Itinerary

• Day 1

  Arrival at Kilimandjaro International Airport - Arusha

  Welcome at Kilimanjaro airport and transfer to Arusha for the night. Arusha is the administrative and industrial center of a region producing coffee, cotton, pyrethrum and sisal. Situated at an altitude of 1400m, at the foot of Mount Meru, it is the gateway to the northern parks. Depending on your flight arrival time, you'll have the opportunity to visit this small, very African town. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

• Day 2

  Arusha - Tarangire National Park - Karatu

  Meet your Tanzanian team and drive to Tarangire Park. Numerous roadside villages accompany the first kilometers of your journey in Tanzania. Further on, tea and coffee plantations and lush vegetation give way to savannah dotted with acacias and baobabs as you enter the park. A day's safari in Tarangire National Park, considered one of the country's finest wildlife sanctuaries. Covering an area of, 2850 km2, it is renowned for its exceptional concentrations of animals. The park is home to species that are harder to locate and often impossible to find in other parks in northern Tanzania, such as the Gerenuk, lesser kudu, Oryx beisa, eland and the most sought-after antelope, greater kudu. In the hills dotted with umbrella acacias and baobabs, you'll come close to elephants, wildebeest and buffalo, among others, as they try to reach the river. The photo safari continues near swamps and waterholes to observe the great African fauna and the many migratory birds that have come to drink. At the end of the day, you leave the park for the town of karatu for the night.

• Day 3

  Tarangire - Ndutu plains

  This morning, you set off for the Ndutu region. The Ndutu region is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It extends into the unfenced southern part of the Serengeti National Park. The area is home to many wild animals, including hyenas, giraffes and big cats, all year round. A radical change of vegetation, you leave the exuberant flora and certainly the morning mist to reach the great plains of Ndutu in function. Along the way, a number of Masai villages dot the trail, and it's not uncommon to come across herdsmen on the side of the road herding their cattle. You reach the park plains before noon. First sightings of the great migration.

• Day 4

  Ndutu plains

  A great day at the heart of the Great Migration, an extraordinary phenomenon during which almost 2 million wildebeest and over 300,000 zebra move almost permanently to the rhythm of the pastures. The itinerary depends on the season; the herbivores travel over 200 km from north to south in a loop. From the plains of the Ndutu region from December to March, you can head off into the Serengeti, towards the great plains of Seronera, in the center of the park, rich in varied fauna, towards the Grumeti river region to the west, the “western corridor”, or towards the north of the park, at Lobo.

• Day 5

  Ndutu plains

  The Serengeti National Park is a World Heritage Site. With its 25,000 km², including the Ngorongoro and Masai Mara, it is one of the largest preserved ecosystems on the planet. It is also the scene of the world's largest animal migration. In Masai, Siringit means “endless plain”. The vast grassy plains of the south-east from which it takes its name cover a third of the park's surface. Fertilized by volcanic ash some 3 million years ago, they are covered with short grass rich in the mineral salts needed by wildebeest and zebra for calving. The other two thirds provide different habitats for an extremely rich and varied fauna: wooded savannah in the center, wooded hills in the north and gallery forests in the western corridor. The day is spent at the pace of the safari and according to the movements of the wildlife. You usually leave just at sunrise, returning to camp around 11 a.m. for lunch and a short rest, before setting off again around 3 p.m. until sunset. (Optional hot-air balloon flight available)

• Day 6

  Serengeti - Ngorongoro - Karatu

  Early departure for a full-day safari inside the Ngorongoro Crater. From the top of the road leading down into the crater, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the perfectly round caldera (formed by the explosion of the original volcano), home to just over 25,000 mammals in an area of 260km². Here you can see almost all of Tanzania's wildlife, with a good chance of spotting rhinoceros or the more timid serval. The Ngorongoro Crater is a World Heritage Site. It is a caldera, a gigantic ancient crater that collapsed 2.5 million years ago, spilling its entire interior around it. This is what formed the top layer of the Serengeti. The Ngorongoro Crater is Africa's most densely populated animal area. In the late afternoon, you return to your lodge.

• Day 7

  Karatu - Kilimandjaro Airport

  A leisurely start to the morning as you pack your bags. After breakfast, depending on your return flight schedule, you'll discover the small town of Mtowembu and its market. Transfer back to Kilimanjaro Airport. On the way, stop for a picnic lunch and, if schedules permit, visit Arusha's big market before returning to the airport in the late afternoon. You can also plan an extension to the white sandy beaches of Zanzibar island.