Eight Days Cultural Safari and Mount Kilimanjaro Hike

Welcome to Tanzania! Your cultural safari and Mount Kilimanjaro hiking itinerary begins right here in Arusha. A member of the Chalema Tanzania Safaris team will meet you at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, welcoming you to our country: the jewel of East Africa and home of the authentic African safari. After a brief orientation, we’ll bring you to the first stop on your trip: the lovely Arusha Planet Lodge. This comfortable hotel is located right on the outskirts of town, and it boasts lavishly appointed rooms, elegantly landscaped hotel gardens, a refreshing pool, and a restaurant with some of the best food in Arusha. You’ll have the rest of the afternoon to recover from jetlag and relax before your safari in Tanzania begins tomorrow.

While you won’t reach the summit of Africa’s highest mountain on this itinerary, you’ll get to enjoy an incredible trekking experience on the western slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. We’ll get started by making a short drive from Arusha to Machame before breaking out our trekking poles and entering the Kilimanjaro National Park. Today’s hike will bring us through a verdant stretch of lush montane forest, where we may be able to spot colobus monkeys and chameleons amongst the treetops. We’ll trek all the way to Machame Camp: the first stopping point for trekkers who climb the mountain along this route. After stopping for lunch and enjoying the tranquility of the mountain, we’ll make our descent and exit the park, making another brief drive to our accommodations at the Original Maasai Lodge.

The hallmarks of the semi-nomadic Maasai culture represent some of the most striking and memorable impressions of East Africa: fabrics dyed a vivid red, vast herds of cattle, and brave warriors traversing the deepest bush with only a spear to defend themselves. During your time at the Original Maasai Lodge, you’ll have the opportunity to get acquainted with these friendly people’s ancient way of life. A seasoned Maasai guide will take you on a walking tour of the surrounding bush, where you’ll learn about traditional survival techniques and how useful plants can be recognized. You’ll also have the chance to witness an iconic Maasai dancing performance—you might even get to try your hand at throwing one of the Maasai’s massive spears. All told, the time spent today on your cultural safari is sure to rank amongst your favorite memories of your holiday in Tanzania.

Southwest of Maasai country lies the expansive wilderness of Tarangire National Park. We’ll set out early this morning in order to maximize our time at this one-of-a-kind wildlife destination. The park is characterized by rolling savanna punctuated with enormous baobab trees, and it’s known chiefly as the home to a large population of elephants. If you’ve always wanted to see these gentle giants at their most relaxed and playful, Tarangire will be something of a dream come true—the elephants here are especially habituated to tourist vehicles. But the park is also home to a variety of predators and plains game, and the close-up sightings you’ll enjoy here will compete favorably with any safari in Tanzania. After we’ve explored the park, we’ll spend the night at the opulent Tarangire Simba Lodge, where you’ll sleep in thatched tents right in the African wilderness.

Lake Manyara National Park represents an important stop on Tanzania’s northern safari circuit, and it’s here that we’ll continue our explorations of the country’s prime wilderness destinations. The park is dominated by Lake Manyara itself: an alkaline lake whose shallow waters offer an important refuge for breeding flamingoes. There’s also a network of vehicle tracks crisscrossing the park, and we’ll travel through the woodlands here to discover easygoing elephants, tree-climbing lions, large troops of baboons, and a tremendous variety of birdlife. After traversing the park and taking plenty of photographs, we’ll move on to the next stop on our cultural safari: the Marera Valley Lodge. Located near the highlands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, this comfortable lodge offers elegant cottage-style rooms, and it’s the perfect place to get a good night’s sleep.

After breakfast this morning, we’ll set out to visit the shores of Lake Eyasi. This is the largest body of water in the vicinity of Arusha, and it’s known primarily for the Hadza people who call it home. Also known as the Hadzabe, these locals follow a traditional hunter-gatherer way of life—they possess no livestock, and they subsist on a diet of hunted game and edible plants. We’ll visit with a friendly group of Hadzabe to learn more about their customs and unique language. Later, we’ll also visit an entirely distinct ethnic group: the Datoga, or Datooga. These people belong to one of the oldest tribes in Tanzania, and their proud traditions include maintaining a reputation for producing fierce warriors. This chance to get acquainted with two different tribes sharing the same land is sure to be a highlight of your cultural safari. This evening, we’ll return to the Marera Valley Lodge.

Your safari in Tanzania isn’t over yet! Today, we’ll venture into the two-million-year-old volcanic caldera of Ngorongoro Crater. Seen from above, the reserve looks like nothing so much as a green jewel recessed within the caldera walls—up close, it’s a staggering expanse of plains, forests, and swamps. The wilderness here supports a wide array of game species in particularly high concentrations, especially if it’s predators that you’re looking to find. We’ll spend the day photographing huge prides of lions, roaming hyenas, zebra, wildebeest, and so much more. If we’re lucky, we may even be able to come across the exceptionally rare black rhinoceros. After enjoying this final day of safari to its fullest, we’ll return to the Marera Valley Lodge to spend one last night in the wild Ngorongoro highlands.

After an exceptional week exploring the country’s wildest places and meeting its friendliest people, it’s finally time to turn our steps towards home. We hope that you’ve enjoyed your cultural safari and Mount Kilimanjaro hiking experience here in Tanzania, and we trust that you’ve created memories that will endure for a lifetime. After breakfast this morning, we’ll bring you back to the Kilimanjaro International Airport in plenty of time for your outgoing flight. We can’t wait to welcome you back for another safari in Tanzania!