5 Day Big Five Safari in Tanzania

You will be met at the reception of your hotel in Arusha and drive to the Lake Manyara National Park. Not only is this park a bird-lover’s paradise with over 400 species of birds, but is also home to primates such as baboons and blue monkeys and many herbivores, such as elephants, hippos, wildebeest, impalas and giraffes. You might even catch a glimpse of the more carnivorous inhabitants, such as leopards and lions. Through the pop-up roof of your safari vehicle you will see the landscape changing from lush acacia woodlands to grassy floodplains, where colonies of flamingos and other water fowls can be found on the alkaline Lake Manyara’s shoreline. After extensive game viewing you will leave the park and head to your campsite in the small town of Mto wa Mbu. The evening can be spent lounging at the pool or bar, before you have your evening meal and overnight.

After the breakfast plates have been cleared, you will continue toward the fertile highland where wheat, coffee and corn are grown by the Iraqw people. Passing through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, you will be able to see the breath-taking Ngorongoro Crater before travelling onwards to the Serengeti National Park, which you will reach by midday. The Serengeti National Park is the largest park in Tanzania with a diversity of landscapes and habitats, such as grassy plains, swamps, lakes, savannah and mountains. Here the biggest wildebeest and zebra migration takes place and depending on season you will have the opportunity to witness thousands of animals on their search for nourishment.

Today you will explore the Serengeti National Park. Your guide will take you closer to where the migrating herds are to be found. During the short rainy season in November and December the herds make their way from the hills in the north to the plains of the south, returning north during the longer rainy season from April to June. Their exact location differ yearly as they migrate according to the rainfalls, but your guide will know where you will be able to see them best. Lurking close by you might even spot some leopards, cheetahs and lions. After an eventful day you will return to your lodge/campsite

Early morning you will set out on another game drive in the Serengeti before continuing towards the Ngorongoro Crater. Soon the 600 meters deep unbroken caldera will open up before you and you will have a moment to take in the fantastic, awe-inspiring views of the collapsed volcano. Your Campsite/lodge lies directly on the crater’s edge, offering a once in a lifetime view as the sun slowly sets over the crater. Nestled in your tent, thinking about the adventure the next morning brings, you will drift off to sleep.

Early in the morning you will head down the forested slopes into the crater on a steep and narrow path. The crater floor is covered in open grassland with the occasional acacia tree and two small wooded areas. Teaming with wildlife, you will be able to see many animals in a short period of time and might even be able to tick the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard – off your list. Other animals present in the crater area include wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, hippos and more than 500 species of birds. You will spend the entire morning exploring the park and after a picnic lunch in the crater, you will return to Arusha where you will arrive by early evening.