Karatu to Ngorongoro Crater

Today you will drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend over 600 meters to the floor of the crater for a day crater tour. Explore the forest areas that are inhabited by monkey and elephant, the lake area, where you may see the flamingos and the open savannah where the lions hunt for food. Picnic lunches will be served in the crater. Late afternoon drive back to accommodation.

A UNESCO protected World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a pioneering experiment in multi-purpose land use where people (the Maasai), their livestock and wildlife coexist and share the same protected habitat. The craters of Ngorongoro and Empakai are reserved exclusively for wildlife, while the rest of the Conservation Area is shared by wildlife, people and livestock.

The Maasai, the main residents of Ngorongoro, are pastoralists who move widely with their herds of cattle, sheep, goat and donkeys in search of pasture and water. In recent years the Maasai have been encouraged to work on the land and supplement their traditional diet of milk and meat.

The Ngorongoro Crater, which is the central attraction in the area, is the largest Caldera in the world that has its walls intact. The Ngorongoro Crater floor, a sheer drop of 610 meters below the crater rim, has an area of about 300 square kilometers, with a diameter of 19 kilometers. The sight of the Ngorongoro Crater is simply stunning. “There is nothing with which to compare. It is one of the wonders of the world….” once wrote Professor Bernard Grzimek. The crater floor is home to tens of thousands of plains animals, including wildebeest, zebra, gazelles, elands, and a large predator population of lions, hyena and jackal which can all be viewed at close quarters. The rare black rhino can be viewed here, and if you are lucky you can see cheetah and leopard. The rain season is between November and May.

The altitude at the crater rim is about 2286 meters above sea level, and temperatures can get quite chilly in the evening, especially between May to September.

Dinner and Overnight at Ngorongoro Farm House (B,L,D)

Karatu to Serengeti

After breakfast drive to Oldupai Gorge, site of Louis and Mary Leakey’s renowned archaeological discoveries. Their findings include some of the man’s earliest known ancestral remains. Continue to Serengeti National Park in time for lunch. This enormous park supports every variety of animal imaginable – from large predators such as lion, leopard and cheetah to the smaller herbivores they prey on. Afternoon game drive.

A World Heritage Site and recently proclaimed a World Wide Wonder, Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly one of the most famous wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The park is located some 320 km to the northwest of Arusha, lying in a high plateau between the Ngorongoro highlands and the Kenya/ Tanzania border, and extending almost to Lake Victoria to the
west, covering a total area of 14,763 square kilometres. Aptly named “endless plains” by the Maasai people, you immediately experience this vastness as you enter the southeastern plains of the park from Ngorongoro.

Declared a protected area in 1921 and gazetted as National Park in 1951 Serengeti is the oldest National Park in Tanzania. The principal features of the Serengeti are the short and long grass plains in the south and east, the acacia Savannah in the central areas, the hilly and densely wooded areas in the north and the extensive woodland in the west. There is a variety of scenery, which include the plains, lakes, hills and the rock outcrops called kopjes. The main game drive areas in the Serengeti are the Seronera Valley, the Western Corridor, and northern Serengeti.

The Seronera valley in central Serengeti, endowed with permanent surface water, attract a large concentration of wildlife throughout the year. Common animals that can be seen here are lions, buffaloes, impalas, hippos, waterbucks, elephants, cheetahs, the leopard, and over 400 species of birds. Serengeti provides sanctuary to the highest concentration of plains animals in the world.

Dinner and Overnight at Serengeti Sopa Lodge (B,L,D)