DAY 1: ARUSHA TO NGORONGORO CRATER – NAINOKANOKA VILLAGE
Arrange your packed take away breakfast with hotel an evening before the trip,
At 6:00am board your safari jeep and hit the road to Ngorongoro Crater.
The drive takes us through the Great Rif Valley Escarpment offering panoramic sunrise view of Lake Manyara Park nestled with green forest and flowering pink flamingoes can be seen hovering on the sky. Before descend down the crater floor, there is an offer from your guide for a stop on the crater view point with your binocular for sport of all that can be visible. Then descend is 610mitters deep down to the Caldera floor of Ngorongoro Crater; considered by some to be the Eighth Wonder of the World. When you get your first glimpse of this vast, verdant caldera from the panoramic viewpoint, you’ll soon understand why it has earned such a lofty reputation worldly. Home to over 120 species of mammals including the fabled Big Five, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most sought-after safari destinations in the world nobody accepts to miss. It’s a particularly good place to see the endangered black rhinoceros enjoying a lonely meal out on the grass plains, as well as a place to see large numbers of hippopotamus enjoying the cool water not forgetting the pride of lions.
From the comfort of your open-roof top safari vehicle, you’ll be able to observe and photograph some of Africa’s most recognizable faces. The crater is home to a large number of predators including lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and hyenas, as well as a large population of wildebeest, zebras, antelope, cape buffalo, and more. It is truly one of Africa’s premier safari destinations.
After the thrills and excitement of the day, ascends up the wall of crater and drive Nainokanoka village for, with your ranger or local Maasai guide, walk around the Olmoti crater rim having a magnificent view of the Olmoti Craters’ floor and the Munge waterfalls. Besides the Maasai and their livestock you can sometimes see eland, buffalo and reedbuck. Your campsite is set in one of the Maasai bomas
DAY 2: NAINOKANOKA VILLAGE TO KAMNANA VILLAGE
In the cold and windy morning, have your breakfast and start a six days physical nature and cultural trek within the highlands, this trek will be accompanied by ranger guide or Masai Warriors, we also have the donkeys to carry all our luggage’s as well as food as the trekking trails does not support vehicle to go through. Walk through the Embulimbuli Depression a shallow, grassy basin where the slopes of Olmoti, Empakaai, Lolmalasin and Losirua volcanoes join with the outer rim of Ngorongoro.
The trails pass through forests and grasslands, following the cattle trails to Kamnana village where we will set our tent for dinner and overnight.
DAY 3: FROM KAMNANA TREK TO EMPAKAI CRATER
The trek continues after you are saved with your breakfast. Following the path through the open grassland, bushland area and forests gradually ascending the Empakai crater rim, before descending in to the crater floor have a fantastic view in the craters’ green paradise. The caldera is about 6 km wide and nearly half of its floor is covered by alkaline lake 85m deep. The views along the trail downwards are spectacular at every point the dramatic cone of the still active volcano, Oldoinyo Lengai can be seen if the day is clear, sometimes you can even see the distant snows of Kilimanjaro far on the eastern side of the Valley. Overnights at the camp on the crater rim. The nights at the Craters can be quiet cold (both craters are at 3500 m), especially in June, July and August
DAY 4: EMPAKAI VILLAGE TREK TO NAIYOBI VILLAGE
Today’s trek is not taxing and demanding like the last few days. After breakfast we depart for Naiyobi Maasai village circling the crater rim, descending on the North western side, the trails lead to Naiyobi Maasai Village which we can arrive in the afternoon. The evening is spent relaxing or visiting the village school and also interacting with the friendly local Maasai people. Overnight camp at the Acacia trees forest near the village.
DAY 5: PREOCCED FROM NAIYOBI TO MOUNWONGONI VILLAGE
Pack your belongings after breakfast leaving the friendly villagers for six hours walk covering 11 kilometers from village to village downhill on the dusty animals trails off the crater highlands to Mounwongoni Maasai village. Overnight at the camp on the edge of the village
DAY 6: FROM MOUNWONGONI TO OL DOINIO LENGAI
After breakfast, we leave the camp before the sun gets too hot for 3 hours trek following the windy path across bare volcanic rocks and dusty lava soil down Ngaresero river rounding the north-western floor of the active Mt. Lengai to the nearby village where our safari vehicle will be waiting to lift us to the camp site near the river, after hot lunch and enough rest, walk to the waterfalls for a long refreshing swimming bath. Early night rest is necessary awaiting the trek up Mt. Oldonyo Lengai.
DAY 7: TREK UP MT. OLDOINYO LENGAI – BACK TO ARUSHA
Your Mountain guide will be ready at your campsite, at 3am wake up for a cup of tea then pack some energizes cookies plus drinking water and jump in the car for a transfer to the base of Mt. Oldonyo Lengai to start the trek. It is the only active volcano in East Africa with the most current eruption in 2007. It is one of the few volcanoes in the world to omit Sodium carbonate and potassium extremely alkaline and corrosive. For photographers, the perfectly conical shape is delightful to see, especially if you can get Maasai cattle herders in the foreground. The weird perilous sight of magma flows bubbling at 510 degrees Celsius on top leave the tourists astonished.
After sunrise and relaxed moments on top of the volcano, descend down the base and drive back to the campsite for early lunch, Leave the camp past lake Natron for flamingo views and drive back to Arusha.
END OF TH TRIP
