LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
Region: Africaen cruises.
Location: Tanzania
Area: 14,750 km 2 (5,700 sq mi)
Established: 1951
Visitors: 350,000 per year
Governing body: Tanzania National Parks Authority
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type: Natural
Designated: 1981
State Party: Tanzania
In the morning you will be picked up from your hotel and after a short briefing you set off to the Lake Manyara National Park. The small park stretches along the 600 m high Rift Valley Escarpment and is dominated by the alkaline Lake Manyara. Many water birds gather at the lake and more than 400 bird species are found in the park. The diverse vegetation provides a habitat for many animals such as monkeys in the forest, giraffes and antelopes on the grasslands and elephants around the acacia trees. If you are very lucky you might also see the Manyara lions, lounging in the trees. In the late afternoon you will leave the Lake Manyara National Park and head to the 3STARS lodge, where you will spend the night.
After breakfast you will drive towards the fertile crater highlands where the farmers grow wheat, corn and coffee. You will pass the Ngorongoro Crater before you reach the plains of the Serengeti National Park aroundmidday. The Serengeti is the largest park in Tanzania and has a diversity of habitats and landscapes includingshort grass plains, savannah, thick bush, swamps, mountains and lakes. Bizarre rock formations called Kopjes,dot the grassy landscape where predators are often seen. Depending on the season you will witness the migration of thousands of animals for which this park is famous for. 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 up north. This circle of life is completely dependent on the yearly rainfalls and the locations of the herds may vary from year to year but your guide will know
Dawn is a good time to watch wildlife and so you will be up early to join an early morning game drive. Youwill return to the camp for breakfast before heading out for another game drive in the park. Here in the Seronera region you will often see wildebeests and zebras in close proximity of lions and other predators such as leopardsand cheetahs. After a picnic lunch you will continue your journey towards the Ngorongoro Crater. Once you have reached the crater rim you will enjoy fantastic views of this 600 m deep collapsed volcano. You will stay at the 3STARS lodge situated on the craters edge.Â
After an early breakfast you will drive down the steep and narrow road that takes you into the crater. The slopesare forested but soon the landscape changes to savannah. Here the wildlife is just breath-taking and with a little luck you can observe the "Big Five" – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard – in just a few hours. You should also see warthogs, wildebeests, zebras, hippos and some of the more than 500 bird species of the area. After a morning dedicated to game viewing and a picnic lunch, you will leave the crater in the early afternoon to drive back to Moshi, where you will arrive in the early evening.
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