This 3 day Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater luxury safari starts with a visit to Lake Manyara National park. Taking as its muse the glorious birdlife of the fabulously soda-encrusted and pink-flamingo-fringed Lake Manyara, the swooping curves of this elegantly evocative lodge defy description. As do the soaring views of the Great Rift Valley, the rose-gold sunsets over the Mto Wa Mbu escarpment and the utterly unique tree-climbing Lake Manyara lions.
Spice up your Tanzania safari holiday with a visit to the Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro is home to over 25,000 animals including the ‘Big Five’, and thousands of plains game thus offering phenomenal game viewing.
We have chosen the Serena lodges for exemplary style and comfort, the lodges are stylish with a truly “Out of Africa” vibe, offering excellent service, delicious cuisine, and strategically located to offer some of the best views of these amazing national parks.
Highlights:
What to Expect on this Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater Safari
After breakfast, we depart towards Lake Manyara National Park which although one of the smaller parks in Tanzania, also contains some of the most diverse habitats of all the Tanzanian parks, a tiny (325km²) combination of Rift Valley Lake, dense woodlands and steep mountainside.
You will spend the rest of the day on a game drive exploring the different parts of the park. The beautiful Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park, while the rest consists of steep mountainside, swamps, dense woodlands, open grassy areas, and hot springs.
Manyara is a birding paradise (more than 380 species), especially for waterfowl and migrants and the forests are one of the best places around to see leopards. Lions hunt on the grassy shores of the lake and were once known for their habit of climbing trees, although this behavior seems to have been dropped in recent years.
A favorite activity for safari visitors is a chance to get out of the vehicle and stretch your legs by the side of the lake, close to the wallowing hippo pods who wile away their hours escaping the heat of the day immersed in the shallows.
After your day’s game drive, your guide will escort you up the steep Rift Valley escarpment to your accommodation, you may decide to relax by the pool, or in your room or choose from a variety of activities nearby. Dinner and overnight: Lake Manyara Serena Lodge.
After breakfast, depart for the Ngorongoro crater tour. After stopping for photos of the spectacular views, we will descend into the crater to savor the microcosmos of life to be found within the caldera.
The Crater needs no introduction, being the largest intact caldera in the world, and a World Heritage Site. It is one of the most spectacular sights. With the exception of impala and giraffe, almost every species of plains mammal lives or visits the Crater floor – a true African Eden.
The crater walls are forested but four-wheel-drive vehicles will take you down into this primeval paradise of woodland, lake, river, swamp and plain that shelters around 20,000 animals.
We will enjoy a picnic lunch on the crater floor before ascending the steep caldera walls to continue our journey to your accommodation at the crater Rim. Dinner and overnight: Ngorongoro Serena Lodge, Crater Rim.
After a leisurely breakfast, wave a fond farewell to the inhabitants of Ngorongoro highlands and make your way back to Arusha.
Here we can transfer you for a leisurely poolside lunch, a visit to the Shanga boutique, and/or a day room to await your international flight or your onward flight to Zanzibar.
End of your Safari
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