Activities

Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Safari Itinerary

Day 1: ARUSHA - LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

Our Tanzania safari rep pick up from Arusha. You will be briefed on the Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro safari. Leave Arusha with a drive to Lake Manyara National Park. 

You will arrive in time for lunch at the lodge. A short rest will prepare you for the evening. Later, you head into the Lake Manyara National Park for an afternoon game drive. 

Lake Manyara is one of Tanzania's most amazing located wildlife areas. It consists of a massive but shallow soda lake. The lake covers two-thirds of the park.

Lake Manyara is at the foot of the Great Rift Valley's western escarpment. The park's varied habitat attracts a wide variety of animals. The park has one of Africa's largest concentrations of elephants. 

There are the Lake Manyara’s unique tree-climbing lions. The park also has large flocks of flamingos attracted by the algae in the lake. 

Drive back to your Lake Manyara lodge in the evening. Your dinner and overnight will be at Lake Manyara Hotel.

About Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara is a beautiful place to visit all the year round. The park comes with perpetual water in the central soda lake. The lake covers two-thirds of the total area of over 127 square miles (330 square kilometers). 

The lake does shrinks in the dry season to half its size, surrounded by salt flats. Rivers and waterfalls cascade from the escarpment in the wet. We also have ground water flows year-round. This is from the base of the adjacent Rift Valley Escarpment.

The waters provide conditions for lush, jade forests of fig, mahogany, baobab and acacia. In the south of the Lake Manyara National Park, hot springs bubble from the plains.  They are heated by underground volcanic activity. It then flows over sulfur encrusted rocks into the lake. 

The waters cool to bearable temperatures where pods of hippopotamus wallow. This is during the heat of the day, and later emerging to forage during the night.

The short rains fall in November and December, when it is hot. Humid temperatures up to 95 F (35 C) and short thunderstorms in afternoons or evenings. These leave plenty of time for game watching trips in Manyara.

The road logistics on wet ground requires skill and plenty of insect repellent spray. 

A dry hot period follows from January when room prices start to peak. This is when lodgers maximize high density wildlife experience on their safari tour. This is in northern Tanzania until the long rains arrive around middle of March. That is when accommodation rates are offered at a concession.

Day 2: LAKE MANYARA - SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

Start your Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro safari with an early breakfast. You will then leave for the Serengeti National Park. This is via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu. 

You will also go through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. You will descend into the heart of wild Africa. This is the Serengeti National Park. 

Serengeti is characterized with its endless rolling plains. You will head to the central park area. This area is known as the Seronera area. It is one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park. 

It features the Seronera River. This provides a valuable water source to this area. It thus attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti's species. 

Transfer to Seronera Wildlife Lodge in time for dinner and overnight.

About Serengeti National Park

The Endless plains... the Vastness…. the scent and the wild voices of nature whispering at you. It’s traveling back in time…

Serengeti National Park among the most famous wildlife refuge in the world. Its eco-system is one of the oldest on earth. The climate, vegetation and fauna have not changed much in the past million years. 

Early man himself made an appearance in Olduvai Gorge about two million years ago. Patterns of life, death, adaptation and migration are as old as the hills themselves.

The eco-system extends over a much larger area. This includes the Maasai Mara in Kenya and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. This links over 25,000 km2 of land in which animals can move without barrier.

Much of this nutritious grassland which acts as a magnet. It attracts wildebeest, zebra, impala and Thomson’s gazelle.

Serengeti is the oldest and most popular national park. It is also a world heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th world wide wonder. 

The Serengeti is famed for its annual migration. This is when some six million hooves pound the open plains. There are more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelles join the wildebeest’s trek. They move in search of fresh grazing. 

Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti still offers the best game viewing in Africa. You will enjoy great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe.

There are thousands upon thousands of elands, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle. 

The Serengeti National Park has four separate sections. Each comes with its own unique features and landscapes. They are 

• The Southern Plains,
• Seronera (Central)
• Western Corridor
• Northern Serengeti

Day 3: SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

Begin your Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro safari day with breakfast. Proceed to the Sogore River Circuit for game drive. This loops into the plains south of the Seronera River. This area is good to see lion, Thomson gazelle, topi, ostrich and cheetah. 

The visitor's centre is not far from here. This well-designed centre offers some interesting wildlife displays. It also has a gift shop selling information leaflets and maps of the area. 

The centre also has a shop where cold drinks and snacks can be purchased. This is also the place you will enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch under the shade of the giant acacia trees.

In the afternoon you will follow the Kopjes Circuit. This goes anti-clockwise around the Maasai Kopjes. This usually attracts a lot of lion and quite some large cobras. 

Kopjes are weathered granite outcrops scattered around the plains. Most of them are miniature ecosystems that provide shade. They also provide drinking water in pools left in the rock after the rains. This makes the kopjes particularly good for spotting wildlife in the dry seasons. 

Dinner and overnight will be at the Seronera Wildlife Lodge.

Day 4: SERENGETI - NGORONGORO CRATER NATIONAL PARK

Start your day with an early breakfast at your lodge. This will be followed by departure to Ngorongoro Conservation area. 

You will stopover at Olduvai Gorge. This area boasts of a history dating back to the dawn of time. Anthropologists Drs. Lois and Mary Leakey discovered the skulls of the 'Nutcracker Man' and 'Handy Man'. Both are significant links in the chain of human evolution. 

You will arrive in time for lunch at the Ngorongoro crater lodge. The afternoon will be spent at leisure. Dinner and overnight will be at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge.

About Ngorongoro Conservation Area

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area boasts the finest blend of landscapes. You will get the best of wildlife, people and archaeological sites in Africa. 

Its often called an “African Eden” and the “eighth wonder of the natural world”. Ngorongoro is also a pioneering experiment in many land uses. Here the idea of several land use means to allow humans and wildlife to coexist in a natural setting. 

Traditional African pastoralists co-operate with Tanzania´s government bodies. This is to help preserve the natural resources of the area. It is also to ensure a fantastic experience for tourists.

The first view of the Ngorongoro Crater takes the breath away. Ngorongoro is a huge caldera (collapsed volcano), 250 sq km in size and 600 m deep. 

The crater alone has over 20,000 large animals. They include some of Tanzania´s last remaining black rhino. The rhino emerges from the forests in the mists of early morning. Their prehistoric figures make a striking impression, surrounded by the ancient crater walls. 

No fences or boundaries border the crater walls. Thus, animals are free to enter or leave the crater. But, many of them stay for the plentiful water and grazing available on the crater floor. 

Open grassland covers most of the crater floor, turning yellow with wild flowers in June. The Makat soda lake is a great attraction for flamingos and other water birds. While predators hide in the marsh to ambush animals that come to drink from the river that feeds the lake. 

Also, on the crater floor are swamps, providing water and habitat for elephant and hippo. Its alos home to many smaller creatures such as frogs, snakes and serval cats. 

Game viewing around Lake Makat is especially rewarding. Here you are likely to see large antelope like zebra and gazelle. This is as they come to drink, while herds of hippos’ sun themselves in the thick lakeshore mud.

Day 5: NGORONGORO CRATER NATIONAL PARK

Your Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro safari with an early breakfast. Descend 600m into the magnificent crater for a full-day game drive. 

Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most crowded African wildlife areas.  It is home to an estimated 30,000 animals. They include some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhino. 

The area is supported by a year-round water supply and fodder. Animals here include wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, eland, warthog and hippos.  

Another big draw card to this park is its huge population of predators. They include lions, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs and the ever-elusive leopard. Enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor. Return back for dinner and at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge.

Day 6: NGORONGORO CRATER - ARUSHA

Enjoy your Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro safari breakfast at leisure. This is before you leave on a leisure drive to Arusha. On arrival, you will be dropped off at your hotel in Arusha.

---------- End of 6 Day Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Safari ----------

6 Day Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Safari Costs:

What is included in the 6 Day Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Safari cost?

• Accommodation as per the itinerary
• Transport in a 4 X 4 Safari vehicle with pop up roof
• Meals on full board basis while on Tanzania Safari
• All park entrance fee
• All Government tax

6 Day Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Safari cost excludes:

• Visa
• Items of personal use
• Deviation from the above program
• Drinks and beverages
• Tips and porterage

What to Carry on the 6 Day Lake Manyara Serengeti Ngorongoro Safari

• Sun glasses
• Light and some few heavy clothing
• Sun screen
• Insect repellant
• Hat
• Comfortable shoes

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