REVIEWS

Day 1

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On arrival, you will be met at the Kilimanjaro airport and transferred to your Hotel in Arusha. (Bed Dinner and Breakfast) You can start your trek any day of the year!

 

Day 2: Kilimanjaro Climb

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After breakfast and a briefing from your guide, leave Moshi at 9 AM, drive for 45 minutes to the Marangu Gate on the eastern side of Kilimanjaro, register with the national park, and begin hiking at 10:30 AM. In the rainforest, look for towering Eucalyptus trees, bird life, and Colobus monkeys. At these lower elevations, it can be wet and muddy, so gaiters and trekking poles will help. Shorts and t-shirts should be sufficient, but keep your rain gear and warmer clothing handy. Stop halfway for lunch, and reach the Mandara Huts at 2 or 3 PM. Unpack, rest, and have some tea or coffee. A 15-minute side trip to Maundi Crater is a good way to see the surroundings including Northern Tanzania and Kenya. Dinner is served during the early evening at 7 PM. Bathrooms with running water are available.

Day 3: Kilimanjaro Climb

 

Wake to a 7:30 AM breakfast, and pack for your next trek. Break camp by 8:30 AM, hike for an hour through rainforest glades, then follow an ascending path through heathland where you can look for giant lobelias and groundsels. Continue up into open moorlands where small shrubs are the main vegetation. Stop halfway for lunch, where you can enjoy amazing views of Mawenzi. Arrive at the Horombo Huts by 3 PM, where you can see Kibo’s summit. Rest, unpack, and prepare for dinner. Bathrooms with running water are available.   You may start to feel the effects of altitude here, and to aid your acclimatization, you can choose to spend an extra day resting at Horombo or climbing to a basecamp below Kibo’s sub peak Mawenzi.

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Day 4: Kilimanjaro Climb

 

Wake to breakfast as usual, but if you wake up early you can get some great photos of the sunrise. The first part of the day’s hike climbs through the dwindling heathland that blends into a moonscape as you enter the sweeping saddle connecting Mawenzi and Kibo. When you stop for lunch, and later when you cross this surprisingly large saddle, you can examine the summit climb up Kibo that you will be starting in just a few hours. Be careful to notice any signs of altitude sickness. There is no running water at the Kibo Huts.

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Day 5: Kilimanjaro Climb

 

Wake at midnight to a light breakfast, then prepare for your summit ascent. The goal is to climb before dawn so that you can reach Uhuru Peak shortly after sunrise. Leave at 1 AM, switchback up steep scree or possibly snow, and reach Gilman’s Point on the crater rim at 5,861 m/18,640 ft between 5 and 7 AM. Here, views of the fabled crater and its icecaps greet you. Another 2 hours of hiking along the crater rim near the celebrated snows take you to Kilimanjaro’s true summit, Uhuru Peak, by 9 AM. This is Africa’s highest point, and you would have to travel more than 3,000 miles toward the Himalayas to find a higher peak! Be sure to have your picture taken at the summit to show your friends.

 

After your summit stays, descend back to the Kibo Huts, have lunch, rest, collect your things, and recross the saddle to the Horombo Huts. Eat dinner and get some well-deserved sleep!

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 Day 6: Kilimanjaro Climb

 

Wake, as usual, pack, and descend through the moorland to the Mandara Huts. Have lunch there then continue your triumphant recessional down through lush forest to the park gate, which you should reach around 2 or 3 PM. Remember to tip your guides, cooks, and porters, since you will be leaving them here. A vehicle will take you back to Arusha safari Hotel in Arusha.

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Day 7: Arusha – Tarangire National Park

 

In the morning you will be collected from your hotel and after an approximate 2-hour drive you will arrive at the Tarangire National Park. Giant baobab trees, bush savannah, and seasonal marshes add

to the wonder of this nature reserve. The Tarangire National Park is considered one of the best places to view elephants up close, not only because there are thousands of animals but also because they are not disturbed by the presence of vehicles. The park is also home to buffaloes, zebras, and wildebeests which are always closely followed by a range of predators such as lions. Leopards are seen now and then but cheetahs are rarely spotted. From the open roof of the safari vehicle, you will be able to absorb the landscape and watch the animals. In the late afternoon, you will leave the park and drive

to the Tarangire safari lodge where you will overnight. Lunch; Dinner.

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Day 8: Tarangire Area– Lake Manyara National Park

 

After breakfast, you will travel from the Tarangire Area to the Lake Manyara National Park.

The park is known for its over 400 bird species, primate-filled forests, and grassy plains. A large area of the park is covered by the alkaline Lake Manyara, the seasonal breeding grounds for large colonies of flamingos and many more waterfowls. The park is also home to giraffes, hippos, wildebeests, impalas, and groups of noisy monkeys and baboons. After an extensive game drive, you will travel to the Eileen's trees Inn where you will spend the night. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

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Day 9: Lake Manyara Area – Serengeti National Park

 

After breakfast, you will travel via the cooler highlands towards the southern Serengeti and at midday, you will reach the plains of the Serengeti National Park. This park is the largest in

 

Tanzania and has a diversity of habitats and landscapes – short grass plains, savannah, thick bush, swamps, and lakes. Bizarre rock formations called kopjes dot the grassy landscape where predators are often seen. The Serengeti is famous for the yearly migration when hundreds of thousands of wildebeests and zebras trek to find fresh grass and water. You will spend the night at the Serengeti Pure Tented Camp inside of the park. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner.

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Day 10: Serengeti National Park

 

The entire day is dedicated to game viewing in the Serengeti National Park. The areas that you visit will depend upon where the migrating herds are. Predators usually follow closely behind the trekking animals and include lions, leopards (in the acacia trees), and cheetahs. 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. As the migration is completely dependent on the yearly rainfalls, the location of the herds may vary from year to year but your guide will know where to locate the animals and where to see them best. You will spend another night at last night’s camp. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner.

 

 

Day 11: Ngorongoro Crater – Karatu

 

Rise and shine! After breakfast at daybreak, you travel back to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area before you drive down into the crater. The massive collapsed volcano is home to over 25,000 mammals ranging from the “Big Five” – lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, and leopard to spotted hyenas, rare wild dogs, and some of the more than 500 bird species of the area. After an extensive game drive and a picnic for lunch, you will leave the caldera in the afternoon and return to the Eileen's

trees Inn to spend another night. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner.

 

 

Day 12: Karatu to Lake Eyasi

 

You’ll be up early in a world etched in the pink and apricot rays of an African dawn because early mornings are the best time to spot the animals – especially the Big Five. But don’t worry; The volcanic landscape is rich and fertile and attracts thousands of grazing animals – and their predators. The high walls of the crater form a protective shelter for many animals and prevent migration, so the diversity is dizzying and you’ll spot zebra, wildebeest

and cackling hyenas, amongst others. After a busy morning you’ll enjoy a leisurely picnic lunch near a pond full of hippos and then gaze on the sites at Soda Lake: the flocks of graceful flamingos as well as stork, ibis, and crane. Circling in the indigo blue sky are vultures and hawks eagerly in search of a discarded carcasses. In the afternoon you’ll drive back to arusha depending on flight schedule or going direct to airport or having overnight at Arusha safari Hotel.

 

Cost of the trip, $3500per person

 

Price Includes:

 

• Two nights’ accommodation at the Arusha safari lodge in Arusha double or triple occupancy (before and after the climb)

• Guides, Porters, Cook & Waiters tips Meals and drinks not specified Mountain equipment (eg sleeping bags)

• Gear for your climb, some equipment is available for rent. Items of personal nature (expenses)

• Emergency Oxygen

• Additional nights beyond the two standard hotel nights included

• Extra activities (waterfall tour, cultural village visit). Visa fees & travel insurance. Flight tickets.6 days safaris costs.

• Qualified guides with mountain crew

• National Park fees

• Hut/camping fees and tents

• Tents foam sleeping pads, cooking equipment, and (Cutlery / Crockery) eating utensils. Rescue fees (required by the National Park)

• Pulse oximeters

• First aid kit

• Guides, porters, cook, waiter salaries

• Boiled water on the mountain

• Airport transfers

 

All meals on the mountain (breakfast, lunch & dinner Guides, porters, waiter, cook accommodation and entry fees on the mountain

 

Not Included

 

Guides, Porters, Cook & Waiters tips Meals and drinks not specified Mountain equipment (e.g. sleeping bags)

Gear for your climb, some equipment is available for rent. Items of personal nature (expenses) Emergency Oxygen

Additional nights beyond the two standard hotel nights included

Extra activities (waterfall tour, cultural village visit). Visa fees & travel insurance. Flight tickets.