10 Days Walking Safari Ngorongoro Highlands

Today you will undertake a game walk, accompanied by an armed Ranger followed by an afternoon game drive in Arusha NP. The Park is dominated by the mighty horseshoe crater of Mt Meru (4566 m). On a clear day you will have a spectacular view of Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m). A very diverse landscape of rain forests, savannah, lakes and craters hosts a wide variety of game, such as buffaloes, giraffes, zebra, warthogs, different types of antelopes and elephants.

The walking trail leads you through a fascinating landscape of savannah and montane forest where the chance of getting up close to animals is an exciting experience. One often sees buffalo and giraffe grazing nearby and, in the forests, the Black & White Colobus monkeys can be observed leaping from one tree to another. The Momella Lakes are known for their bird life, most notably the seasonally large numbers of greater and lesser flamingos.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

Between old coffee plantations lies Lake Duluti, an idyllic crater lake whose shores are surrounded by a forest reserve. More than 100 different species of birds supposedly nest here in this reserve. Today, paddling in a canoe, you will explore the shoreline of the lake and hopefully see many of these different kinds of birds including the colorful Kingfisher or the African Fish Eagle.

Afterwards, you will proceed to Karatu, where the afternoon is spent hiking to Elephanta Caves, deep in the Ngorongoro montane forest. Elephants, buffaloes and other wildlife frequently visit this place to dig up mineral rich soil. The trail is lined with fascinating flora, some endemic to the thick montane forest bordering the south-eastern slopes of the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

Transfer to the starting point of today’s hike along the north-western rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. On the way, you’ll enjoy spectacular views of the almost 20 km wide caldera of Ngorongoro. With a good pair of binoculars, you might even be able to spot elephant, rhino and other animals several hundred meters below on the crater floor. The trails you follow are a mix of cattle tracks used by the Maasai as well as tracks used by wild animals. The vegetation is diverse, ranging from montane forest to open grasslands and umbrella acacia forests. Along the way you will see many signs of buffalo, maybe even lion tracks.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

After breakfast, drive up the crater rim and across the northern Crater Highlands, followed by a hike to Empakaai Crater (2300 m). The highest point on the crater rim offers views across to the active volcanic crater of Ol Doinyo Lengai (2960 m). In the depths of the caldera you can see a small round lake. Along a steep path you can descend with your guide (approx. 250 altitude metres) through the thick forests which inhabit the sides of the slopes making it nice and cool on the way to the crater floor and, with a little luck, you may see flamingos which gather along the shores of this soda lake.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

Today you will attempt to summit Mt. Makarot (3133 m) which is probably one of the highlights of this tour – literally! The track, which leads steeply up to the summit, is partly a mixture of unmarked trails, cattle or wild animal tracks which wind their way up over open mountain pastures, between umbrella acacias and through knobbly Hagenia Abyssinica forest. The summit area hosts alpine vegetation such as heathers, everlastings and wild blackberries. With a little luck, you might be able to spot buffalo, bushbuck and eland along the way. From the peak, there are breathtaking views across the endless Serengeti plains, to Olduvai Gorge and nearby Mt. Oldeani (3217 m).

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

Explore the Ol Karien Gorge, home to numerous vultures, who have their nesting places there. After the walk, proceed to Olduvai Gorge – the “Cradle of Mankind”. Here is where the different layers of mostly compressed volcanic dust, whose ages range between 1.9 million and 24,000 years, are the resting grounds for various animal fossils as well as the skulls, bones and tools of different humanoids.

In 1911, Prof. Wilhelm Kattwinkel discovered Olduvai Gorge however, the gorge is most commonly associated with the famous names of Louis and Mary Leakey who spent the majority of their lives excavating here and carrying out research at this important archeological site. After visiting the museum, you will make a small detour to visit the “Shifting Sands” (wandering dunes) before driving onto your destination for the day at Lake Ndutu. It is here around Lake Ndutu where the large herds of the migration congregate from around December to April. However, at other times of the year, it is still possible to see a range of resident wildlife here.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

From the densely forested Ndutu area you will proceed across the short, grassy steppes of the Serengeti whose seemingly endless plains are decorated with scattered “kopjes” – these granite boulders have been ‘peeled’ smooth by the constant dramatic changes in temperature. The Serengeti is a paradise for grazers. Hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, and other animals such as zebra and Thomson’s gazelle, are roaming through this unique ecosystem on their annual migration, always followed by lions and hyenas hunting for prey. Whilst on a game drive in Serengeti NP, you are most likely to spot elephant, buffalo, giraffe, ostrich and many other different species of fauna. If you are lucky, you may come across a cheetah or even a leopard which is resting in a tree during the day. Crocodiles can be seen sunning themselves on the banks of rivers whilst, in the deeper waters, the hippos defend their spaces.

Accommodation: Serengeti View Camp or similar. (B/L/D)

Game drive in the Serengeti and transfer back to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp

Game drive in Ngorongoro Crater. In this “Garden of Eden“, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978, it is possible to see all of the Big Five. Apart from elephants, buffalo, leopards and many lions there are also more than twenty black rhino living in the Crater. These animals all share an area of only 260 km2 with numerous wildebeest, various antelope, zebras and many other East African mammals. After the game drive, transfer in the afternoon back to Arusha.

Accommodation: Lodge/Camp