Welcome to Tanzania! A Gorilla Pathfinder representative will pick you up from the airport and drive you to your accommodation in Arusha. Depending on your arrival time, you will have time to relax and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime! Busy Arusha is an essential part of safari life here in northern Tanzania, and most travelers pass through at some stage.

Your Gorilla Pathfinders guide will collect you from your accommodation after breakfast. This morning, you will drive to Tarangire National Park. The transit drive is approximately two and a half hours on good tarmac roads. The park is named after the Tarangire River, which runs through it. This 'river of warthogs' is the region's only water source for wildlife during the dry season. The park is well-known for its elephant families, which can often be seen congregating by the river. You may also see giraffes, bushbuck, and hartebeest. A range of predators, including lions and leopards, closely follows these animals. More breeding bird species are found in Tarangire than anywhere else on the planet! The huge and ancient baobab trees can be seen here—some are said to have lived for over a thousand years.

Lunch will be at a picnic site inside the park. After your game drive, you will transit to your accommodation in Karatu.

After breakfast, you will drive up into the cooler regions of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. There will be a chance to stop and see the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater. You will then transit through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the Serengeti, entering the park's south.

The Serengeti is genuinely spectacular! It is famous for its vast open grasslands, allowing excellent wildlife sightings. The Serengeti boasts an abundance of wildlife, such as impalas, buffaloes, crocodiles, and hippos. In addition to the iconic landscapes, you have a good chance of encountering predators, and you may see lions, cheetahs, and leopards. After your game drive, you will head towards your accommodation in time for dinner.

After breakfast, you will wind through the Serengeti towards the northern region, stopping to experience more wonder on the way! While it boasts abundant wildlife, the Serengeti is best known for its annual great migration. During the migration, vast numbers of wildebeest, zebra, and antelope move in an annual pattern, constantly seeking fresh grazing. The migration can be found during any given month, you just need to know where to look! At this time of year, the migration usually is in the Northern Serengeti.

Overnight will be a mid-range seasonal tented camp.

The landscape is different in this part of the Serengeti and is made up of hills, riverine forests, plains, and rocky outcrops. The immense Mara River cuts through this area, providing the setting for the mind-blowing river crossing you may enjoy during your time here. During the river crossing, over two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra and antelope attempt to cross the Mara River in search of fresh grazing and water. While they undergo their most remarkable feat during the migration, Nile crocodiles do not make it any easier for them! On the other side, lions, hyenas, leopards, and cheetahs can be found waiting with growling stomachs and high hopes for a delicious meal!

After breakfast, you will slowly return to Central Serengeti with an en route game drive. You may wish to continue your search for the migrating animals before leaving this special place. Every day is different in the Serengeti, and there is always plenty to explore.

This morning, you will gently wind your way back through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area, seeing more animals on the way (it is common to see a journey of giraffes on the lush slopes). You should reach the crater by lunchtime.

When you first see Ngorongoro Crater, it looks like a forgotten world. A pristine wilderness is concealed by the steep volcanic walls, including sweeping savannahs, pockets of acacia woodland, and glistening lakes and swamps. The crater was created when a large volcano exploded and collapsed in on itself two to three million years ago. The drive down into the crater is an adventure in itself, and when you reach the crater floor, you quickly find yourself amongst large numbers of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, and more than 500 bird species. The crater provides the best chance of seeing the endangered black rhino, which can sometimes be spotted in the open grasslands. After an afternoon game drive, you will drive to your accommodation in Karatu.

This morning, you will drive to Lake Manyara National Park. Your final destination on this epic safari! Manyara is a small but diverse park 120km west of Arusha. Everything you will see here is on a different scale. It is compact (one of the narrowest parks in Africa) and epic (the Great Rift Escarpment towers over Lake Manyara’s western boundary). The park’s namesake is a shallow salt lake. The lake covers a large area of the park, flooding and drying with the seasons, and is home to thousands of wading birds (including flamingos and over 500 other bird species). You may see baboons and elephants in the park’s thick evergreen forest and watch for the tree-climbing lions that have become famous throughout Africa.

You will enjoy a picnic lunch inside the park.

After your game drive, you will be dropped off at a place you choose, e.g., Arusha, Kilimanjaro International Airport, or Arusha Airport. We hope you have enjoyed your adventure with Gorilla Pathfinders.