Itinerary
Today you will arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport. We will pick you up and bring you to your accommodation in Arusha town. The transfer will take about 1,5 hours. Your first Tanzanian lunch on this trip will be in a nice restaurant in Arusha town, dinner and overnight at Ambassador Arusha Hotel or similar.
Today we have an early morning as we depart for Serengeti National Park where we enjoy an afternoon game drive. Lunch will be at one of the picnic sites in the bush and just before sunset we will reach Shuhudia tented camp or similar for dinner and overnight.
Serengeti National Park is Africa’s most famous park due to the largest concentration of game on the continent, the migration of millions of wildebeest and its vast endless grasslands which offer the finest game viewing anywhere in Africa. With almost 15.000 km2 Serengeti is the second largest park in Tanzania and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai language and means endless plains…and that is exactly what you will enjoy
The Great Migration in Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti ecosystem is one of the oldest on earth and the annual wildlife migration, largest mass movement of land mammals on planet earth, is perhaps what makes it famous. Over a million wildebeest and zebras flow south from the northern hills to the southern plains for the short rains every October and November, and then go west and north after the long rains in April, May and June. It is a dangerous journey for the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles who need to outsmart their predators.
Especially the Mara and Grumeti River is where giant crocodiles and fast flowing water awaits. The Great Migration is listed as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and is for lots of visitors the highlight of their journey.
Wildlife in Serengeti National Park
Serengeti, characterized by the endless plains, acacia trees and punctuated by large stone kopjes presents an archetypal picture of a wild and remote Africa and supports an amazingly large number of wildlife. These endless plains are home to more than 4,000 lions, 1,000 leopards, 225 cheetahs and 3,500 hyenas. No doubt, the Serengeti is one of the best places to see the Big Five – rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard, but you will also see elephants, giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, eland, zebras and wildebeests and rare animal species like the pangolin, East African Oryx and wild dog.
After check out we will head towards Ngorongoro crater.
On our way we do some en route game drives in Serengeti and on the crater rim in Ngorongoro Conservation Area..
After an early morning breakfast we will drive to Ngorongoro Crater for a half day game drive. We will have lunch at a picnic site and drive back to Arusha town in the afternoon. No accommodation.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It spans from Serengeti National Park in the north, to the Great Rift Valley in the east. In total, the conservation area covers more than 8,000 km². Two to three million years ago a large volcano exploded and collapsed on itself. As a result the Ngorongoro crater formed which then created a unique ecosystem with a wide variety of vegetation and is now the main attraction of this area. The crater is only 20 kilometers wide and 600 meters deep.
Wildlife in Ngorongoro crater-The crater holds a permanent population of more than 30,000 different animals as only very few animals migrate in and out of the crater. The views from the crater rim over the crater floor are spectacular.
You can expect to see lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, flamingos, jackals, rhinos, antelopes, many birds, and other species. The crater is also home to the rare black rhino, almost extinct in Tanzania. With a bit of luck, you will see the ‘Big Five’ during one game drive.
