What You’ll Experience
Ngorongoro Crater (Days 1–2) The Ngorongoro Crater is unlike anywhere else on earth. Formed when a massive volcano collapsed on itself around three million years ago, the 260 square kilometre crater floor is a self-contained ecosystem that supports one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Africa, all within a natural amphitheatre ringed by walls rising 600 metres above the floor.
Your first evening is spent at a lodge perched on the crater rim, 2,000 feet above the floor, with views that have stopped travellers in their tracks for a century. The following morning you descend for a full day’s game drive on the crater floor. The Ngorongoro lions are among the most photogenic in Africa, with exceptionally thick, dark manes. Black rhino are regularly sighted here, one of the few places in Tanzania where rhino sightings are genuinely reliable. Elephants, hippos, hyena, cheetah, flamingoes and virtually every other East African species can be found within this single magnificent bowl.
Olduvai Gorge (Day 3 — en route) On your drive between Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, you’ll stop at Olduvai Gorge; one of the most important paleoanthropological sites in the world. It was here that Louis and Mary Leakey unearthed fossil evidence that established Africa as the cradle of humankind, finding hominid remains dating back nearly two million years. The small museum and guided walkway above the gorge offer a genuinely fascinating hour that puts the whole African landscape in perspective.
Serengeti National Park (Days 3–5) Three full nights in the Serengeti gives you time to truly settle into the rhythm of the bush. At 14,763 square kilometres, the Serengeti is Tanzania’s largest national park and the stage for the most spectacular wildlife event on earth, the Great Wildebeest Migration, in which over 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebra and 300,000 gazelle move in a continuous clockwise circuit across the ecosystem in search of fresh grazing.
The Serengeti is exceptional year-round. The central plains around Seronera are home to a resident population of lion, leopard, cheetah and elephant that makes every game drive productive regardless of season. Rocky granite outcrops called kopjes scatter the plains, where lion cubs tumble and play while adults sleep in the shade. Your mornings here are among the most peaceful and wild you will ever experience.
Lake Manyara National Park (Day 5) Often treated as a quick half-day stop, Lake Manyara deserves more credit than it gets. This compact but remarkably diverse park packs groundwater forest, acacia woodland, open floodplains, and the alkaline lake itself into a narrow strip at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment. The tree-climbing lions of Manyara are famous for reasons nobody has ever fully explained, the resident prides regularly lounge in the branches of acacia and sausage trees. Large elephant herds move through the groundwater forest, hippos wallow in the shallows, and the lake edge draws enormous flocks of flamingoes when conditions are right.
Trip Highlights
- Descend into Ngorongoro Crater for a full day game drive in one of Africa’s most wildlife-dense ecosystems
- Track black rhino, dark-maned lions and the Big Five on the crater floor
- Stop at Olduvai Gorge; the cradle of humankind en route to the Serengeti
- Three full days of game drives across the vast Serengeti plains
- Witness the Great Wildebeest Migration and resident big cat populations year-round
- Spot the famous tree-climbing lions and flamingoes of Lake Manyara
- Optional hot air balloon safari over the Serengeti at dawn
Overview
Tanzania’s Northern Circuit — Africa’s Greatest Wildlife Journey
Tanzania is home to some of the most extraordinary wildlife landscapes on the planet, and this 6-day itinerary takes you through the very best of them. Beginning and ending in Arusha, the safari capital of East Africa .You’ll descend into the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, spend three nights in the endless plains of the Serengeti, and finish with an afternoon among the famous tree-climbing lions of Lake Manyara.
This is Tanzania’s classic northern circuit, refined and perfected. Whether you’re a first-time safari traveller or returning to Africa for the third time, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Serengeti and Lake Manyara never fail to deliver something extraordinary. Our experienced, English-speaking driver-guides know every corner of these parks and bring them to life with knowledge that goes far beyond what any guidebook can offer.
Six days. Three of Tanzania’s greatest parks. Memories that will stay with you forever.
