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

  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. Overnight inside the park.

• Day 3

  Tarangire - Lake Manyara National Park - Karatu

  Last morning safari in the Tarangire park to try and observe the predators moving around in the cool of the morning. Short transfer to Manyara Park for another great day's safari. Leaning against the Rift escarpment, Lake Manyara Park is one of Tanzania's smallest parks, measuring just 330 km². Its location is breathtaking, stretching from 900 m to 1800 m above sea level and bordered on the west by the Rift Valley escarpment. Depending on the season, almost two-thirds of its surface is covered by the lake. Lake Manyara Park is home to an abundance of birdlife, giraffes, lions, hippos and monkeys, all of which can be observed at close quarters. In the afternoon, you leave the park for your lodge on the slopes of Ngorongoro. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

• Day 4

  Karatu - Serengeti national Park

  This morning, we head west into the vast Serengeti Park. A radical change of vegetation, you leave the exuberant flora and certainly the morning mist to reach the great plains of the Serengeti, in the Seronera area.
  Along the way, a number of Masai villages dot the trail, and it's not uncommon to come across a shepherd on the side of the road herding their cattle. As the Serengeti Park is continuous with the Ngorogonro Conservation Area, you reach the park plains before noon. Depending on animal sightings, it will take another 2/3 hours to reach your camp.

• Day 5

  Serengeti National Park

  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 National Park

  During this three-day safari in the Serengeti, you'll live to the rhythm of the sun and the animals. This is your chance to observe the many species that inhabit the park. Each day, morning and afternoon, you'll set off on safari with your guide before returning to your private bush camp or lodge for dinner, with the roar of lions and laughter of hyenas in the distance. The surrounding Seronera area is renowned for the large number of predators that reside here. Herds of elephant, zebra and the elegant silhouettes of giraffe complete the spectacle.

• Day 7

  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 8

  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.