Depart on this epic journey to the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire NP, Lake Manyara NP, Lake Eyasi & Lake Natron on a Private Mid-range Safari. Travel in comfort across Tanzania's Northern Circuit on this short safari yet full of highlights. Witness the famous big 5 and learn the traditional ways of life of the last remaining bushmen.
Day 1: Arusha - Tarangire National Park
Distance: 120km, ETA: 2 hours
Wildlife Viewing Time: 7 hours
Activities: Game Drives
Airport Pick Up Included: We advise you arrive a day before or very early in the morning and start the tour on the same day.
We depart Arusha/ Airport at around 0730hrs to Tarangire National Park. Tarangire is home to some dry-country antelope, such as the rare fringe-eared oryx and peculiar, long-necked gerenuk. The swampy areas in the south of the park offer some interesting wildlife viewing opportunities including wallowing elephants and buffalo, the Silale Swamp lion pride and sometimes wild dog. Big pythons can sometimes be found in trees when the swamps are drying up. You'll have lunch at the picnic site and proceed with game drives until around check out time. Drive to Karatu Town for overnight.
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater
Distance: 50km, ETA: 1 hour
Wildlife Viewing Time: 8 hours
Activities: Game Drives
Descend very early morning after breakfast into the Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Crater offers some of the best wildlife viewing in Africa. All the major safari animals occur in great numbers. The resident population of black rhino is a real treat, as rhino are very difficult to spot elsewhere in Tanzania. The crater is also home to some very impressive elephant bulls with huge tusks. Lake Magadi often harbors large flocks of flamingo. You'll have lunch at the picnic site and proceed with game drives until around check out time. Drive to Karatu Town for overnight.
Day 3: Lake Eyasi (Bushmen & Blacksmith Experience)
Distance: 50km, ETA: 1 hour
Activities Time: 8 hours
Activities: Cultural Experience
Very early in the morning we depart to the villages for a local hunting & gathering experience with Hadzabe (hunter-gatherer Bushmen) and Datoga (blacksmiths) tribes. The Bushmen rely on their foraging techniques to survive and you’ll need to be very attentive and at times very quiet, while they demonstrate their animal tracking skills and the use of locally made poisons in incapacitating their targets on which they depend for survival. We will later visit their homesteads, learn about their ways of life, medicinal plants and much more. Later in the evening we drive back to Karatu town.
Day 4: Lake Manyara National Park & Maasai Village Experience
Distance: 50km, ETA: 1 hour
Activities Time: 5 hours
Activities: Game Drives + Cultural Experience
Pick up from the lodge and drive to Lake Manyara National Park. This park is known for its large elephant population. The big cats are present, but not seen that easily. The forest patch is home to habituated troops of olive baboon and blue monkey. Buffalo, giraffe and several antelope species are easily encountered on a drive. Enjoy game drives until around check out time. Visit an authentic Maasai village en-route to Lake Natron.
Day 5: Lake Natron Area - Arusha
Distance: 280km, ETA: 5 hours
Activities Time: 5 hours
Activities: Scenic Walks + Hiking
A rough dusty yet scenic drive along the rift valley floor leads to the remote Maasai land that is rarely visited by the majority. Morning walk along the Lake Natron Area, spend a couple of hours exploring the shoreline photographing the many thousands of flamingos and other birds that frequent this soda lake. Later during the day visit the Engaresero waterfall, by hiking through the steep gorges that lead to this amazing waterfall where there is a plunge pool where you can swim. After a long day of exploring this remote land, start your journey back to your hotel in Arusha/ Airport.
Airport Drop Off Included: we advise you depart the day after the tour ends or on the same day in the evening.