Overview
Tanzania is known for its wild animals – elephants, big cats, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, and so many more. Join Wilderness Inquiry to experience some of the last remaining true wilderness in the world. Our local safari guides are a fount of knowledge about local wildlife, culture and conservation issues. By the end of your trip, you’ll know many of the elephants by name. Travel by four-wheel drive in Toyota Land Cruisers to places like Tarangire National Park, Lake Eyasi, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Empakai Crater, and Serengeti National Park. Descend into the Ngorongoro Crater, the eighth wonder of the world. Visit Olduvai Gorge to see the bones and footprints of our ancestors who inhabited the area two million years ago. Experience a day of traditional hunting and gathering with the Hadzabe Bushmen, a nomadic tribe. You will enjoy trying to learn the names of plants and animals in their click language. Meet extraordinary people and see ‘the Big Five’ on this exciting African adventure.
Itinerary
Expand All FieldsDay 1: Welcome to Tanzania! Meet your group and settle into your accommodations.
Our guides will meet you at the Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), and bring you to your hotel in Arusha for a night of rest.
Day 2: Search for elephants, birds, and more in Tangiere National Park.
After breakfast, drive to Tarangire National Park. View the incredible landscapes, animals, especially elephants, as well as spectacular birds, and giant baobab trees. Tarangire is a true wilderness containing the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. You will see hundreds of elephants here--up close!
Day 3: Travel to the village of Karatu and learn about Tanzania's culture and unique tribal system.
Travel to Karatu, gateway to Ngorongoro Crater. In Karatu, visit Kilimatembo school where you’ll have a chance to learn about Tanzania's education system and interact with the students. Karatu also provides the opportunity to visit a traditional Iraqw underground home and learn about the tribe's unique culture from one of their elders.
Day 4: Enjoy a beautiful hike in the Ngorongoro Northern Highland Forest Reserve.
Hike to a waterfall in the Ngorongoro Northern Highland Forest Reserve. Along the way, check out cave-like structures created by elephants digging up the earth to ingest the mineral-rich soil. Elephants migrate to this place from up to 500 miles away. Stay at beautiful Eileen’s Trees Inn.
Day 5: Explore Lake Eyasi at the floor of the Great Rift Valley.
Visit Tatoga Blacksmiths and a Tatoga village in the afternoon on the way to Lake Eyasi on the floor of the Great Rift Valley. Visit the Hadzabe (Bushmen). This nomadic tribe still lives through hunting and gathering and reside without permanent shelter. Follow the Hadzabe on their morning hunt and experience a way of life that has barely changed in 10,000 years.
Day 6: Experience the culture of the Tatoga village before an evening game drive.
Learn about the culture and hunting practices of the Tatoga village, then return to camp for brunch. In the afternoon, take an easy walk to the shores of Lake Eyasi. Stay at beautiful and spacious Lake Eyasi Safari Lodge. Watch the sun set during happy hour from a beautiful deck looking over Lake Eyasi. You are in Africa!
Day 7: Spot the rare black rhino and explore the wonder of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Drive to Ngorongoro Conservation Area and descend into the eighth wonder of the world, Ngorongoro Crater, for a full day of game viewing. This unique 'fish bowl' of nature is home to four resident prides of lions and your best chance of seeing rare black rhino in the wild.
Day 8: Enjoy a hike on the north rim of the Ngorongoro Crater.
On the second day in Ngorongoro you may choose to hike down into Empakai Crater or hike along the North Rim of Ngorongoro Crater. Stay at Rhino Lodge on the rim of Ngorongoro crater.
Day 9: Search for lions, leopards, elephants and more in Serengeti National Park.
Travel down the flank of Ngororgoro Crater, pass through the scenic Maasai village of Endulen and proceed to Serengeti National Park, world famous for its endless plains and abundant wildlife. Spend two days on the Serengeti Plains, searching out big prides of lions, leopards, migrating wildebeest herds, giant elephants, and antelope. Stay at lodges or safari camps in the park.
Day 10: Enjoy another day of game drives as you search for some of the world's most fascinating creatures.
Enjoy a second day of game drives in the world-famous Serengeti National Park. Take in spectacular views as you travel through the park in comfortable open-air safari jeeps. If you are in to photography you will take hundres of photos on this day alone.
Day 11: Experience one final game drive before returning to Karatu via the Oldavai Gorge.
Take in an early morning game drive and then leave the Seregenti for the return to Karatu via Oldavai Gorge, where Mary and Louis Leakey discovered Australopithecus boisei and early hominin footprints that have been fossilized in volcanic ash. Most consider this the birthplace of humanity. If excavation is in progress, we’ll visit the Zinj site, followed by Shifting Sands. Our final night is at Eileen's Trees Inn in Karatu.
Day 12: Visit a local market band and say your final farewells.
Relax at Eileen's Trees Inn in the morning, have lunch, and then drive back to Arusha for your flight home. On the way back, the group will stop at a local market including Shanga, an Arusha based non-profit that employs people with disabilities to create unique, high-quality, handicrafts.
Dates & Fees
WI leads trips to Tanzania but currently has no dates scheduled. If you have a group of people interested, we can set up a customized adventure just for you! Please contact us or request a trip quote below if you are interested in a group trip to this destination.
Request Trip Quote »What to Expect
TERRAIN/ROUTE: Tanzania has an incredible variety of ecosystems, ranging from desert plain to fertile rain forest to snow capped mountains. Land outside major cities is largely undeveloped and thus we’ll travel on some bumpy roads, and hike on some uneven terrain that will involve moderate elevation changes.
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