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The closest national park to Arusha town – northern Tanzania’s safari capital – Arusha National Park is a multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safarigoers, despite offering the opportunity to explore a beguiling diversity of habitats within a few hours.

The entrance gate leads into shadowy montane forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and colourful turacos and trogons – the only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of the forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep, rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog.

Further north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty of the Momela Lakes, each one a different hue of green or blue. Their shallows sometimes tinged pink with thousands of flamingos, the lakes support a rich selection of resident and migrant waterfowl, and shaggy waterbucks display their large lyre-shaped horns on the watery fringes. Giraffes glide across the grassy hills, between grazing zebra herds, while pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik dart into scrubby bush like overgrown hares on spindly leg

Although elephants are uncommon in Arusha National Park, and lions absent altogether, leopards and spotted hyenas may be seen slinking around in the early morning and late afternoon. It is also at dusk and dawn that the veil of cloud on the eastern horizon is most likely to clear, revealing the majestic snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, only 50km (30 miles) distant.
But it is Kilimanjaro’s unassuming cousin, Mount Meru – the fifth highest in Africa at 4,566 metres (14,990 feet) – that dominates the park’s horizon. Its peaks and eastern footslopes protected within the national park, Meru offers unparalleled views of its famous neighbour, while also forming a rewarding hiking destination in its own right.

Passing first through wooded savannah where buffalos and giraffes are frequently encountered, the ascent of Meru leads into forests aflame with red-hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before reaching high open heath spiked with giant lobelias. Everlasting flowers cling to the alpine desert, as delicately-hoofed klipspringers mark the hike’s progress. Astride the craggy summit, Kilimanjaro stands unveiled, blushing in the sunrise.

Our guides have over 8 years of experience on Kilimanjaro and have helped thousands of people reach the summit. We can help you reach the summit; all you have to do is decide when to come, for how long and which route to take. We will take care of the rest. Our expert guides and porters will take care of all the logistics on the mountain, allowing you to focus on the experience and the beautiful scenery.

Kilimanjaro Climbing Routes

• Marangu Route 6 Days
• Machame Route 6 Days
• Umbwe Route 6 / 7 Days
• Machame Route 7 Days
• Rongai Route 7 Days
• 8 Days Lemosho Route Climb
• Northern Circuit 9 Days

The jewel in Ngorongoro’s crown is a deep, volcanic crater, the largest un flooded and unbroken caldera in the world. About 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a breathtaking natural wonder.

The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most famous sites and is said to have the highest density of wildlife in Africa.  Sometimes described as an ‘eighth wonder of the world’, the Crater has achieved world renown, attracting an ever-increasing number of visitors each year.  You are unlikely to escape other vehicles here, but you are guaranteed great wildlife viewing in a genuinely mind-blowing environment.  There is nowhere else in Africa quite like Ngorongoro!

Ngorongoro Crater: Wildlife Highlights

Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most likely areas in Tanzania to see the endangered Black Rhino, as a small population is thriving in this idyllic and protected environment. It is currently one of the few areas where they continue to breed in the wild. Your chances of encountering leopard here are also good, and fabulous black-maned lions.  Many flamingos are also attracted to the soda waters of Lake Magadi.

Ngorongoro Crater: Maasai village trips

Part of the reason behind the Ngorongoro Conservation Area has been to preserve the environment for the Maasai people who were diverted from the Serengeti Plains.  Essentially nomadic people, they build temporary villages in circular homesteads called bomas. There are possibilities to visit a couple of these now, which have been opened up for tourists to explore.  Here you can see how the huts are built in a strict pattern of order according to the chronological order of the wives, and experience what it must be like to rely on warmth and energy from a fire burning at the heart of a cattle dung dwelling with no chimney. These proud cattle herding people have a great history as warriors, and even though they are no longer allowed to build villages inside, they continue to herd their cattle into the crater to graze and drink, regardless of the predators nearby.

Stretching for 50km along the  base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake   Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest  Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”.

The compact game-viewing  circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari  experience.

From the entrance gate, the  road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where  hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue  monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck  tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk  cacophonously in the high canopy.

Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration that they appear to be black from a distance.

Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.

Manyara provides the perfect  introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife. More than 400 species have been recorded,  and even a first-time visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in  one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on their perpetual  migration, as well as other large waterbirds such as pelicans, cormorants and  storks.

About Lake Manyara National Park Size: 330 sq km (127 sq miles), of which up to  200 sq km (77 sq miles) is lake when water levels are high. Location: In northern Tanzania. The entrance gate lies 1.5 hours (126km/80 miles)  west of Arusha along a newly surfaced road, close to the ethnically diverse  market town of Mto wa Mbu.

Getting there  By road, charter or scheduled  flight from Arusha, en route to Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.

What to do     Game drives, night game drives, canoeing when  the water levels is sufficiently high. Cultural tours, picnicking, bush lunch/dinner, mountain bike tours, abseiling  and forest walks on the escarpment outside the park.

When to go    Dry season (July-October) for large mammals; Wet season (November-June) for bird watching, the waterfalls and canoeing.

Accommodation       One luxury treehouse-style camp, public bandas  and campsites inside the park. One luxury tented camp and three lodges perched on the Rift Wall outside the  park overlooking the lake. Several guesthouses and campsites in nearby Mto wa Mbu.

Tarangire National Park is located between the meadows of Masai Steppe to the south east and the lakes of the Great Rift Valley to the north and west. Among the rolling area where the park lies, it occupies an area of 2,600 square kilometers. The perennial Tarangire River takes over the northern part of Tarangire. Through the cut ditches, the River flows upwards up to when it leaves the corner of the park, in the North West flowing into Lake Burungi. There are a number of wide swamps which dry into green plains during the dry season in the south.

You are recommended to stay for a few days in the south of the park that is also less crowded and gives you the opportunity to get a real feel of the back country while on your visit to the Tarangire.

The Tarangire River is a permanent feature that even shares a name with the Tarangire Park. There are a number of large swamps .These are usually dry for most of the year .The Tarangire is usually very dry ,in fact drier than the Serengeti, however its vegetation is much more green especially with lots of elephant grass, vast areas with mixed acacia woodlands and some of  the wonderful ribbons of the aquatic forest.

The birds within the Tarangire are also quite many, there are over 500 species that have been identified here. The lovebirds that are yellow collared, the shy starlings are in plenty and widespread in Tanzania.

Mainly, the dry open woods like e acacia thickets, as well as many of its significant baobab trees make up the vegetation of the Tarangire. The stunning acacia tortillis trees not forgetting the occasional palm tree. There are also huge flat swamps within the woodlands in the south that get very impassable during the rains. During the rest of the year; they will also uniformly dry in green.