Day 1

Ngorongoro Crater

Staying at Entamanu Ngorongoro

Arrive at Kilimanjaro Airport, pass customs and transit to the domestic terminal for the flight to Manyara. Depending on your flight time, you may need to spend a pre-night in Arusha, contact us for options.

Arrive at Manyara Airstrip and meet with the camp guide, road transfer to camp through the Ngorongoro Highlands. Get to camp on time for lunch and experience a walk to the Maasai Homestead. The Maasai are the camp's neighbours and you will feel lucky to share their home with them. An insight into their culture and way of life adds dimensions to an Entamanu experience; you’ll be warmly welcomed, and it truly is a window into another world.

You will either stick to the open road until the Acacia Forest ends, or you can meander through the Acacia Forest along the ancient Maasai cattle paths. Both routes reveal picturesque Maasai settlements dotting the northern side of the Crater, and rolling hills give way to views of the Ol Balbal Depression and the endless Serengeti plains before you arrive at the Boma, where you’ll be invited in by the folk who’ve called these highlands home for centuries.

If you’re feeling fit, walk back up the hill and stop off at our sundowner spot to toast a day well spent; alternatively, transfer back to camp. Dinner and night.

Includes & Excludes

Day 2

Ngorongoro Crater

Staying at Entamanu Ngorongoro

Today is all about game viewing in the Ngorongoro Crater. Early morning departure from camp with picnic breakfast in the Crater. Return to camp for a late lunch and the option of a short afternoon walk and/or sundowners behind camp, overlooking the Serengeti.

2 to 3 million years ago, a volcano bigger than Kilimanjaro imploded; and the magma retreated leaving a vast collapsed hollow. Now in the shadow of 3000ft high crater walls, the resident wildlife is diverse and easily tracked - cheetah, elephant, hyena, hippo, lion, leopard, and a vast array of bird-life, including lesser flamingos. Views from the rim bring flashes of how the planet's first humans must have experienced it.

Enjoy dinner under the stars, if weather permits and a good night sleep.

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Day 3-4

Serengeti

Staying at Namiri Plains Camp

Transfer back to Manyara airstrip on time for the short hop into the Serengeti.

Arrive at Seronera airstrip, meet with the camp's guide and transfer to camp via a meandering game drive. The camp is located far from the crowds, in the Eastern sector of the central Serengeti. Namiri Plains will be your home away from home for the next 2 nights.

Namiri Plains is positioned along the Ngare Nanyuki River in the eastern Serengeti. The vast grassland plains are mostly open, aside from the occasional acacia tree. Game viewing in the area is excellent all year long. The seasonal riverbed is where plains game, such as zebras or reedbuck, come to quench their thirst, making it an ideal spot for viewings. It’s no surprise that predators have cottoned on to this, too. Keep an eye out for lions lurking nearby, ready to ambush their next meal.

The short grass of this area makes it popular with cheetahs, who can more easily chase down their prey. It is particularly gratifying to see cheetahs here, as this part of the Serengeti was closed for around 20 years to allow the population to recover. It’s now a haven for these big cats, as well as a few leopards.

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Day 5

Arusha

Staying at Katambuga House

After breakfast, transfer to the airstrip on time for the flight to Arusha.

Arrive at Arusha airport and transfer to the luxury guest house located nearby. You have the day at leisure to relax in the gardens, cool off at the pool, or we can book an optional day excursion (Lake Duluti, local market, coffee plantation for example).

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Day 6-8

Mahale Mountain National Park

Staying at Greystoke Mahale

Early morning transfer to Arusha airport for the scheduled flight to Mahale - it departs at 08h00 and flies to the South of the country via Katavi and fuel stops to reach the remote Lake Tanganiyka and Greystoke Mahale. It takes the good part of the day flying through the country and you will be met on arrival in this wonderful paradise, well worth the long flights.

Greystoke sits deep within the Mahale Mountains National Park, on the edge of the second deepest lake in the world - Lake Tanganyika. Nestled between the gin-clear water of the lake, and the tumbling forests sits this extraordinary castaway lodge. Although the chimps are the main event the forests of Mahale are teeming with a variety of other primates. Camp is often visited by colobus monkeys and baboons, warthogs and the rare blue duiker, not to mention incredible forest flora and bird life. Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest lake in the world and the water is clear in a way that is impossible to adequately describe. You will experience a boat trip in the iconic dhows for a spot of deep water swimming and wildlife spotting from the water. There are also kayaks in camp which is a fantastic way to while away a couple of hours.

Your camp guide and manager will chat to you about the planning of the days and the chimp trekking (1 trek per full day at camp in groups of 6). Mahale is home to one of the largest populations of wild chimps and you will have access to a habituated community known as the M Group. A team of Japanese researchers have worked in these mountains studying the chimps for over 50 years, and the camp's guides and their families have played a part in their work for decades. There is nothing the guides don’t know about the characters, politics and intricacies of this fascinating community and they bring it to life with an extraordinary passion.

Includes & Excludes

Day 9

End Of Itinerary

Today is the flying back to Arusha with the scheduled hops. You will arrive at 18h00 at Arusha airport and we will transfer you to Kilimanjaro airport for your onward flight. Or you can extend your trip, contact us for options.