12-Day Maasai Bushland Trek & Safari

• You'll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts cannot be arranged by this operator.

Arusha

Upon your arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, you will be greeted and transferred to Mc Ellis Hotel in Arusha Town. An English-speaking driver-guide will then provide a brief overview of your safari.

Next, you’ll embark on a visit to the Tanzanite Museum. Tanzanite, renowned as one of the world's most exquisite blue gemstones, symbolizes elegance, sophistication, and boldness. Accessorizing with Tanzanite jewelry is certain to set you apart in any crowd. Your overnight stay will be at the hotel.

Main Destination:

Arusha (City)

Accommodation:

Mc-Elly's Hotel

• Budget hotel located in Arusha (City)

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+8 Photos

Meals & Drinks:

• Breakfast (Lunch & dinner not included)
• Drinks not included

Mount Longido

At 9:00am, our team will pick you up from the hotel and drive you one hour to Mt. Longido. Upon arrival, you’ll take a leisurely one-hour walk to reach your first camp nestled in the mountain’s foothills. Following this, you’ll participate in a briefing and eat lunch.

In the afternoon, you’ll trek into the surroundings areas to further acclimate yourself to the African bush. This activity not only allows you to test your walking gear but also provides genuine insights into the typical East African acacia bush land. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at your secluded camp, which offers a breathtaking view of the incredible star canopy above.

Main Destination:

Mount Longido

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Kitumbeine Maasai Land

After breakfast, you’ll drive a short distance before continuing on foot to Kitumbeine Village, which is situated just two kilometers outside the village (at an altitude of 4,070 feet).

Today's trek covers a distance ranging from 10 to 20 kilometers, depending on the group's strength and preferences. A picnic lunch box will be provided along the way.

Today’s climb (up to 20km) will be a tough one. This experience aims to provide you with a profound understanding of the Maasai people’s resilience. They frequently walk these distances! Along the way you will traverse through the Maasai’s heartlands, encountering traditional, temporary villages with mud-built houses and thorn hedges. Witness young Maasai boys herding cattle and goats, continuing the practices of their forefathers for centuries. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the camp.

Main Destination:

Maasai Village (Cultural Village)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Kitumbeine Mountain Trek

After breakfast, we’ll continue our trekking up Mt. Kitumbeine Mountain, reaching a viewpoint on a ridge at 6,300 feet. The trail is dusty and rocky to start, which soon blends into a well-trodden goat path. Temperatures should drop as you ascend the mountain and the day wears on. We anticipate reaching the viewpoint in the early afternoon. Later, we’ll trek partway back down and meet with the vehicles for a brief drive to Ngarirat Swamp, an ancient, mostly dry swamp bed where numerous wild animals gather to drink and graze.

In the late afternoon, we’ll go on a game drive in the surrounding region near the swamp before traveling 18km to Gelai. Here you’ll encounter more of the diverse wildlife inhabiting the region. Keep an eye out for zebra, gerenuk, giraffe, birds, and more during the up to 16-kilometer walk. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the camp.

Main Destination:

Maasai Village (Cultural Village)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Nagarirat - Gelai

After breakfast, you will be transported by vehicle to the northeast of Kitumbeine village on rocky terrain. Upon leaving the vehicles, you'll traverse a low saddle between Mt. Kitumbeine and Gilai, undertaking a challenging climb into the foothills with a picnic lunch in hand. This segment is demanding, characterized by numerous ascents and minimal protection from the sun.

As you delve deeper into the Rift Valley, you'll encounter a great abundance of wildlife and birdlife inhabiting the region, including zebra, gerenuk, giraffe, weaver bird, go away birds, hoopoes, and numerous raptors. Prepare to be entranced by the sheer beauty of this region, known as the Cradle of Mankind. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the camp.

Main Destination:

Maasai Village (Cultural Village)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Sunken Crater/Lava plains

After breakfast, the group will pay a visit to a Maasai boma (a temporary settlement encircled by thorn hedges), which provides you with the unique opportunity to interact with the Maasai people who reside there seasonally.

The Maasai guides will provide insights into the construction of their huts, cooking practices, sleeping and eating arrangements, and the nightly ritual of bringing in the animals. Hopefully you will also be able to visit a remote Maasai school that attracts 40 Maasai youngsters each day.

After exploring the village, we’ll trek with a picnic lunch through untamed bush toward the Sunken Crater. We’ll traverse a beautiful plain marked by dormant volcanic vents, drawing closer to the escarpment of the Rift Valley, which ascends from the bush to the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands.

Expect to reach the impressive sunken crater by mid-afternoon, have a lunch and come down, take the car drive to the campsite.

Main Destination:

Maasai Village (Cultural Village)

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Lake Natron

After breakfast drive to the Ngarasero footprint, which Covering an area of 300 square meters, EngareSero is Tanzania’s largest human fossil footprints site to have ever been discovered within the African Continent’s boundaries. The site was discovered in 2006 through a research project which led to the greatest discovery of over 400 hominid and animal footprints, including zebra and bovid.

Then visit the Ngarasero thundering waterfalls for a refreshing swim in the river, have a picnic lunch at the waterfalls.

At evening walk to the Lake Natron which is a significant breeding area for flamingos, stay there until sunset, after sunset drive to the campsite for dinner and overnight.

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Main Destination:

Lake Natron

Accommodation:

Budget camping

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, we’ll embark with a picnic lunch in hand on a game drive en-route to Lobo, the northern part of Serengeti National Park.

We’ll explore the expansive Serengeti Plains, which house a diverse array of animals and birds. Keep an eye out for elusive leopards among the trees, cheetahs, and the Great Wildebeest Migration. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the campsite.

Main Destination:

Serengeti National Park

Best Time To Visit January to February and June to October (Different areas are best at different times)

High Season July to March (The Seronera area is crowded)

Best Weather June to October (Little to no rainfall)

Wildlife in Serengeti NP

ElephantCommon

LionCommon

CheetahCommon

BuffaloAbundant

ZebraAbundant

WildebeestAbundant

Show more

GiraffeCommon

HippoCommon

HyenaCommon

LeopardOccasional

Black RhinoVery Rare

Wild DogVery Rare

White RhinoNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Serengeti NP

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Serengeti National Park

At 5:30am you’ll set out with a breakfast box in hand on a sunrise game drive until 8:30am. You’ll then return to the lodge for a brief rest. At 10:00 am, we’ll proceed on full-day game drive with a picnic lunch in hand. Our knowledgeable guides will select optimal game viewing locations based on the season. Take in the serene hippo pool, observing these majestic creatures leisurely enjoying the cool water and coexisting harmoniously with crocodiles. Witness a large pride of lions and immerse yourself in the heart of the Great Migration.

This diverse and captivating landscape promises the pinnacle of game viewing. With luck, you'll encounter the entire spectrum of plains game, including elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, lions, and if you are lucky, the elusive leopards and cheetahs. The region is also teeming with an abundance of fascinating birdlife. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the camp.

Main Destination:

Serengeti National Park

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Inside Serengeti NP

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Serengeti National Park - Ngorongoro Crater

After an early breakfast at the camp, you’ll embark on a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch in hand en route to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Along the way we’ll pass through the Olduvai Gorge historical site (optional and cost not included). This is where anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of “Nutcracker Man” and “Handy Man,” both significant links in the chain of human evolution. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the camp on crater rim.

Main Destination:

Ngorongoro Highlands

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• On the crater rim of Ngorongoro Highlands

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Ngorongoro Crater

After an early breakfast, we’ll drive to Ngorongoro and descend 610 meters onto the crater floor for a six-hour game viewing experience with a picnic lunch. Keep an eye out for lions, elephants, zebras, buffaloes, wildebeest, endangered black rhinos, and various other wild animals.

At Ngorongoro Crater's soda lake you’ll witness a plethora of bird species, including flamingos. These animals sustain a diverse ecosystem, supporting large predators such as lions and leopards, as well as scavengers like hyenas and jackals. Dinner and your overnight stay will be at the camp.

Main Destination:

Ngorongoro Crater

Best Time To Visit June to October (Wildlife viewing is best)

High Season Most of the year – July to March (Expect crowds)

Best Weather June to October (Rainfall is little to none)

Wildlife in Ngorongoro Crater

Black RhinoCommon

LionCommon

BuffaloAbundant

ZebraAbundant

WildebeestAbundant

HyenaAbundant

Show more

ElephantCommon

HippoCommon

LeopardOccasional

GiraffeNone

White RhinoNone

CheetahNone

Wild DogNone

Accommodation:

Budget camping

• Just outside Ngorongoro Crater

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Non-alcoholic drinks

Lake Manyara National Park - Arusha

After breakfast, we’ll go on a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, which is home to giant fig trees, acacia woodlands, mahogany trees, and grassy flood plains. The contrasts of this area are simply breathtaking, with the open plains, huge escarpment, the soda lake, dense woodlands, and distance volcanic peaks. Animals such as elephants, hippos, impalas, giraffes, warthogs, wildebeest, blue monkeys, and buffaloes can be seen here. This park is also home to leopards and the famous tree climbing lions.

Lake Manyara National Park serves as an excellent introduction to Tanzania's rich birdlife. Over 400 species have been recorded within its boundaries. Highlights include pink-hued flamingoes, herons, storks, and pelicans.

After lunch, you’ll return to Arusha town for some shopping and then be dropped off at the airport.

Main Destination:

Lake Manyara National Park

Best Time To Visit June to October (Easier to spot animals)

High Season July to March (The northern section gets crowded)

Best Weather June to October (Little rainfall)

Wildlife in Lake Manyara NP

ElephantCommon

GiraffeCommon

BuffaloCommon

ZebraCommon

WildebeestCommon

HippoCommon

Show more

LionOccasional

HyenaOccasional

LeopardRare

Wild DogVery Rare

White RhinoNone

Black RhinoNone

CheetahNone

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

Meals & Drinks:

• All meals included
• Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

• Additional accommodation cannot be arranged by this operator.
• You'll be dropped off at the airport.