4-Day Ngorongoro, Tarangire & Materuni Waterfalls

You will be picked up from either Kilimanjaro or Arusha airport and be dropped off at your accommodation in Arusha. If time allows, depending on your arrival, you will have an option to do Arusha city tour, visiting the famous art gallery (Cultural Heritage), Local market and Maasai Market. Overnight at Karibu Heritage House • Budget hotel located in or near Arusha.

Your safari begins the moment you walk out of Kilimanjaro International Airport. A Serengeti Wakanda guide is waiting with your name on a board and the words every traveller wants to hear: karibu Tanzania, welcome to Tanzania.

We transfer you to your lodge in the Arusha foothills, where you can shower, change into safari clothes and settle in. Your driver-guide joins you for a relaxed welcome dinner, walks through tomorrow's plan in detail and answers every last question. An early night sets you up for the days ahead.

Where you sleep tonight

Karibu Heritage House

Guesthouse in Arusha

Warm, owner-run guesthouse in Arusha — the trusted first/last-night base for our camping and trekking guests.

After breakfast, your day begins at 7 am as you embark on a 2-hour drive to Materuni Waterfalls, passing through the picturesque villages of Kishumundu and Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival in the village, you’ll embark on a 45-minute walk through the lush vegetation of Materuni to reach the captivating waterfalls. Spend around 30 minutes enjoying the falls, and if you’re up for it, bring your swimsuit for a refreshing dip. Afterward, return to the village for a local coffee tour, followed by a delicious lunch that starts with a unique banana soup. Following this, your journey continues to Chemka Hot Springs, where you can soak in the lukewarm waters and even enjoy a free pedicure from the “Garra Rufa” fish. As the day winds down, you’ll head back to Arusha for dinner and an overnight stay. Overnight at Karibu Heritage House • Budget hotel located in or near Arusha.

Arusha sits at 1,400 m at the foot of Mount Meru, a green coffee town and the gateway to the Northern Circuit. Today is for resting, sorting kit and meeting your guide properly.

If you arrive early there is time to walk the coffee plantations, browse the Maasai market or visit a local Tinga Tinga art studio. Otherwise simply enjoy the gardens, the pool and a quiet first dinner under the African sky.

Where you sleep tonight

Karibu Heritage House

Guesthouse in Arusha

Warm, owner-run guesthouse in Arusha — the trusted first/last-night base for our camping and trekking guests.

After breakfast, at 7:45 am, you will be picked up from your accommodation and drive for approximately 2 hours to Tarangire National Park. The park is famous for its large elephant herds and ancient baobab trees. From our open-roof vehicle, you’ll experience seasonal swamps and savannah. The Tarangire River teems with wildlife, including birds, giraffes, impalas, lions, leopards, and elephants. We’ll have a picnic lunch at a picturesque spot before continuing our game viewing. Finally, we’ll head to Fig Tree Lodge for dinner and an overnight stay. Overnight at Fig Tree Lodge & Camp • Budget hotel located in or near Mto wa Mbu.

Tarangire is the elephant capital of northern Tanzania. In the dry season the Tarangire River is the only permanent water for miles, and herds of up to 250 elephants come down to drink, calves tumbling between their mothers' legs.

You spend the day on a private game drive through baobab-studded floodplains: lions resting in the shade, giraffe browsing acacia tops, fringe-eared oryx and the strange dwarf mongoose colonies. We pack a hot picnic lunch so you can stay in the park while the light is good.

Where you sleep tonight

Fig Tree Lodge & Camp

Lodge & camp near Tarangire NP

Family-run lodge and camp just outside Tarangire's main gate, with simple chalets, pool and bush dinners under the figs.

Today, our safari adventure begins early at 5 am as we hop into the safari vehicle. We’ll embark on a 2-hour journey to Ngorongoro Crater, bringing our packed breakfast and lunch along. This breathtaking location is home to nearly every species of wildlife native to East Africa, including the elusive black rhino, if luck is on our side. Covering an expansive 260 square kilometers and stretching approximately 20 kilometers in diameter, we’ll likely need 5 to 6 hours to explore the crater’s wonders. Breakfast and lunch will be enjoyed within the crater’s boundaries. As the day progresses, we’ll make our way back to Arusha, with an expected return to town around 6 pm.

The Ngorongoro Crater is a 260 km² collapsed caldera with 600 m walls, and the highest density of large mammals on Earth. Inside the crater floor live around 25,000 large animals, including the densest population of black-maned lions and one of the last strongholds of the eastern black rhino.

We descend at first light when the floor is still in shadow and the cats are working. A picnic breakfast on the rim, a full morning circuit past the soda lake's flamingos and Lerai Forest's elephants, then a climb back up the escarpment in time for a late lunch.