17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania

17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania takes you to visit Lake Eyasi for the Bushmen as well Masai tradition and on an additional visit of all great northern National parks in Tanzania. I know you have never interacted with local people before; in this tour you will find yourself in the middle of Tanzania’s Local culture and tradition. Not only that but you will experience the Wildebeest Migration movement as well.

17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania

• Day 1: Airport to Arusha
• Day 2: Masai Tradition and culture time
• Day 3: Game Drive Arusha National Park
• Day 4: Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park
• Day 5: Cultural tour and village walk in Mto wa Mbu
• Day 6: Manyara – Serengeti National Park via Olduvai
• Day 7: Drive Central to the North Serengeti National Park
• Day 8: River cross – North Serengeti National Park
• Day 9: North to the Central Serengeti National Park
• Day 10: Serengeti National Park – Ngorongoro Conservation Area
• Day 11: Ngorongoro Crater tour
• Day 12: Embakai and Olmoti crater hike
• Day 13: Lake Eyasi tour
• Day 14: Hunting with Bushmen
• Day 15: Karatu to Tarangire National park
• Day 16: Tarangire National park full day tour
• Day 17: Tarangire to Arusha and on to Kilimanjaro Airport

Day 1: Airport to Arusha

Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport, you will be met by our representative at the arrival point and transferred to your hotel in Arusha which is approximately an hour’s drive from the airport for Bed and breakfast at Arusha Villa found in the slopes of Mt Meru followed with the pre-safari briefing of 17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania.

Accommodation: Arusha Villa

Day 2: Masai Tradition and culture time

Depart for Africa Amini Lodge morning at leisure then afternoon after Lunch out for Masai Activity at the Lodge. This lodge is built and run by the Maasai, the Original Maasai Lodge offers nature, culture, and relaxation with views of Kilimanjaro. Get to know the Maasai through campfire stories, spear throwing or traditional dances. All meals and overnight at Africa Amini Lodge.

Accommodation: Original Maasai Lodge

Day 3: Game Drive Arusha National Park

One of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Tanzania, Arusha National Park lies between the peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. Although the Park covers just 52.9 square miles, it has three spectacular features with unique habitats: Momela Lakes, a string of crater lakes; Ngurdoto Crater, a swampy crater base surrounded by highland montane forest; and Mount Meru, with an imposing summit at 4565 meters. The forests are rich with birds and other wildlife good savanna animals. Within the wide range of habitats, almost 400 species of birds have been recorded in the Park. Arusha National Park is approximately 45 minutes from Arusha town and is a great start to your trip. Enjoy a game drive below Mt Meru, driving up to the fig tree arch, an arch formed as strangler figs smothered 2 host trees on either side of the road. Enjoy a picnic lunch in the park before heading back for afternoon activities arranged by the lodge, later to your lodge. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Original Maasai Lodge

Day 4: Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park

After breakfast, we transfer into Lake Manyara for morning game drive and lunch, a classic safari picnic, and enjoy our final glimpse of the great wilds of Northern Tanzania. Transfer time is approximately 2.30hours covering 130km without game driving.

Lake Manyara offers an insight into the Great Rift Valley system and the adaptation of many herd animals and magnificent birdlife.

Lake Manyara National Park is a protected area in Tanzania’s Arusha and Manyara Regions, situated between Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley. It is administered by the Tanzania National Parks Authority and covers an area of 325 km2 (125 sq mi) including about 230 km2 (89 sq mi) lake surface. More than 350 bird species have been observed on the lake.

We continue Silalei Maasai Village to explore the area; you will have an afternoon game viewing enjoying great scenery of the lake and habitat. In the late afternoon, we drive to the lodge/ camps

Accommodation: Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp

Day 5: Cultural tour and village walk in Mto wa Mbu

Today you will be transferred by your Driver/Guide to mto wa mbu, a famous village closer to Manyara park about 7km from the lodge

At Mto Wa Mbu village where you will walk through the banana plantations and visit the home of a local farming family with different tribes and cultures. Take in the colorful market and even taste some banana beer at a local brewhouse. Then continue to your lodge for lunch or Local lunch prepared by the lady at the village. Optional you will proceed with Cycling along the lakeshore or great rift valley then later back to the lodge/Camp.

Accommodation: Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp

Day 6: Manyara – Serengeti National Park via Olduvai

Leave your lodge and drive along the crater rim before descending the outer slopes of the Ngorongoro crater and via Olduvai Gorge onto the vast plains of the Serengeti. Arrive at your lodge at approx. 4-5 hours later. The Serengeti is not only famous for the great Wildebeest Migration that moves around the park from October – July every year but also for the vast number of species that reside in the park year-round. The concentration of predators in the Serengeti is high with large pride of lion, numerous hyena clans, and regular sightings of both cheetah and Leopard. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe, and antelope can be found feeding on the rich plains as well as some of the lesser-known species such as aardwolf, mongoose, caracal, servals, and hyrax.

In our camps and lodges, meals are served in the main restaurant or private on request and are prepared in international and local Tanzania flavors by professionally trained Chefs. later to your camp.

Accommodation: Serengeti Pure Tented Camp

Day 7: Drive Central to the North Serengeti National Park

Early breakfast and depart the camp heading north of Serengeti which is approximately 200km away, with game drive en-route I this beautiful are with different geographical features in Serengeti. In the north during this period chances of seeing Wildebeest migration is quite high later to your lodge/ hotel.

Accommodation: Mara Kati Kati Tented Lodge

Day 8: River cross – North Serengeti National Park

Spend your day exploring the extensive plains of the Serengeti in search of the ‘Big 5’. If you would like to maximize your time game viewing and chance of seeing River Crossing you can take a picnic lunch out into the park and enjoy a meal out in the vast savannah before returning to your lodge later in the day. Every year, triggered by the rains, 1.3 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra, and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle gather to undertake the long trek to new grazing lands. The migration of the herbivores roughly defines the boundaries of Serengeti National Park, which is the central zone of the Serengeti ecosystem, an area that also takes in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Maswa Game Reserve in the west. Later to your lodge/ hotel.

Accommodation: Mara Kati Kati Tented Lodge

Day 9: North to the Central Serengeti National Park

Breakfast then depart with game drive en route back to the central Serengeti, this is another great day that you will get chance to see big five on the way, your guide will always stop in areas with attractions to keep on giving you more experience of this endless plain. Later drop off for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Serengeti Pure Tented Camp

Day 10: Serengeti National Park – Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Today you will leave Serengeti behind you and travel east to the famous Ngorongoro crater that rises from the plains in the distance. The drive will take approx. 4-5 hour as you travel across extensive plains with possible game sightings en route. As you travel onto the Ngorongoro Conservation area you may see Maasai herding their cattle before your vehicle climbs the outer walls of the Ngorongoro crater. The Maasai are semi nomadic people and one of the most recognizable tribes in East Africa with their red shukas and elaborate beading. Visit a Maasai boma today and meet with the village elder who will introduce you to the traditional Maasai lifestyle and culture that has been maintained successfully for centuries and still continues to thrive in our ever-changing world. Ngorongoro Sopa is perched in the eastern side on the rim of Ngorongoro Crater and has the most magnificent and uninterrupted views of sunset over the crater floor, later to your lodge. | Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Day 11: Ngorongoro Crater tour

After breakfast, early morning depart the lodge and descend into the crater for a game drive. Your game drive today will be like no other as you visit one of the most dramatic safari destinations in Africa, the Ngorongoro Crater.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a protected area and a World Heritage Site located 180 km (110 mi) west of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania. The area is named after Ngorongoro Crater, a large volcanic caldera within the area.

Descend to the crater floor in search of the Big Five with the forest-covered crater walls surrounding you, creating stunning backdrops for all of your wildlife photographs. Travel through the Lerai Forest looking for leopard and onto the plains where the wildebeest and zebra graze whilst cheetah and lion lay and watch. Old elephants pass your vehicle whilst further afield rhino wander and hippos hide in the pools. Enjoy your picnic lunch and maximize your day in the crater. Later ascend and drive back to your lodge.

Accommodation: Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge

Day 12: Embakai and Olmoti crater hike

After breakfast drive along the scenic crater road, to the Masai village of Nainokanoka. Then proceed to the rim of the Olmoti Crater and with your ranger descend down to a small waterfall along the way. Later proceed uphill from where you have a last panoramic view of the grass plains below. Then drive up and down through the bushy landscape which finally opens up to the view of active volcano, Oldonyo Lengai Mt. Enjoy your Picnic Lunch at the picnic site on the rim of Empakai Crater. Later descend and explore the crater and on a well-maintained path you descend to the Lake Empakai inside the crater. This alkaline soda lake is an important food source for flamingos, which can be seen throughout the year. Later ascend and drive back and on to Karatu to your lodge Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Farm of Dreams Lodge

Day 13: Lake Eyasi tour

Breakfast then proceed to Lake Eyasi where you will get a chance to explore and interact with Bushmen, Walking around lake Eyasi shores to see different species of birds and fishing activities. Lake Eyasi is an amazing trip and an ideal one for cultural tour enthusiasts.

Lake Eyasi is an endorheic salt-lake on the floor of the East Africa Great Rift Valley at the base of the Serengeti Plateau and just south of the Serengeti National Park.

The trip offers Hadzabe indigenous tribe cultural interactions like hunting and other cultural exchange. Hadzabe are typical hunters and gatherers for honey and insects in the bush just like bushmen in Kalahari desert. Later to your lodge Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge.

Day 14: Hunting with Bushmen

Early Morning goes for Hunting with Bushmen later back to the lodge for lunch and then proceed to Karatu. Lake Eyasi is seasonal, elongated, orientated southwest to northeast, and lies in the Eyasi-Wembere branch of the Great Rift Valley. During the dry season the lake may dry up almost entirely, especially in drier years, so that Datoga herders and Hadza foragers will cross the lake on foot, but in heavy rains years, it may flood its banks and attract hippopotamus from the Serengeti. It is a seasonal stop for migrating flamingos. Later to your lodge Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Farm of Dreams Lodge

Day 15: Karatu to Tarangire National park

This morning, continue with your 17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania with a drive to Tarangire National Park with a picnic lunch. Enjoy a game drive in the park and arrive late in the evening to the lodge/ camp| Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner. Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Tarangire National Park is one of the finest parks in Tanzania. Centered on the Tarangire River, this park has expansive views with wide panoramas of wooded savannah stretching in every direction. The most outstanding feature is the Tarangire River, which is permanent, and the only reliable dry-season source of water available to wildlife in a vast stretch of Tanzania’s Rift Valley, attracting tremendous concentrations of different animals in the same location.

Accommodation: Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Day 16: Tarangire National park full day tour

Early morning go out for a sunrise game drive in Tarangire National Park, breakfast then after breakfast leave the lodge with a picnic lunch Enjoy a full game drive in the park and arrive late in the evening to the lodge| Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

Accommodation: Tarangire Sopa Lodge

Day 17: Tarangire to Arusha and on to Kilimanjaro Airport

After a leisure breakfast at the lodge, your driver-guide meets you and drive you back to Arusha/Kilimanjaro airport and drop off and proceed under own arrangement. Driving time is approximately 3hours to Arusha and 4hours to Kilimanjaro airport for your outbound flight.

17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania price includes;

• Park fees
• All activities
• All accommodation
• A professional driver/guide
• All transportation
• All Taxes/VAT
• Roundtrip airport transfer
• Meals
• Drinking water

17 Day Wildlife Safari and Cultural in Northern Circuit Tanzania price excludes;

• International flights
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Tips
• Personal items
• The government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
• Extra meals