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

• Drive from Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park, which takes about 4 hours.

• After a picnic lunch in Manyara, start a late afternoon game drive, which is the best time to view animals in this park.

• Approach the Rift Valley from the east and see the escarpment looming on the horizon, forming an impressive backdrop to the lake. In the tall trees of the groundwater forest, monkeys leap from branch to branch, and on the escarpment, elephants stand in the shade. Other animals frequently seen include zebras, impalas, monkeys, giraffes, buffalos, hippos, and others.

Dinner and overnight at Flamingo Safari Campsite or a similar campsite.

Lunch and dinner included.

• Drive to Serengeti National Park via Olduvai Gorge, which takes 3 to 4 hours. Olduvai Gorge is an archaeological site located in the eastern Serengeti plains, where early human fossils were first discovered. It has an amazing landscape that resulted from the same tectonic forces that created the Great Rift Valley millions of years ago.

• In the late evening, drive to Nguchiro Campsite.

All meals included.

• After breakfast, venture into the Serengeti's wilderness for a full day of game viewing in the park.

• Pack a picnic lunch and take your leisure while exploring this world heritage site, where earth's largest concentration of plain game still roams free.

• In the late evening, go to Nguchiro Campsite or a similar campsite for rest, dinner, and overnight.

All meals included.

• After breakfast, drive to Ngorongoro Crater for a game drive inside the crater with the Tanzanian safari guide. This is the best place in Tanzania to see black rhino, as well as prides of lions that include the magnificent black-maned males. There are also lots of colorful flamingoes and a variety of water birds. Other animals you may see include leopard, cheetah, hyena, other members of the antelope family, and small mammals.

Dinner and overnight at the Simba Campsite.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

• In the morning, drive from Simba Campsite to Tarangire National Park, which takes about 2 hours. This park is spectacular in the dry season, when many of the migratory wildlife species return to the permanent waters of the Tarangire River. Huge herds of wildebeest, zebras, elephants, elands, and oryx gather in Tarangire until the onset of the rains, when they migrate again to good grazing areas.

• In the evening, drive back to Arusha.

Breakfast and lunch are included.