6 Days Scenic Discovery

On arrival, transfer to the Lake Duluti Serena Hotel just outside Arusha. At the gateway of Tanzania’s northern circuit, nestled at the foot of Mount Meru, this Serena hotel sits in beautiful gardens on the shores of tranquil Lake Duluti. Built on the site of a colonial coffee farm, it is designed to echo its traditional origins with rooms in thatched cottages grouped around the flower-filled ‘village square’. Stay: Lake Duluti Serena Hotel.

Set off on safari, boarding your 4x4 vehicle for the two-hour drive to Lake Manyara and enjoying the first glimpses of Tanzania’s villages, coffee, maize and banana plantations as you go. Arrive in time for lunch at the Kirurumu Manyara Lodge. High on the edge of the Great African Rift Valley, this comfortable small lodge has stunning views over Lake Manyara with 27 tented rooms and a bar with panoramic views. After lunch enjoy an afternoon game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, home to hippos, elephants, flamingos, plains game and the famous tree-climbing lions that reside here. The landscape is a mix of dense forest, small open plains and lush waterside grasses, a feast for herbivores such as buffalo. Tonight there’ll be a welcome dinner for you and your group.

Begin the long scenic drive north through the highlands to the world-renowned Serengeti National Park, arriving at the Serengeti Kati Kati Tented Camp in the central Serengeti in time for lunch. This well-located mobile camp has just ten comfortable tents with en-suite facilities and offers an authentic safari experience. You have the option to take a hot-air balloon flight over the plains at sunrise to gain a whole new perspective of the Serengeti. Take flight and drift upwards as the sun rises; the bright pink-orange haze visible for miles across the vast savannah and the wildlife roaming below you. Morning and afternoon game drives in the Serengeti await, seeking out the big cats, rhino, buffalo and giraffe that inhabit the vast open plains of this huge park which borders the Maasai Mara in its north-east corner. The sheer scale and seemingly endless horizon in this part of Africa is spellbinding.

After breakfast depart for Ngorongoro, viewing game across the vast Serengeti plains, with the option to visit to the archaeological marvel of Olduvai Gorge − the discovery site of some of the earliest hominid remains. Lunch is a picnic en route. Continue on for an afternoon game drive in the Ngorongoro Crater, one of nature’s wonders. Its collapsed volcanic crater is 12 miles in diameter and 600-metres deep. The fertile soil and lake attract a huge range of wildlife, and you’ll seek to discover them amongst the floor’s forests, grasses and plains. Dinner and overnight is at Oldeani Mountain Lodge, a colonial-style lodge located on a hillside above the quiet town of Karatu with far-reaching views. Accessed by a bridge over a pond, the property is set on 40 acres of lush gardens and is home to over 130 species of bird.

A representative from your lodge will pick you up and transfer you between the lodge and airstrip. Depending on time, they will fit in a quick game drive to/from the lodge.