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HIGHLIGHTS
A quick look about this trip!
DURATION
15 DAYS
COMFORT
LANGUAGE
RATING
  • Guided walks through the African wilderness
  • Game drives in some of Africa's best reserves
  • Ngorongoro Crater: natural wonder
  • Endless Serengeti plain
  • Great Rift Valley
$4590USD
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TRIP MAP
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Walking With The Maasai - Tour Length: 15 Days

Arriving in Arusha, the starting point for the northern safari routes of Tanzania, we have the chance to see one of the country’s most attractive towns and to get an introduction to the wealth of exotic wildlife we will see on this exciting 15-day Tanzania tour.
Arriving in Arusha, the starting point for the northern safari routes of Tanzania, we have the chance to see one of the country’s most attractive towns and to get an introduction to the wealth of exotic wildlife we will see on this exciting 15-day Tanzania tour. One of the country’s most attractive towns, Arusha is surrounded by lush forests in which is to be found black and white colobus monkeys and bushbuck. Heading to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, we descend deep into the heart of the world’s only unbroken caldera, now a UNESCO Heritage Site, where we find zebras, wildebeest, gazelle, rare rhinos and huge prides of lions. Trekking through the Crater Highlands, a magical, unspoiled landscape of looming volcanoes that perforate the area between the Rift Valley and the Serengeti Plains, we see tribesmen tending to their cattle on mist-laden grasslands and we learn about aboriginal lifestyles and customs and of the Maasai people in authentic traditional villages. We hike through woodlands and moors, spend time visiting tribal Hadzabe caves and unique areas that house all four main socio-linguistic groups of East Africa, and keep our eyes peeled for leopards and hippos near Lake Eyasi. We see excavation sites that bear evidence of hominid life dating from prehistoric times in Olduvai Gorge and marvel at the natural wonders in East Africa’s most famous and rewarding wildlife reserves; Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Maasai Mara in Kenya. Due to its spectacular sceneries and the fact that it boasts a more diverse and abundant array of wildlife than any other destination on the planet, the former is revered as the ultimate safari destination and the Mara, considered the best of Kenya’s parks, houses the ‘Big Five’ and a host of other exotic animals that can be seen elsewhere only in zoos. We also learn about conservation efforts and human-wildlife conflicts with lectures and about traditional lifestyles in a Maasai homesteads.
Day 1: Arrive in Arusha, Tanzania
Today we arrive at Arusha's Kilimanjaro International Airport and transfer to our overnight camp 3 km (2 miles) out of town.

Arusha is the starting point for the northern safari routes of Tanzania, and is one of the country's most attractive towns. The surrounding area is primarily a highland forest park and it is a good place to see black and white colobus monkeys and bushbuck. You may catch a glimpse of Mount Meru that looms over the town, or even Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance.

Overnight camp near Arusha. Meal plan: Dinner, if required.
Day 2: Arusha - Ngorongoro Crater
Our destination today is the Ngorongoro Crater via Lake Manyara. A rough road takes us up the Rift Valley escarpment, through dramatic rolling green fields and tiny traditional villages. We skirt the rim of the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater before descending onto the crater floor in time for a picnic lunch.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is one of the most remarkable and fascinating parts of the Serengeti ecosystem. This is truly one of the great natural wonders of the world: within its 100-square-mile crater framed by steep green crater walls, a spectacular setting for wildlife is presented. The crater floor is almost entirely open country, so wildlife is in full visibility, a wonderful opportunity for photography and meaningful observations. Zebra, wildebeest, and gazelle mingle and circulate together, while herds of buffalo graze the long grass areas. Bull elephants are to be seen feeding in green marshes and there are plenty of hyenas and huge prides of lions (we may be fortunate to witness predation in action). There is a soda lake often crowded with numerous flamingos. Ngorongoro is also one of the best places for seeing the endangered black rhino.

After a day of game driving in our pop-up roofed 4X4 vehicles, we ascend the crater wall and proceed to our rim-side campground for dinner and overnight.

Overnight Simba Campground. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 3: Ngorongoro Highlands
You may wish to arise at dawn so you can watch the sun rising over the crater below, bathing the huge bowl-like crater in the watery early morning light. We begin our trek today through the area of the Crater Highlands, a magical, unspoiled landscape of fantastic volcanoes protruding between Africa's Rift Valley and the Serengeti Plains. Here, Maasai tend their cattle on cool mist-laden grasslands and wildlife abounds in montane forests. The Maasai are great pastoralists and are an integral part of the Ngorongoro ecosystem. We will learn about village life, the ways of the warriors, their most beloved cattle, and many other aspects of a proud and traditional people. We'll have the opportunity to discuss Maasai life firsthand and perhaps our hosts will want to ask questions about our own peculiar lives.

Our route takes us from the Seneto Maasai village on the crater rim, to Mokilal Maasai village, approximately 11 km (7 miles), 4-5 hours. Our supplies and heavier bags are transported by donkey. Support staff includes a cook, donkey handlers, a local English-speaking Maasai guide, an armed ranger, and your Adventures Abroad Tour Leader. We use pitched tents with mattresses provided, cold showers, and outdoor privy.

Overnight Mokilal Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 4: Mokilal Camp - Mti Mmoja Camp
After breakfast, start the hike ahead of the donkey team, gaining gradient gradually to the rim of the Lake Eyasi Rift Wall and down to Mti Mmoja camp. Distance covered, 9 km / 5 mile (walking time 6 or 7 hours). Vegetation cover - moorland.

Overnight Mti Mmoja Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 5: Mti Mmoja Camp - Intake Camp
After breakfast, depart walking along the Endamaghay River, down to Intake Camp. Distance, 7 km (4 miles). Walking time 5 hours. Vegetation cover - open woodland.

Overnight Intake Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 6: Intake Camp - Endamaghay Village - Lake Eyasi
Trek down along the Endamaghay River to Endamaghay Village. This area is inhabited by the Hadzabe tribe who we can visit in their caves enroute.

Lake Eyasi is a mildly alkaline lake stretching for about 50 km (31 miles) to the southwest. To the northeast the horizon is dominated by the Crater Highlands, to the north, beyond an escarpment the plains of the Serengeti.

Over 100 years ago when the stronger Maasai tribes moved into the Ngorongoro and Serengeti, the Datoga and other indigenous Hadzabe hunter-gatherers, believed to have lived here for 10,000 years, were pushed south and many made Lake Eyasi and its surrounding bush and forests their home. This unique area contains peoples belonging to all four main socio-linguistic groups of East Africa.

Our camp is located in the forest clearings by the lake, with grassy tent spaces, shower and toilet facilities made as far as possible from local materials. This is an ideal place for bird-watchers or those who just want to relax to spend two or three nights in total peace. The meadows along the shores of the lake and the forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife including leopard, hippo,

The hike takes about 3 hours covering a distance of 5 km (3 miles). The group will be at Endamaghay village at about noon. The 4-W-drive safari vehicles will meet the group here, and drive them to an overnight camp at Kisima Ngeda - Lake Eyasi.

Overnight camp at Lake Eyasi. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 7: Lake Eyasi - Serengeti National Park
After breakfast, drive to Serengeti National Park via Olduvai Gorge prehistoric site, picnic lunch enroute to arrive at Seronera public camp site for dinner and overnight.

The name "Serengeti" derives from a Maasai word meaning "Land-without-end." This is a land of superlatives, both in the vast landscape that surrounds you and the incredible biodiversity it supports. The wildebeest, zebra and gazelle start migrating west and north in search of sweeter grazing from May through to July, moving from Seronera through the Western Corridor, then outside the park to the Grumeti, arriving in the Maasai Mara in Kenya by late July through to early September. By October/November they are drifting back to Seronera, and spend the long rainy season in the Serengeti grasslands. It is possible to witness both ends of the spectacle, following the migration through almost to the shores of Lake Victoria, then across the border into Kenya and down the Soit Olol Escarpment into the Maasai Mara. The sight of tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra milling and charging into the Mara, Talek and Sand Rivers is one of the most photographed, and most exciting, wildlife spectacles on earth.

Overnight Seronera Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 8: Serengeti National Park
Specially designed "pop top" safari vehicles allow us to maximize our game viewing today. We will also have a chance to visit the park's visitor's center and lunch at Seronera Wildlife Lodge which will enable us to have a swim.

We begin the day with game viewing through the short grass plains of Serengeti's kopje country. Outcroppings of ancient stone dating back 2 billion years, kopjes are rounded piles of boulders formed into their distinctive shape by eons of wind and rain. They occur as archipelagos, little islands of stone punctuating the Serengeti's sea of grass, and each have a very different character. The kopjes are an exceptionally good area for cheetahs, and lions greatly favour kopjes as daytime resting places as well.

Overnight at Seronera Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 9: Serengeti, Tanzania - Maasai Mara, Kenya
Early breakfast and drive west along the Grumeti River, and Lake Victoria to Maasai Mara, with lunch enroute. The Grumeti River, which drains into Lake Victoria, is alive with hippo and crocodiles, and lined by tall riverine trees, home to countless birds and troops of colobus monkeys.

Overnight at Mara Springs Campsite. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 10: Maasai Mara National Reserve
The Maasai Mara National Reserve consists of rolling grassland and is located at the northern end of the Serengeti Plain. Considered the best of Kenya's parks, it is on the pathway of the yearly wildebeest migration, which comes north from Tanzania about the end of June and returns to Tanzania around the end of September. "The Mara" sustains all of the "Big Five"--lion, elephant, leopard, rhinoceros and buffalo--as well as an astonishing wealth of herding animals and other wildlife. You can see the stately Maasai men and youth along the road tending their cattle and goats. In the Mara you will have an optional opportunity to ascend over the northern Serengeti at daybreak in a hot air balloon (cost is approximately USD 360). From over 300 m (984 feet) above, you will be able to view the vast land and the myriad animals who inhabit the Maasai Mara. During our stay in the Mara, we enjoy a full day game drive in Africa's most famous game park.

Mara Springs Safari Camp is authentically designed and strategically positioned on the foot of Naunare Hills in a prime game viewing area with spectacular landscape alongside the forested banks of Sekenani River. The camp derives its name from the underground springs that supply flowing water to the site.

Overnight Mara Springs Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 11: Mara Springs - Olonganaiyo Camp
After breakfast, we drive to Ewaso Ng'iro Rangers Outpost. During lunch listen to a conservation lecture focusing on solutions to human-wildlife conflicts common in conservation areas. A lecture will be given by a Kenya Wildlife Service representative. We drive on to a Maasai boma (homestead) where we meet local guides for the trek. From here a 2-hour walk dedicated to wildlife takes us to Olonganaiyo Camp. On the hike we have close encounters with wild game that roam the plains freely. At Olonganaiyo we visit a nearby Maasai homestead to learn about various Maasai cultrual activities such as dances, weaponry, and also listen to stories on the family set-up, social stratification and taboos told by the locals.

Overnight Olonganaiyo Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 12: Olonganaiyo Camp - Ol Dabah
After breakfast, we walk through Savannah bushland to Ol Dabah for overnight in tents; while walking we are likely to see zebra, giraffe and various types of gazelle and antelope, and may find fragments of stone tools used by early humans.

Ol Dabah Camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 13: Maji Moto
After breakfast, a brief visit to the Maasai homestead to observe their morning domestic activities such as sorting cows, division of labour etc. Then head south on foot for a further 5-6 hours accompanied by the resident Maasai and escort naturalist guide. The guides help you identify the plants, birds and game found in the area. On the hike you are likely to see gazelles, impala, gnu and others. Near Maji Moto you come across a pilot farming project, a brainchild of a Non-Governmental Organization helping the Maasai community take advantage of the permanent Maji Moto River to grow food crops. Interested persons can bathe in the hot spring source of Maji Moto River, a relaxing activity that the Maasai traditionally regard as a cure for skin disease.

Overnight Maji Moto camp. Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 14: Maji Moto - Nairobi
After breakfast, go for short hike before leaving with packed lunch for the drive to Nairobi arriving in the late afternoon.

Overnight in Nairobi (hotel). Meal plan: Breakfast and dinner.
Day 15: Departure
Departure from Nairobi.

SAFIRI SALAAMA! Meal plan: Breakfast.
TRIP INCLUDES
  • All gratuities (except to Tour Leader)
  • Accommodation in 3- and 4-star hotels
  • Breakfast and dinner daily
  • Some lunches
  • All transportation, including internal flights
  • Sightseeing/entrance fees
  • Porter service, where available
  • Arrival/departure transfers if you book flights with us
  • Services of Adventures Abroad Tour Leader
TRIP DOES NOT INCLUDE
  • Some lunches and drinks, personal items (phone, laundry, sleeping bag, mattress pad-can be rented for 10 USD per item); international air taxes (if applicable).
  • Airport transfers for Land Only customers.
  • Optional trip cancellation insurance.
  • Our post-reservation trip notes offer further guidance on optional meal costs, packing, weather, shopping, and locally paid departure taxes.
CANCELLATIONS: 20% cancellation fee applied if cancelled 60 days prior to departure. Cancellations within 60 days are 100% non-cancelable

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