Tour Overview
This tour will take you to the Serengeti National Park and to the Ngorongoro Crater, featuring one of the highest concentrations of game in Africa, and also to Lake Manyara National Park, consisting of a shallow but huge soda lake, at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment.
Day 1: Moshi town to Lake Manyara National Park
After breakfast drive to Lake Manyara National Park. The first view as you approach Lake Manyara National Park is very spectacular, regardless of direction. When you approach it from the east, the Rift Valley escarpment looms on the horizon forming impressive backdrop to the lake. If you come from the west and pause at the top of the escarpment, the park lies in a green strip below you and the lake glistening in the sunlight.
This beautiful park is at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment and comprises of forest, woodland, grasslands, swamps and part of Lake Manyara itself. Picnic lunch in the park. Afternoon game drive in the park, hot shower, dinner and overnight at Twiga lodge.
Day 2 : Lake Manyara National Park to Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, transfer to Serengeti National Park. The park is teaming with wildlife and it is thought that over 3 million large mammals roam the plains. The extensive grasslands are interspersed with “kopjes” – which are rocky outcrop islands in the flat plains, each with its own wildlife communities. Picnic lunch enroute. Evening game drive around Seronera area hot shower, dinner and overnight at Seronera research hostel.
Day 3: Sunrise adventure in Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro
It is the migration of large mammals for which Serengeti is perhaps most famous. Over 1.5 million wildebeest and about 400,000 zebras take part in this migration which essentially involves three famous and important protected areas – Serengeti and Ngorongoro in Tanzania and the Masai Mara reserve in Kenya.
It is a clockwise migratory movement, during which sequence, the animals start arriving at the eastern Serengeti short grass plains in late November – December where calving of the wildebeests takes place. At the end of the long rains, the migration heads westwards and then turns north to arrive in Masai Mara reserve in late August –September. Lunch at the lodge. Afternoon transfer to Ngorongoro and game drive enrote. Hot shower, dinner and overnight at Ngorongoro Rhino lodge.
Day 4: Morning adventure on the Ngorongoro crater floor (home of the big five) - Moshi
The animals here are not trapped, but there are some migratory movements in and out of the crater. Because of the protected nature of the habitat and the availability of grazing pastures and water, much of the animal population has become resident year round. This makes Ngorongoro an ideal area for game viewing.
Ngorongoro Crater is the 8th wonder of the world. It hosts an estimated 30,000 large mammals on its floor, including large herds of buffaloes, wildebeests, elands, hartebeest elephants, hippos, lions and the endangered black rhino. The crater being 12 miles wide 2,000 feet deep, and covering an are of 102 square miles, it is the largest intact volcanic crater on the earth. Picnic lunch at the crater floor, afternoon game drive on the crater floor. Late afternoon transfer to Kilimanjaro International Airport to connect with your flight back home.