Tanzania Northern Highlights
7 Days Tanzania Northern Highlights
$1500/PP
Seven-day small group safari visiting the world famous Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara, Tarangire, and Ngorongoro Crater. This is an affordable way of exploring northern Tanzania in the company of other travellers. Travel is in custom 4x4s, accommodating a maximum of 7 guests per departure.
Itinerary
You will be collected from your Arusha hotel this morning for the start of your Northern Highlights safari. After a short introductory briefing from your guide, depart Arusha for Tarangire National Park and the Great Rift Valley.
Upon entering the park via the main northern gate, enjoy a short game drive en route to Tarangire Sopa Lodge, where you check-in for one night (FB).
Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Tarangire Sopa Lodge occupies a secluded location among kopjes (boulder hills) and ancient baobab trees in northern Tarangire National Park.
A safari lodge rather than a traditional bush camp, guests at Sopa are accommodated in spacious rooms, each with two queen sized beds, mosquito nets, a private lounge and mini bar. Ceiling fans keep the rooms cool, while glass sliding doors open out on to a balcony overlooking the surrounding bush.
This afternoon, enjoy a game drive in Tarangire National Park in the company of an experienced guide, whose spotting abilities and knowledge of the wildlife will astound you.
After a leisurely breakfast at your hotel, depart Tarangire for the Ngorongoro Highlands, where you check-in at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge for two nights (FB).
Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge
From its perch on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater, Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge enjoys a dramatic view of the crater plains below.
Ngorongoro Sopa impresses with its remarkable design as well as its location. At its heart is a large glass-roofed central dome, ringed by thatched rondavels. The rooms are furnished with twin queen beds and positioned to make the most of the views – most directly overlook the crater plains. All rooms feature central heating (evenings can be chilly in the Ngorongoro Highlands!)
Facilities include a large swimming pool, restaurant with a view, bar and lounge.
Set off early this morning in a 4x4, descending 2,000 feet to the floor of the crater for a four-hour safari with picnic lunch.
Often called the eighth wonder of the world, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area covers a diversity of landscapes, wildlife, people and archaeology that is unsurpassed in Africa.
Extending far beyond the crater itself, it is a huge area that encloses the archaeological site at Olduvai Gorge, huge expanses of highland plains, scrub bush, and forests that cover approximately 8300 square kilometres. As a protected area, only indigenous tribes such as the Masaai are allowed to live within its borders. Lake Ndutu and Masek, both alkaline soda lakes, are home to rich game populations, and surrounded by a dramatic backdrop of peaks and volcanoes. Of course, the crater itself, actually a type of collapsed volcano called a caldera, is the main attraction.
After a dramatic descent down the crater rim, passing lush rainforest and thick vegetation, the flora opens to grassy plains that stretch across the crater floor. The game viewing is truly incredible, as is the topography.
The Ngorongoro Crater and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area are without doubt some of the most beautiful parts of Tanzania, steeped in history and teeming with wildlife.
Depart Ngorongoro after breakfast and journey into the Serengeti. As you travel west, the beautiful Ngorongoro Highlands will give way to the seemingly endless savannah plains of the Serengeti. You’ll catch sight of isolated plains game as you approach the perimeter of the park, but soon the large herds for which the Serengeti is famous will come into view.
Continue into the central Serengeti and Serengeti Sopa Lodge (two nights; FB). Dinner and overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge with afternoon game drive.
Serengeti Sopa Lodge
Serengeti Sopa Lodge enjoys an enviable location in the Nyarboro Hills, where it nestles among acacia woodland on an escarpment overlooking the south-west Serengeti Plains – host to the largest annual migration of wildebeest.
The lodge offers 69 standard rooms, all with 2 queen size beds, en-suite bathroom, lounge and a verandah overlooking the plains. There is a swimming pool and indoor and outdoor bars.
A full day game drive with picnic lunch is planned for today, with game-viewing focused on the Seronera region, the heart of the Serengeti.
Simply teeming with game, the Serengeti is one of the largest and best game parks in all of Africa, unequalled for its natural beauty.
Your game drive today will take you into the heart of the Serengeti, as you explore the central Seronera region in search of the best game sightings.
Return to Serengeti Sopa Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Depart the Serengeti this morning for Lake Manyara in the Great Rift Valley, enjoying a game drive en route. Arrive at Kilimamoja Lodge around lunch time. Check in for one night (FB).
Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge
Opened in 2015, Lake Manyara Kilimamoja is among the newest lodges in the Lake Manyara region. It enjoys a superb location on the rim of the Great Rift Valley, from where it has an unobstructed view of Lake Manyara, Mt. Meru and, on the distant horizon, Kilimanjaro.
Kilimamoja accommodates its guests in spacious villa suites, set in attractive gardens and positioned so as to benefit from the marvellous views. The rooms are furnished to the highest standards, each with inside and outside shower, bathtub, air-con, indoor fire places, and private balcony with a view.
This afternoon, embark on a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, during which you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the region’s famous tree climbing lions!
After breakfast at the lodge, depart for Arusha. Your tour ends in Arusha after lunch at a centrally-located hotel.
Depending on the time of your international departure, we can arrange for a hotel day room or overnight stay in Arusha as necessary. Onward transfers and beach extensions may be booked through our office.
Booking Now
