camp with full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
After another early breakfast, you will head to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, mostly famous for its crater: a large, unbroken, unfolded volcanic caldera. On the way there, you will enjoy a last game drive through Serengeti.
The crater, which formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago, is 610m (2,000 ft.) deep and its floor covers 260 km² (100 sq. mi). The crater floor is mostly open grassland with two small wooded areas dominated by Acacia xanthophloea.
Accompanied by an expert driver guide, you will descend into the crater, making your way through lush forests that are home to numerous elephants and buffalo. When inside the Ngorongoro Crater, you will have the opportunity to explore the grassy crater floor, the unbelievable fever tree forest, the banks of Lake Magadi and the surrounding marshes.
Lunch will be picnic style, so that you enjoy the surrounding landscape and its wildlife as you relax for a while before continuing with your day. Accommodation: Night at Ngorongoro Coffee Lodge with full board (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
On your final day in Tanzania, you will explore the beautiful and diverse Lake Manyara National Park. Stretching for 50km along the base of the 600-m high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem: a place which Ernest Hemingway described as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush, jungle-like groundwater forest where hundreds of baboon troops lounge nonchalantly, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy. Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe at least 100 of them in one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their migration, as well as other large water birds such as pelicans, cormorants, and storks.
Early noon you will exit the park and will had to Kilimanjaro Airport for your flight back home. Note: One group transfer is included in the itinerary. Additional transportation can be arranged at an extra cost. Recommended departure flight: after 5 pm.
