5-Day Tanzania Great Migration Safari with Lake Natron and Ngorongoro

• Today, you'll journey to the striking Lake Natron. After passing Mto wa Mbu, the paved road ends, and your adventure truly begins.
• Driving along the rugged slopes of the East African Rift Valley, you'll pass Maasai villages and the sacred mountain of the Maasai, Ol Doinyo Lengai. As the Maasai village of Ngare Sero comes into view, you'll know the lake is close.
• Lake Natron, a unique soda lake, is home to an astonishing variety of birds, including nearly 2.5 million lesser flamingos that use it as a vital breeding ground.
• The lake's highly saline water supports vibrant unicellular algae and bacteria, which create its mesmerizing red-brown and purple-violet hues.
• The area surrounding Lake Natron is one of Africa's most pristine and breathtaking regions. You'll take a guided hike to the lake, followed by a visit to the nearby waterfalls - an incredible oasis where you can cool off with a refreshing swim in the crystal-clear waters.

Accommodation: Africa Safari Lake Natron (Safari Comfort Bungalow)

• After an early breakfast, you'll head towards Northern Serengeti.
• On adventurous slopes, the route climbs the Rift Valley into the wide plains of the Serengeti. It is the heart of a vast ecosystem whose species-rich animal world is unique in the world.
• Annually, the great migration involves over 1.4 million gnus, almost 300,000 Thomson's gazelles, about 200,000 zebras, and several thousand topis during the rainy seasons as they move to areas with greener and lusher meadows. With about 3 million larger mammals, the Serengeti is the national park with the richest wildlife in the world.
• Around two-thirds are made up of the above-mentioned animal species. Furthermore, the park is home to many other animals, such as giraffe, buffalo, hyena, elephant, and crocodile.
• Particularly large is the population of feline predators - about 3,000 lions, a good 300 cheetahs, and an estimated 400-700 leopards have their hunting grounds here.

Accommodation: Heritage Mara Camp

• The entire day is dedicated to game viewing in the Serengeti. The areas that you visit will depend upon where the migrating herds are.
• Predators usually follow closely behind the trekking animals and include lions, leopards in the acacia trees, and cheetahs.
• During the short rainy season in November and December, the herds move from the hills in the north to the plains in the south.
• During the longer rainy season from April to June, they return north.
• As the migration is completely dependent on the yearly rainfall, the location of the herds may vary from year to year, but your guide will know where to locate the animals and where to see them best.

Accommodation: Heritage Mara Camp

• Today's game drive follows adventurous roads about 600 meters down into the crater. The crater has a diameter of 17 to 21 kilometers and is home to many animals. Nearly all the biodiversity of the East African savannah has gathered here.
• Only giraffes and a few other animal species, for which the rock faces are too steep, do not live in the crater.
• Depending on the season, 15,000 to 25,000 animals gather here. Of these, more than two-thirds are buffaloes, gnus, zebras, and gazelles. The number of grazers in the crater also explains why the largest density of predators in Africa can be found here.
• Besides other predators, more than 100 lions live here in several prides. The chances of seeing the Big Five (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard) within just a few hours are particularly good.
• In the afternoon, we ascend the steep crater walls and head to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Africa Safari Karatu

• The park runs along the line of the Tarangire River and is mainly made up of low-lying hills on the Great Rift Valley floor. Its natural vegetation mainly consists of acacia woodland and giant African baobab trees, with huge swamp areas in the south.
• Both the river and the swamps act like a magnet for wild animals during Tanzania's dry season. Tarangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa.
• This African national park is also home to three rare species of animals - the Greater Kudu, the Fringed-eared Oryx, as well as a few Ashy Starlings. We eat lunch at a picnic, after which we continue with the game drive until late evening, and then drive to Arusha/JRO.