The overview
This 8-day cultural safari exposes guests to authentic Tanzanian culture. Visits to indigenous tribes, settlements, and historical locations like the Chaga, Masai, and Hadzabes Bushmen tribes. As described in the itinerary, one will be immersed in many cultural activities, humanitarian activities, descent on the Crater rim in the Ngorongoro area, Mto WA mbu visit, Masai village visit, Lake Enyasi walking, and many more
The highlights of this safari
- Local food preparation & Traditional Dance
- Environmental Tree planting project
- Visit to the orphanage centers
- Mto wa Mbu village tour
- Exploration of historical sites
- Tea plantations touring
- Vistas of Kilimanjaro mountain
- Game drives
- Unlimited traditional activities
The detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Kilimanjaro international airport and Drive to Olpopongi Masai Village
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, our driver guide will greet you and transfer you to Olpopongi in the West Kilimanjaro area, passing through the picturesque West Kilimanjaro desert. Game animals such as zebras and elephants can be seen according to the season. On a clear day, you’ll be able to see Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru. You will arrive in Olpopongi Maasai Village for dinner and an overnight stay, where the Village Chief will welcome you with refreshments.
Meal plan: Dinner
Day 2: Full-day exploration of Olpopongi Masai Village
After breakfast, you embark on a walking safari around Olpopongi village, where a native guide will discuss the past and present lives of Tanzania’s Maasai. Learn more about the Maasai culinary culture while sipping a traditional tea (chai) made over a wood fire. The activities inside the village will conclude with a delicious lunch featuring a range of local food specialties. As part of your bush adventure, Maasai warriors will accompany you along their pathways and discuss typical medicinal plants, amazing trees, tracks, and local fauna. You will also learn how to use traditional equipment, hunting skills, and fire preparation. At sunset, a group of Maasai men and women will gather for traditional singing and dancing. A fantastic BBQ buffet around the campfire will offer you with a wonderful evening under the stars. Retire at your lodge at the end of the evening
Meal plan: All meals are provided
Day 3: Transfer from Olpopongi Masai Village to Tengeru Village
After breakfast, you will travel to Tengeru village, where a local guide from the Tengeru Cultural Center will meet you and show you to a seat where you can relax and test naturally prepared lemon grass and ginger tea with some bites. While relishing the traditional tea, you will also be briefed regarding the Meru tribe, their fascinating heritage, and how the current situation compares to the past.
You will be given a lecture on the utilization of methane gas/biogas produced from cow droppings, then you will begin hiking through the hamlet, giving you the opportunity to connect with locals as you visit the two elementary schools. One is for handicapped students, while the other is a primary school for teaching practice. You will have the opportunity to interact with the children and learn about their way of life. You will also visit an old stone quarry site created after World War II where more than 100 Polish immigrants were brought to Arusha, most of them perished of malaria and influenza and were buried in this region. After lunch, visit the coffee farms to learn about the origins of coffee, who invented it, how and when it came to Tanzania, and how to plant, harvest, and process the coffee. Return to the center to process it locally, brew a cup of coffee, and relish a cup of coffee produced by yourself. In the evening, you will be taken to Arusha to check into the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 4: Transfer to Monduli Juu Cultural exploration
After breakfast, you leave Arusha with picnic lunch boxes and drive to Monduli, which is located approximately 50 kilometers to the west of Arusha Town. Monduli Juu is an administration ward within the general Monduli district in the Arusha Region in Tanzania. Monduli Juu is made up of four traditional Maasai villages that run along the Monduli mountains to the northeastern edge of Arusha. The four settlements are Emairete, Enguiki, Eluwai, and Mfereji. The original Maasai people revere the Emairete town of Monduli Juu, which stands along a volcanic crater.
You will hike from Moduli village to a forest, where an armed ranger will guide you. Buffaloes, elephants, and other animals can be seen in this forest while you see the traditional medicinal plants at Boma, in which you can smell and sense the various medicinal plants of the Masai, understand how they are processed and application, and connect many Masai on the way, either accompanied by their herds of goats and cows or with their herds of donkeys to the waterhole. In Enguiki, a warm greeting awaits in the medicine man’s boma, with a recommendation to one of the traditional Masai circular huts. After lunch, you will ascend Monduli Mountain to experience spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro and Meru. At the end of the day you retire at the lodge for dinner and night rest.
Meal plan: All meals are provided
Day 5: Go to Lake Eyasi for Cultural Interaction
After breakfast, you go out on the bumpy route to Lake Eyasi, a soda lake in the rift valley. You will arrive in the afternoon for cultural contact with the Tatoga tribe, which is a fascinating culture. The journey will be led by a Tatoga guide from the hamlet to explore the dry and rough landscape area on foot that remains inhabited by a handful of bushmen known as the Hadzabe or Watindiga. These communities continue to live in bands, hunting with arrows and bows and harvesting roots, tubers, and wild fruits, exactly as humans used ten thousand years ago to survive. The Datoga, also known as the Barabaig or Mang’ati, is another noteworthy tribe in this area. Initially, they had a lot of rivalry with the Maasai overgrazing area. Retire in the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 6: Transfer from Lake Eyasi to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
After early morning tea, you will go on a hunting expedition with the bushmen before returning to the lodge for breakfast. Following that, you head for Ngorongoro Crater, stopping along the way to witness wildlife. You’ll stop at the crater’s rim to descend downwards and learn some fascinating facts regarding this exceptional natural wonder of Africa. Around 2.5 million years ago, an enormous volcano exploded and collapsed on itself, creating the Ngorongoro Crater. It is the world’s biggest unbroken volcanic caldera, and it has been designated as a World Heritage Site and a sealed ecosystem! The grasslands of the crater are home to 25,000 large mammals and are one of the finest places in East Africa to see the big five: lion, rhino, leopard, buffalo, and elephant. After the descent, you will be driven to the lodge for dinner and overnight in the Ngorongoro area
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 7: A visit to Masai Village and a stopover at the Olduvai Gorge site
On this day, you will be transferred to a Masai village with a stopover at Olduvai Gorge, a famous historical site where archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the fossilized remnants of Homo habilis, one of the first members of the human species-genus, in the 1960s. A resident anthropologist will give a lecture regarding the evolution of humans and life at this location 20 million years ago.
Afterward, you proceed to Masai village to explore the community here and spend time with the residents, learn about their culture, and join in on their energetic singing and dancing. There is an opportunity to learn about some traditional skills, such as fire-making and beadwork. You will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 8: A visit to Mto WA Mbu and drive back to Arusha
After breakfast, you will be transported to Mto WA mbu for a cultural visit. Mto WA Mbu Village has an extensive cultural program that aims to exhibit to visitors the customary way of life of the people through a variety of events and community projects. You can tour popular attractions in the area, sample Tanzanian cuisine, and engage in authentic cultural interactions. The community offers a variety of good walking, hiking, and bike trips ranging in length from just a couple of hours to a whole day. In the afternoon, you will be driven back to Arusha for your departure flight or to the lodge, bringing this safari to a close.
Meal plan: All meals are included