Details of 6 Day Tanzanian Wildlife and Cultural Tour

Day 0 – Arrival

Upon arrival at Arusha or Kilimanjaro Airport, our driver will pick you up and whisk you away to your Arusha accommodation. Pick-ups from Nairobi International Airport can be arranged by either shuttle service to Arusha, or we can arrange a flight to Arusha/Kilimanjaro to get you here faster.

Day 1:  Arusha – Lake Manyara National Park

Departing from Arusha at 8am, the two hour drive to Lake Manyara takes you through the farming and market town of Mto Wa Mbu where souvenir hunters can practice their bartering skills with the local people.

From here, we enter Lake Manywara National Park where photographers are in for a real treat. The park is teeming with wildlife including the world famous tree climbing lions, thousands of brightly coloured flamingos, and the largest baboon troops in Africa. Witness the sun setting over the Great Rift Valley as your day comes to an end.

After your day is done, you’ll travel to nearby Lake Eyasi to overnight in preparation for the next day’s cultural adventures.

Day 2: Lake Manyara – Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, you’ll begin the drive down towards the Serengeti. Along the way you’ll enjoy two unique cultural activities: a visit to Oldupai Gorge and a visit to a Masai boma.

Stopping at Oldupai Gorge offers you a window into human prehistory. It was on this site that volcanic ash perfectly preserved the footprints of ancient men and women who called the region home, and at the Oldupai Gorge Museum you can learn more about the human journey that took these humble hunter-gatherers out of Africa and on to populate the entire world.

Our next stop will be a traditional Masai boma, where you’ll have the chance to meet local Masai people and visit their village. Step inside a traditional Masai home to see how they live, buy locally made crafts, witness traditional dancing, and wander around their village learning about how they live day to day.

From here, we’ll continue on to the Serengeti National Park for a picnic lunch and an afternoon game drive looking for the BIg Five and other popular animals such as cheetahs, giraffes, and the many antelope species who call the plains home.

You’ll overnight in the heart of the Serengeti.

Day 3: Serengeti National Park

You’ll wake before sunrise for the chance to enjoy a sunrise game drive. Not only does this give you the chance to see the savannah illuminated by the rising sun, but is also the best chance you’ll have to see predators such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs in action. Free from the heat of the day, these big cats look to grab an early morning meal.

After your morning game drive, you’ll enjoy a late breakfast before heading out onto the Serengeti for a full day game drive. Depending on the time of year, you may be able to track the movements of the Great Wildebeest Migration. Your experienced and highly-qualified guide will know the best places to take you to see everything from powerful elephants to wallowing hippos, and from diminutive serval cats to towering giraffes.

You’ll then overnight in the Serengeti beneath a star-strewn sky.

Day 4: Serengeti  – Ngorongoro Crater

After breakfast, you will continue the game drive through the Serengeti National Park. You will sight hundreds of wildebeests and zebras and often lions and other big cats such as leopards and cheetahs in the Seronera Valley. After lunch at a picnic site, you will drive in the direction of the Ngorongoro Crater. As soon as you have reached the edge of the crater, the caldera opens up before you and you will have a remarkable view of this impressive natural wonder. You will camp for the night on the crater’s edge and enjoy the fantastic view as the sun goes down.

Day 5: Ngorongoro Crater  – Lake Eyasi

After breakfast, you’ll begin the journey to Ngorongoro crater floor for a day of discovery. The drive to the famous crater is an experience in itself, as you’ll wind your way through mist-shrouded rainforests where baboons, Cape buffalo, and even elephants can be spotted wandering through the thick undergrowth. You’ll also stop at the Ngorongoro Crater viewpoint for a stunning panoramic view of the crater floor dappled with clouds.

You’ll travel down into the world famous crater (often described as the 8th Wonder of the World) to explore the verdant lost world that exists at its base. You’ll have the chance to spot the endangered black rhinoceros as well as other members of the Big Five – the lion, leopard, elephant, and Cape buffalo. Marvel at great herds of wildebeest and zebras, spot lions and hyenas fighting over a fresh kill, and take in the beauty of thousands of flamingoes feeding in the crater’s soda lakes.

A highlight of your day will undoubtedly be a picnic lunch by the famous hippo pool, where you can enjoy a delicious lunch just a few feet from where hippopotamus wallow in the cool waters.

After a full day of exploration, you’ll drive to Lake Eyasi.

Day 6: Lake Eyasi – Arusha

You’ll start your day with the dawn, as you’ll be joining the Hadzabe Bushmen on their dawn hunt. The Hadzabe live today much as they have for centuries, with their hunter-gatherer lifestyle a reflection of how we all once lived.

You’ll join the hunters for a hunting demonstration as they employ tactics such as mimicking animal cries and movements to lure in their prey before taking it down with homemade poisons. You’ll also see how the women of the tribe gather fruits, vegetables, and herbs for breakfast in what is a once in a lifetime cultural experience.

You’ll enjoy a picnic lunch before beginning the drive back to Arusha, where you’ll overnight.