5-Day Northern Tanzania Safari with Olduvai Gorge and Big Five Parks

• The drive from Arusha to Tarangire National Park takes about three hours. This park is spectacular in the dry season, when many migratory wildlife species return to the permanent waters of the Tarangire River. Vast herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, elands, and oryx gather here and remain in Tarangire until the onset of the rains, when they migrate again to better grazing areas.

Overnight at the Heaven Nature Camps.

• Drive to Serengeti National Park via Olduvai Gorge in 3 to 4 hours. Olduvai Gorge is an archaeological site located in the eastern Serengeti plains, where early human fossils were first discovered. It features a fantastic landscape formed by the same tectonic forces that created the Great Rift Valley millions of years ago.
• Then, in the late evening, drive on for your overnight stay at the Serengeti Wilderness Camps.

Meal plan: FB.

• After breakfast, venture into the Serengeti's wilderness corners for a full day of game viewing in the park.
• With a picnic lunch beside you, take your time exploring this World Heritage Site, where the earth's largest concentration of plains game still roams free.
• In the late evening, return to the Serengeti Wilderness Camps for rest, dinner, and an overnight stay.

• After breakfast, drive to Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive inside the crater. This is one of the best places in Tanzania to see black rhinos, as well as prides of lions that include magnificent black-maned males. There are also many colourful flamingos and a variety of water birds.
• Other game you may see includes leopard, cheetah, hyena, other members of the antelope family, and small mammals. Dinner and overnight at the Twiga Campsite.

Meal plan: FB.

• The drive from the Twiga Camps to Lake Manyara National Park takes about 30 minutes.
• After having a picnic lunch in Manyara, begin a late afternoon game drive, the best time to view animals in this park. The Rift Valley escarpment looms on the horizon as you approach from the east, forming an impressive backdrop to the lake. In the tall trees of the groundwater forest, monkeys leap from branch to branch, while on the escarpment, elephants stand in the shade. Other animals frequently seen here include zebras, impalas, monkeys, giraffes, buffaloes, and hippos.
• In the late afternoon, drive back to the Maasai Lodge in Arusha.