Tanzania Luxury Adventure Trails

Day 1  - ARUSHA
Whenever you arrive, you'll be personally met and transferred to the family-owned and managed Rivertrees Lodge built on the banks of a river and shaded under a canopy of beautiful trees. in a thick African forest along a beautiful river. For those arriving early, optional activities can be arranged at an extra cost.

Days 2  and 3  - WEST KILIMANJARO
Drive through a patchwork of farmland skirting the flanks of Mount Kilimanjaro before reaching into the beautiful highlands of the western edge of Mt. Kilimanjaro, onto a private Maasai conservancy reserve where elephant conservation efforts have attracted several awards. Spend two nights in a  Luxury Tented Camp, the only guests on 60,000 acres. Game view in vehicles and track elephants on foot. Learn about the local Maasai and experience some of the most awesome scenery in Africa.

Day 4  - WEST KILIMANJARO / LAKE MANYARA
Spend the morning visiting sacred Maasai cave paintings with an optional visit to a Maasai boma and chance to buy Maasai beads and artifacts. Then, take a quick charter flight to the edge of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara. Transfer to Kirurumu, an award winning tented lodge designed and built in a Luxury style and perched on the very edge of the escarpment with phenomenal views of Africa. Time permitting, join a Maasai for an ethno-botanical walk to the edge of the Rift..

Day 5  - LAKE MANYARA & THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY
Dawn game drive in Lake Manyara National Park, perhaps the most beautiful on the circuit. Famous for its elephants and lions-in-trees, the park boasts 20 times as many species of trees as in all of North America and outstanding bird life. During the morning game drive you'll understand why this is where Out of Africa was filmed. In the afternoon explore an important elephant corridor and rich native forest in the Maasai community of Silela, with whom Peter has been working closely on a variety of conservation efforts. Meals and overnight at Kirurumu Luxury Tented Camp.

Days 6 and 7  - NGORONGORO CRATER
Two remarkable days in one of the most phenomenal places in Africa, the 2000-foot deep, 100 sq. mile large Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro volcano at its nadir was probably about 15,000 feet high and would have resembled present day Mount Meru. Once the world's highest structure, an enormous volcano - possibly 25 miles wide at its base - collapsed inwards about 2-3 million years ago at a time when large fractures appeared creating the Eastern Rift wall. Today, the crater is home to over 20,000 large mammals. Its rich grassland caldera is an animal paradise. See some of the world's largest elephant, large groups of black-maned lion, big herds of plains animals like zebra and wildebeest. The crater is the last place in Africa where free-ranging black rhino are usually seen by all visitors. One afternoon Kombo a young Maasai will introduce you to a local Maasai chief who will escort you on a breath-taking walk through the area's outstanding hills. The two days and nights will be spent at Tanzania's most lavish safari camp, Crater Lodge. Enjoy your own fireplace, stoked by your personal butler who also keeps the sherry glasses full and fresh Stilton at hand.

Days 8, 9 and 10  - SERENGETI PLAINS
Leave the crater on a spectacular drive that takes you first to famous Olduvai Gorge, then overland into the great Serengeti, the Grande Dame of African wilderness. For three days and nights you'll explore the southern plains and western hills, where normally at this time of the year around 2 million wildebeest, zebra and a vast assortment of other plains animals, congregate to feast on the nutrient grasses growing with the developing rains. There is no other as impressive or dramatic wildlife spectacle on earth. During these three nights you'll be pampered in a Luxury Camp set near the migration but hours and days away from the main tourist lodges. At times, the entire veld will be yours alone. Kombo will also take you to sacred Maasai areas, where he will convey the drama and mystery of Maasai history and culture.

Days 11 and 12  - NORTHERN SERENGETI
The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area represent more than 7,000 sq. miles of some of the finest pristine wilderness left on earth. Travel from the southern plains to the far northern reaches of the park near the Kenyan border. Here among spectacular kopjes live noble Maasai very much as they have for centuries. You will be taken to a private reserve where conservation projects that aim to protect important animal corridors and grazing areas from overuse and modern development is an additional attraction. Here you'll be able to take some stunning walks among the wild animals, while learning more about the proud Maasai and the important role they are playing in preserving the African wilderness. The beauty and solemnity of this area is undescribable and the perfect way to end a grand safari.

DAY 13  - SERENGETI/ARUSHA / DEPARTURE TRANSFER.
A quick morning flight returns you to Arusha by noon. You'll be met and enjoy lunch at a popular local restaurant, with time for sightseeing and shopping before returning to Moivaro Lodge. Private rooms are available for everyone until the evening departures.