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Experience the Tribes of Tanzania

The opportunity to see the Big Five and experience the Wildebeest Migration may be what draws many to Tanzania, but interacting with the tribes of Tanzania will leave a lasting impression.

From the iconic Maasai to lesser-known tribes like the Datoga and Chaga, Tanzania has a rich cultural tapestry to explore. Whether you’re looking to add to your trip and build an entire trip around meeting the people of Tanzania, Shadows of Africa has you covered!

Maasai Boma Visit

A visit to one of the many Maasai bomas that dot Ngorongoro is the easiest and cheapest way to interact with the famous Maasai people.

While the Maasai people are not allowed to live within national parks, Ngorongoro Conservation Area allows these semi-nomadic people to continue living their lives as they always have.

Visits to authentic Maasai villages are not easy to arrange, but these tourist-focused bomas offer visitors a chance to explore a village, see traditional dance, and even pick up a few souvenirs.

The perfect stop on your way to or from the Serengeti, a Maasai boma visit is especially fun for kids who might be feeling cooped up on the long drive!

Lake Eyasi Hadzabe Experience

One of our most popular cultural experiences is the Lake Eyasi Hadzabe experience.

These fascinating hunter-gatherers still live their lives much as they always have, defying Tanzania’s rapid modernization in a way that is utterly fascinating to behold.

The opportunity to join the men of the Hadzabe tribe for a morning hunt before touring their village with the aid of a Datoga guide is a truly unique cultural experience, and one of our most popular add-ons. Combine your day at Lake Eyasi with a night at Africa Amini and you’ve got a jam-packed day of cultural discovery!

Ngorongoro Highlands Trekking

For the more adventurous, Shadows of Africa offers a seven-day Ngorongoro Highlands trek that truly immerses you in the local culture.

Accompanied by a Maasai guide and overnighting in villages from the tourist trail, this intense seven-day hike gets you well and truly off-the-beaten-path.

Your trip also includes a chance to enjoy an Ngorongoro Crater game drive!

Day 1 Arusha – Tarangire National Park

We will collect you from your hotel in Arusha and following a 2-3 hour drive, you will arrive at the Tarangire National Park. In this region, Hemmingway often went on big game hunting safaris. After the formation of the national parks in 1970, they turned the seasonal marshes and the endless savannah that one sees today into, once again, profitable hunting grounds. Today however, cameras thankfully have replaced the elephant guns. The Tarangire National Park has the highest density of elephants in North Tanzania and you can view these animals all year round in which the herds often can reach an impressive number of 300 animals. The Tarangire River has water all year round and during the dry season, between July and October, many animals from the surrounding areas come to the river for drinking. If you visit the park during the dry season, you will witness an unforgettable natural wonder as you can observe wonderful creatures such as lions, giraffes, buffaloes, wildebeests and zebras as well as various types of antelopes and gazelles and with a little luck, you can also spot a python! This area is during the dry season also a haven for bird watchers with over 550 different species including the Masai Ostrich -the world largest bird. Around lunchtime, you will stop at a suitable picnic place before the afternoon is dedicated to more wildlife watching. Before sunset, you will be taken back to your hotel in Arusha.
Lunch

Items included:

Day trip according to the itinerary
Transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle
Professional, English-speaking guide
Meals according to the itinerary
Mineral water
All mentioned activities
All national park fees
Flying Doctors insurance (AMREF) during the day trip

Items excluded:

Flights
Optional activities
Alcoholic and soft drinks
Visa fees
Tips
Personal spending money for souvenirs etc.
Travel insurance

A 2-day camping safari for a reasonable price. You will first visit the Lake Manyara National Park with its tree climbing lions and more than 400 different bird species.

The next day you visit the Tarangire National Park which is the home of the largest elephant population in the north of Tanzania. The park with its rough nature is still less visited than other parks in the north, our tip for real natural lovers !

Accommodation is in tents at a campsite outside the parks near the small village Mto wa Mbu.

Itinerary

Day 1: Arusha – Lake Manyara National Park – Lake Manyara Region

You will be picked up at your hotel in the morning after breakfast. You drive along with your guide to Lake Manyara National Park in the East African Rift Valley. The journey takes about 3 hours. The park is dominated by the lake of the same name, which attracts large colonies of water birds. Particularly impressive are the pink-colored flamingos, but there are also many other bird species such as cormorants, pelicans and storks. A total of about 400 different bird species live in the park. The park is also famous for its tree climbing lions, which are usually found in the central and open part of the park. During the safari you will also see elephants, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos and many other animal species. In the late afternoon you leave the national park, and will spend the night at a campsite near the small village Mto wa Mbu.

Day 2: Lake Manyara Region – Tarangire National Park – Arusha

After an early breakfast, we head to Tarangire National Park. In 1970, the national park emerged from a former colonial hunting ground. He has a very diverse animal world, not least because of its size, which corresponds to approximately Luxembourg. The park is home to one of the largest elephant populations in the north of Tanzania, but is also home to many other wild animals. With some luck you can spot lions, cheetahs or leopards. The landscape of the park is very diverse. Especially the huge baobab trees, which are located close together in the north-eastern sector of the park, are particularly impressive. In the late afternoon you will return to Moshi with many impressions of your safari.

A 5 day safari is the perfect amount of time to fully enjoy 3 of Tanzania’s National Parks at a leisurely pace with plenty of time for game drives and good chances for spotting all of Tanzania’s Big Five. First, enjoy Tarangire National Park, known for its’ splendid Boabab Trees and herbivore population, where you are able to enjoy iconic wildlife, such as zebras, wildebeests, giraffes and elephants. If you’re visiting Tarangire during the dry season the wildlife becomes concentrated along the Tarangire River and it’s easy to spot herds of elephants. From there, you will get to experience the iconic Serengeti, home to the infamous wildebeest migration. It’s a massive park and we have set aside two days in the schedule to fully explore. Along with the migration, the Serengeti is famous for its abundant number of predators. After departing the Serengeti, we continue on to the Ngorongoro Crater, where if you are lucky, the Crater Lions will give you a good show. Finally, enjoy Lake Manyara, a shallow body of water in the Rift Valley known for its baboons, flamingos and incredible scenery.

All of our safaris are private, ensuring that you will get the most out of your experience in Tanzania.

Day 1 – Arusha to Tarangire National Park

We depart Moshi in the morning, and head for Tarangire National Park, where you will begin your first game drive before midday. Lunch will be served under the mighty Boabob trees after you enter the park and catch your first glimpses of the wildlife and spectacular scenery. After lunch, make your way through the park snapping photos of the zebra, giraffe and elephant that call this area their home. After a full afternoon of game drives, head to your campsite for dinner and a night under the stars.

Camping at Fanaka or Haven Nature Camp

Day 2 – Tarangire National Park to Serengeti National Park

There was a reason that « The Lion King » creators drew their inspiration from the Serengeti, and today you will get to discover why. Renowned for its’ large lion population, this may be the best opportunity to get a great view of a Lion Pride in their natural habitat, as the gazelles, zebras, and buffalo are abundant in this region. Come during the right season, and witness the birth of the wildebeest calves, where they will begin their annual migration to Kenya at the end of May. Lunch will be served in the park, and after a full day of games drives your campsite awaits.Day 3 –

Day 3 – Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Crater

After a hearty breakfast and morning game drive in the Serengeti, we make our way to the infamous Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest inactive volcanic caldera. An abundance of wildlife graces this infamous area, known worldwide for its’ stunning landscape. Enjoy spotting a multitude of different species, from elephants, hippos and giraffes to the majestic Crater Lions and ravenous hyenas. After a short glimpse of the crater, we wind our way upwards as we head to our campsite on top of the crater rim.

Day 4 – Ngorongoro Crater

After a hearty breakfast, we make our way to the gates of Ngorongoro Crater, where we descend into the world’s largest inactive volcanic caldera. An abundance of wildlife graces this infamous area, known worldwide for its’ stunning landscape. Enjoy spotting a multitude of different species, from elephants, hippos and giraffes to the majestic Crater Lions and ravenous hyenas. Enjoy a waterfront stop for lunch, enjoying the spectacular views and a bite to eat before you head out for you afternoon game drive. After ascending to the crater rim, we will head back to the camp for the evening.

Day 5 – Lake Manyara National Park to Moshi

Today we will head for Lake Manyara National Park, for a morning game drive. Lunch will be served at a picnic site after you enter the park and catch your first glimpses of the wildlife and spectacular scenery. After lunch, make your way through the park snapping photos of all the wildlife that call this area home, with the lake serving as a spectacular backdrop. After a full afternoon of game drives, head back to Moshi in the evening.

In this tour we will cover the 4 most popular destinations in Tanzania – Lake Manyara National Park (1 night), Central Serengeti (1 night), Ngorongoro Crater (1 night), Tarangire National Park (1 night). Tour starts and ends at Arusha. With our experienced driver guides, it will be a trip of a lifetime!

Day 1 – Arusha to Lake Manyara

Pick up at 8:30 AM from your hotel in Arusha and depart for Lake Manyara National Park with a picnic lunch for a full day game drive. As you enter the national park, lush forests of Acacia and Mahogany trees begin to set the mood for what is waiting ahead. The game drive will go on till evening with a small break for picnic lunch. During the game drive watch out for buffaloes, giraffes, impalas, baboons and the blue monkeys. Another spectacle of Lake Manyara National park is the tree climbing lions, however spotting them is a game of luck. In the right season, you can see the shoreline turning pink with millions of flamingos flocking there. Post the game drive, you will head back to your camp/lodge where a delicious dinner awaits you.

Day 2 – Lake Manyara to Central Serengeti

After breakfast we head towards the Serengeti National Park, via the beautiful high lying farmland of Karatu and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Leaving the highlands behind, we descend into the heart of wild Africa – the Serengeti National Park – with its endless plains, rolling into the distance as far as the eye can see. We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive in the Serengeti National Park.

Day 3 – Central Serengeti to NCA

After breakfast, you will have a morning game drive in Serengeti National Park. Later depart for Ngorongoro Conservation Area with picnic lunch. Ngorongoro Crater is the largest collapsed volcanic crater in the world and fourteen kilometers of isolated natural beauty. Ngorongoro Crater is surrounded by a ring of extinct volcanoes and the floor, dotted with watering holes, shelters some 30,000 animals. The eventful day comes to an end with a heavy dinner and a good night’s rest in your accommodation.

Day 4 – Ngorongoro Crater Tour (5 hours) to Tarangire

After an early breakfast, descend to the crater floor for game drive(5 hours). You can expect to see lions, elephants, Zebras, Hippos, Flamingos, Jackals, Rhinos Antelopes and many birds. The birds seen here include eagle, vulture, and flamingos in the Crater Lake, stork, bats, giant vulture, sacred ibis, kori bustard, blacksmith plover, long necked heron and the cattle eagle. Post the picnic lunch at the beautiful Hippo pool, you will begin a steep ascend to the top exit of the crater. With a 2hr drive left to your accommodation in Karatu, the day will come to a close. Freshly made delicious dinner is kept ready for you at your chosen accommodation. All these days of the safari, will have you quite tired and a good rest is essential. The next day you will begin the last leg of your safari.

Day 5 – Tarangire to Arusha

The final day of your safari will begin as usual by 8:00 AM after a luscious breakfast. The destination for today is Arusha to Tarangire National Park where you will have a half day game drive. Tanzania’s third largest National park is known for its majestic baobab trees that dot the landscape, dwarfing the animals that feed beneath them. The Tarangire River is the centerpiece of this park which is famous for some of the largest herds of elephants in Africa. Here you may see lion, leopard, cheetah, lesser kudu, buffalo, Oryx, eland, giraffe and zebra. By mid afternoon, you will branch out and head towards Arusha where you will be dropped off to your preferred location by about 6PM in the evening. With an incredible experience and loads of memories to cherish, this is the time you bid goodbye to your team.