$3,691 to $4,931 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Arrival and Transfer from Airport to Your Lodge
Arrival and Transfer from Airport to Your Lodge
Our driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your lodge. Standard check-in time is 2 pm.
If you require early check-in, please request it in advance through your travel expert. We will be happy to assist, subject to availability.
If you need a different pick-up location, please let us know at the time of booking, and we’ll be glad to suggest alternative arrangements.
- Main Destination:
- Arusha (City)
- Accommodation:
- Gran Meliá Arusha
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Walking Safari & Canoe Ride in Arusha National Park
Walking Safari & Canoe Ride in Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park sits at the foot of Mount Meru and covers a surprisingly varied stretch of terrain for its size – rainforest, open savannah and the Momella Lakes within a single day's reach. It's also one of the few parks in Tanzania where walking safaris are permitted.
The morning starts on foot with an armed ranger. Giraffe, buffalo and warthog move through the acacia woodland largely undisturbed, and at 20 to 30 metres the proximity feels different than it does from a vehicle. After around an hour and a half, you'll continue to the Momella Lakes – a reliable spot for flamingo, pelican, ibis and hornbill, among more than 200 recorded species.
The lakes are also where you'll switch from vehicle to canoe. Two hours on the water gives a different perspective entirely – buffalo, antelope and giraffe occasionally approach the shore, and the birdlife is easier to observe at this pace. In clear weather, Mount Meru rises behind it all.
- Main Destination:
- Arusha National Park
- Accommodation:
- Gran Meliá Arusha
Wildlife in Arusha NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Walking with Locals & Local Tanzanian Lunch in Mto wa Mbu Village
Walking with Locals & Local Tanzanian Lunch in Mto wa Mbu Village
Your morning is spent in Mto wa Mbu, a market town at the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment where more than 120 tribal communities have settled over generations – and where that mix shows in the market, the food, and the crafts. On foot with your guide, you'll move through the village at an easy pace – past traditional homesteads, through the local market, and into a banana plantation where the range of uses for a single plant tends to catch people off guard. Before leaving, you may be offered mbege, the traditional banana and millet beer.
Lunch is in the village, eaten outside, Swahili home cooking: sautéed vegetables with rice, ugali, potato and meat stew, local spinach, okra and chapati. The kind of meal that doesn't appear on a restaurant menu.
- Main Destination:
- Mto Wa Mbu (Town)
- Accommodation:
- Kisima Ngeda Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Meeting Hadzabe and Datoga Tribes at Lake Eyasi
Meeting Hadzabe and Datoga Tribes at Lake Eyasi
Lake Eyasi sits in the floor of the Great Rift Valley, and its shores are home to two communities with very little in common. The Hadza are one of the last hunter-gatherer peoples in Africa – nomadic by tradition, with a knowledge of the bush and a precision with a bow that comes from a way of life largely unchanged for thousands of years. The Datooga arrived under different circumstances, pushed to the lake's edge by better-armed tribes, and have built their lives around cattle herding and farming ever since.
The distance from the developing world has allowed both communities to retain their ways of living in a form that is increasingly rare anywhere on the continent.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Eyasi
- Accommodation:
- Farm House Valley Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Lake Natron
Lake Natron
Lake Natron sits in the Great Rift Valley floor, fed by mineral-rich springs and coloured a deep red by the alkaline-tolerant bacteria that thrive in its waters. It sees very few visitors, and the landscape around it – open plains running toward the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano – has a stark, unhurried quality that sets it apart from the rest of the northern circuit.
Giraffe, zebra, ostrich and antelope move through the surrounding plains. The lake itself is the primary breeding ground for East Africa's lesser flamingo population.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Natron
- Accommodation:
- Lake Natron Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Lake Natron
Lake Natron
Lake Natron is the most important breeding site for lesser flamingo in the world – over 75% of the global population is born here, drawn by the alkaline water that keeps predators at bay. Between August and November, the numbers are at their highest. Through binoculars, grey chicks can be spotted along the shoreline, still weeks away from the pink they'll eventually become.
When the flocks take flight together, the effect is worth stopping for. Pelicans and various wading birds work the shallower edges alongside them.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Natron
- Accommodation:
- Lake Natron Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
Hike to Engaresero Waterfall at Lake Natron
Hike to Engaresero Waterfall at Lake Natron
The Engaresero Falls are reached on foot – around an hour each way, led by a local Maasai guide along a trail that isn't accessible by vehicle. Light shoes are recommended; the path crosses water in places. The pools below the falls are good for swimming – worth bringing a bathing suit and a towel.
The broader Natron area holds giraffe, zebra, ostrich, hyena, impala and wildebeest moving through open terrain that feels different from the managed parks further south.
On the horizon, Ol Doinyo Lengai – the Mountain of God in Maasai – is one of the few active volcanoes in East Africa, and a presence that shapes the landscape around Lake Natron in ways that become clearer the longer you spend here.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Natron
- Accommodation:
- Farm House Valley Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Iconic Savannah in Ngorongoro Crater
Iconic Savannah in Ngorongoro Crater
An early start gets you into the crater before the morning light fades. The descent takes around 30 minutes through forest, with a viewpoint stop at the rim before the caldera floor opens up below. The crater holds one of the highest concentrations of wildlife per square kilometre on the continent – elephant, buffalo, zebra, lion and a small resident population of black rhino, all within a single enclosed landscape. Cheetah are present too, though less predictable. The permanent water and grazing keep most animals here year-round, which gives the day a particular reliability. A mid-morning stop at Lake Magadi is worth the pause – hippos surface near the shore, and yellow-billed kites tend to take an interest in any food left unattended. The crater has held UNESCO World Heritage status since 1979.
- Main Destination:
- Ngorongoro Crater
- Accommodation:
- Gran Meliá Arusha
Wildlife in Ngorongoro Crater
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Transfer to Airport
Transfer to Airport
Our driver will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to the airport in time for your flight. Standard hotel check-out time is 10:00 AM.
If you require a late check-out, please let us know at the time of booking. We will be happy to request it in advance (subject to availability and possible extra charges).
If you are not flying out on this day and have other plans, please inform us when booking. We can customize your program according to your schedule.
- Main Destination:
- No major destination visited
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
