This 3 days Tanzania safari to Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara is an affordable 2-night / 3 days safari in Tanzania, taking you for fantastic game viewing in Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara National Park – giving you a great chance of spotting Africa’s most iconic wild animals. You will also have the chance to experience some of Tanzania’s culture.
You will begin your 3 days Tanzania safari adventure in Lake Manyara National Park, a very beautiful park, home to thousands of pink flamingos, white pelicans, blue monkeys, the largest baboon troops in Africa, elephants, hippos, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, and over 400 bird species, and the rare tree-climbing lions.
Once you’re done exploring this beautiful park, you will visit the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, one of Africa’s Seven Natural Wonders and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Crater’s caldera is filled with over 30,000 wild animals, making for some of the easiest game viewing anywhere on the continent and the place, where you are most likely to see all of the Big 5 (Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Rhino, and Buffalo) in a single game drive.
Day 1: Lake Manyara National Park
Day 2: Ngorongoro Crater
Day 3: Arusha – Depart.
Day 1: Transfer from Arusha to Lake Manyara National Park via Mto wa Mbu Village. Enjoy a Game Drive on Arrival.
Day 2: Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater & do a game drive.
Day 3: Half-day game drives in Ngorongoro Crater & transfer back to Arusha.
Your affordable short 3 days Tanzania safari to Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara begins at around 7.00 am with a morning pick-up from your Arusha hotel and a briefing by your guide before you leave.
You will then be taken a beautiful drive of about 2 hours to Lake Manyara NP for a full-day game drive with a picnic lunch. En route, you will pass through beautiful countryside landscapes and the Village of Mto wa Mbu, a delightful small village, a fascinating snapshot of small-town African life, and home to some 18,000 residents from 120 different Tanzania tribes!
After a brief stop at the village market, you will enter Lake Manyara NP. A spectacular part of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara’s rich variety of natural habitats are set around the soda lake, described by Ernest Hemingway as the ‘loveliest I have seen in Africa’.
The lake is a haven for clouds of flamingos and other fantastic waterbirds. This is a paradise for bird-watching enthusiasts! The forested valleys and open savannah plains support a large elephant population as well as herds of Buffalos, Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeests, baboons, and many species of graceful antelopes. Predators are also present in the park and topping the list are the rare tree-climbing lions.
After a game drive, you move to your lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge
Midrange: – Manyara Kirurumu Camp
Budget: – Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 110km/2 hours
Activities & Services: –
Optional Activity: –
After breakfast on day two of your 3 days Tanzania safari to Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara, you will embark on a scenic drive of about 3 hours to the spectacular Ngorongoro Crater.
Along the way, you might have time to visit an authentic Maasai village and learn a lot about their fascinating culture and everyday way of life. The name Ngorongoro actually comes from the Maasai; the Maasai pastoralists named the area after the sound produced by the cowbell (ngoro ngoro)! You’ll also drive through the colorful town of Karatu, reaching your lodge in time for lunch.
After lunch, you will have some time to rest before embarking on a game drive. You will descend 600 meters to the crater floor and look for the mammals and birds that call the inside of Ngorongoro Crater their home. On the way into the crater, learn some cool facts about this incredible natural geological wonderland.
Formed about 2 million years ago when a volcano exploded and collapsed on itself, this World Heritage Site was voted as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa by the Seven Natural Wonders organization in 2013.
Often referred to as “Africa’s Garden of Eden,” and affectionately as a fish bowl of wildlife, this world’s largest unbroken caldera (260km2 wide) offers a year-round home to some 300,000 animals including the Lion, Leopard, Rhinos, Buffalo, Elephant of the Big Five. The crater also boasts over 500 bird species. You’ll return to the crater rim and go back to your lodge for dinner, and overnight.
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ngorongoro Crater Lodge/Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
Midrange: – Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge
Budget: – Karatu Simba Lodge
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – Approx.190km/3-4 hours
Activities & Services: –
After an early breakfast, go for a half-day game inside Ngorongoro Crater. Take in the breathtaking views from the crater rim as you make your way to the bottom, where animals roam the lakes, rivers, woodlands, and hills.
Whilst in Ngorongoro, you also have a chance to encounter the colorfully dressed Masai people who often water their cattle at the lake here. And if all goes to plan, you will see all of the Big Five animals.
Also look for Wildebeests, Zebra, Hyenas, Eland, Cheetah, Jackals, Caracals, Gazelle, Flamingos, and Ostriches. The crater walls form a stunning backdrop and seeing herds and solitary animals roaming within it make for some of the best wildlife viewings in Africa. The only animal you won’t see here is a giraffe, whose long legs are unable to cope with the steeps sides of the crater.
After the thrills and excitement of the day, you will have a picnic lunch on the floor of the crater. Then, drive up the steep road out of the crater. Thereafter, set off on a 4-5 hour drive back to Arusha.
You may stop for lunch or some last-minute shopping. You will then be dropped off at Kilimanjaro International Airport for our flights home at the end of this exciting 3 days Tanzania safari to Ngorongoro Crater & Lake Manyara.
Please note: Extensions to Zanzibar, parks in Kenya or Uganda/Rwanda for gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking easily be arranged. Don’t hesitate to contact us.
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