Guests walking with guide through acacia woodland at sunrise, Entamanu Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Courtyard lodge with illuminated colonial-style buildings at dusk, Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
Safari camp with canvas tent in open grassland under stormy sky with rainbow, Laba Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Wooden walkway through dense forest canopy with staff member, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania
Safari lodge tent with acacia trees and mountain backdrop, Entamanu Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Intimate outdoor lounge with woven chairs and firepit at dusk, Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
Two guests relaxing on wooden deck overlooking savanna landscape, Entamanu Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Luxury safari tent interior with bed and lounge seating area, Laba Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Couple relaxing in beachfront shelter overlooking ocean, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania
Outdoor evening gathering with fire pit and lanterns in garden setting, Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha, Tanzania
Canvas safari tent beneath acacia trees with valley view, Entamanu Camp, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Open-sided safari vehicle with guests on game drive across grassland savanna, Laba Migration Camp, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Couple relaxing on wooden deck overlooking forest valley, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania

inspiration

tanzania: the crater to mahale’s chimpanzees

Private Safari
From $21,460 pp
2 guests
11 nights

trip highlights

  • Entamanu Camp sits on the north-western rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, facing the crater sunrise to the east and the Serengeti plains to the west.
  • The Ngorongoro Crater floor is home to lion, spotted hyena, elephant, buffalo and black rhino, reached early by the Seneto descent road.
  • Laba Migration Camp relocates three times a year within Serengeti National Park to stay with the wildebeest and zebra.
  • At Mahale the habituated chimpanzees of the M-group are tracked on foot through rainforest that climbs straight from Lake Tanganyika.
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Couple relaxing in beachfront shelter overlooking ocean, Greystoke Mahale, Mahale Mountains, Tanzania

From the Ngorongoro Rim to Lake Tanganyika

This is eleven nights across northern and western Tanzania, beginning with a night on a coffee estate at Arusha beneath Mount Meru. From there you climb to the north-western rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, then out onto the Serengeti plains with the migrating herds, before flying west to the forests of the Mahale Mountains above Lake Tanganyika.

You travel by road through the northern highlands and by light aircraft to Mahale, where a dhow completes the arrival. Days hold full-day game drives on the crater floor, drives among the herds in the Serengeti and chimpanzee tracking on foot at Mahale. The camps range from a plantation lodge to a mobile tented camp and a beach lodge of dhow-wood bandas.

plan your safari

Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Arrival Beneath Mount Meru

You land at Kilimanjaro International, often after dark, and wake to the outline of Mount Meru. The first day is a slow one on a working Arabica coffee estate, where a guided walk follows the bean from tree to cup, through planting and harvesting, drying and live roasting, and finishes with a tasting of the estate's own coffee. Arusha Coffee Lodge sets cottages and suites among the coffee rows at the foot of Meru, built around an early-1900s homestead in red brick and terracotta, about five minutes' drive from Arusha Airport.

The Ngorongoro Rim and Crater Floor

A drive from Arusha brings you up to the north-western rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. Days run to full-day game drives on the crater floor, where lion, spotted hyena, elephant, buffalo and black rhino share the grass with zebra, wildebeest and gazelle, with an early descent by the Seneto road ahead of the day-trippers. Rim and forest walks, longer trips to the Olmoti and Empakai craters, and an unhurried visit to a Maasai boma fill the rest of the time. Entamanu Camp faces the crater sunrise to the east and the Serengeti sunset to the west, high and cold at night and open to the highland wind.

Following the Herds Across the Serengeti

You move out onto the Serengeti plains, where wildebeest and zebra track fresh grass and water. Days are given to game drives among the herds, with lions, cheetahs and hyenas working the same ground, and at night the animals are audible from the tents. Where the camp stands depends on the season, from the Ndutu calving grounds to the Grumeti and north to the Mara River. Laba Migration Camp is a mobile tented camp that relocates three times a year to stay with the migration, holding up to 22 guests, with leather armchairs, brass finishes and a mess tent of rare books, fossils and meteorites.

Chimpanzees and Lake Tanganyika

A light aircraft carries you west to Lake Tanganyika, then a dhow runs along the shore to the foot of forest-clad mountains. Mornings begin with a trek into the rainforest, guides and park rangers reading the signs until the habituated chimpanzees are found, for close, unhurried observation at a regulated distance and for limited time. Afternoons belong to the lake, with swimming off the beach, snorkelling among the cichlids, kayaking the shoreline or drifting out on the dhow at sunset. Greystoke Mahale is a dhow-wood lodge of six bandas on a white-sand beach, no roads reaching it and the forest climbing steeply behind.

Ed Charles photographing wildlife

Ed Charles, BBC Producer

Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

looking for inspiration?

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climbing kilimanjaro by lemosho

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rwanda & tanzania

gorillas and mnemba island

Eight nights linking gorilla trekking in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park with a private island off Zanzibar.

  • Private Safari
  • From $18,925 pp
  • 2 guests
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our approach

remote, exclusive
& personal

Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.

Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.

Get in touch to start planning yours.

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