8 Days - Walking Safari to Ngorongoro Highlands
Walking safaris involve enjoying nature in the wild by walking, taking photographs, observing wildlife, meeting local people, and experiencing the amazing African culture and way of life. The walking safari primarily aims to expose the nature, wildlife, and local society around the destinations. The main star here is Donkey, who carries the owner’s baggage and facilitates all the activities by escorting it from one camp to another. Through Tanzania Adventures and Safaris, we welcome you to enjoy the best and most amazing tour with a trained, knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced professional safari guide.
8-Day Walking Safari to Ngorongoro Highlands
Check out the travel blueprint for your 8-day walking safari to the Ngorongoro highlands
Day 1: Arusha – Nainokanoka
Day 2: Nainokanoka to Empakai Crater
Day 3: Empakai – Naiyobi Village
Day 4: Empakai – Naiyobi Maasai Village
Day 5: Acacia camp – Kamakia camp
Day 6: Kamakia – Lake Natron, then back to Kamakia
Day 7: Kamakia camp to Oldoinyo L’engai Trail
Day 8: Kamakia camp – Hotel in Arusha
OUR itinery
Explore wildlife adventure on your 8-day walking safari to the Ngorongoro highlands.
DAY 1
Arusha – Nainokanoka
We will depart from the hotel in the morning for Nainokanoka. Then, we will move to the closest village (Bullati Village) in Empakai. Here, you will start your hiking journey with our Maasai guides and donkeys to Empakai Crater, the most beautiful of the craters. In Nainokanoka, you might have the option to visit the Olmoti Crater. Get your dinner and an overnight stay in a Campsite in Bullati village on the crater rim.
Distance: 250 km
Duration: 6 to 7 hours.
Meals: lunch and dinner
Accommodation: luxury tents
DAY 2
Nainokanoka to Empakai Crater
After breakfast, we will trek through open grassland, bushland, and forests. With the trek, we will gradually gain height to the rim of Empakai crater. Once we reach the peak, we descend into the crater floor, which is filled with dense equatorial forests, grass, and a volcanic lake. You can see buffalo, reedbucks, and other bird species near the lake. Get your dinner and enjoy an overnight stay at the camp on the crater rim in Empakai
Distances: 12km from Nainokanoka to Empakai
Duration: 4 to 5 hrs of walking
Meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: luxury tent
DAY 3
Empakai – Naiyobi Village
On the 3rd day, we will descend into the crater rim towards the north-western side. We reach the Naiyobi Maasai village. In the afternoon, you can engage in Maasai dancing with the tribal people. You can also enjoy a conversation with the Maasai community people. If you want, visit their local primary school. Enjoy a dinner and overnight stay at the Acacia Trees Forest near the village at the Acacia Campsite.
Distance: 11.5 km of tours
Durations: 4 to 5 hours
Meals: breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: luxury tent
DAY 4
Empakai – Naiyobi Maasai Village
We will depart in the morning, through the dusty paths from the crater highlands to Mouwongoni Maasai village. Here, we will meet our vehicle, which will transfer us to the campsite or lodge at Lake Natron for dinner and overnight.
Distance: 8km of walking in the wild
Duration: 4 hrs
Meals: breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: luxury tents
DAY 5
Acacia camp – Kamakia camp
On the 5th day, we leave the Empakai Crater and head to Acacia Kamakia, where we will see a variety of unique and amazing tree species and a myriad of birds in and around the bushes and forests. With this, our time at Kamakai Waterfall comes to an end. Here you can bathe in divine, natural, warm water and enjoy the back to the camp.
Distance: 10 km of walking
Duration: 5 to 6 hours
Meals: breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner
Accommodation: luxury tent
DAY 6
Kamakia – Lake Natron, then back to Kamakia
In the morning, we go to walk around Lake Natron. Early in the morning, after breakfast, it will take us 3 to 4 hours to walk to the ethereal Natron, where you can see flamingos from almost the whole of eastern Africa. The birds are so gorgeous. You will be impressed yourself.
Distance: 6 km of walking to the lake
Duration: 4 hours of walking
Meals: breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner,
Accommodation: luxury tent
DAY 7
Kamakia camp to Oldoinyo L’engai Trail
Early in the morning, we will have breakfast, walk a bit to the vehicle, then drive to Oldonyo Lengai, where we will climb the third-highest mountain in Tanzania, with an approximate elevation of 2820 meters above sea level.
Distance: 6km of walking
Duration: 6 hours
Meals: breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner
Accommodation: luxury tents
DAY 8
Kamakia camp – Arusha hotel
We’ll start our drive from Kamakia. The road from Lake Natron to Arusha typically takes 5 to 6 hours. On the way, we will pass through rugged, scenic, and hot terrain, including a stop at the Engaruka ruins. Get your lunchbox and reach the end point at Arusha city centre for accommodation, or at the airport in Tanzania. We don’t say goodbye to adventures and safaris; rather, we say welcome to the next adventure.
Distance: 250 km Kamakia to Arusha
Duration: 6 to 7 hours
Meals: breakfast, snacks, lunchbox
Accommodation: hotel
Make your Dream Safari Come True
This safari explores northern Tanzania’s premier national parks, starting with a convenient domestic flight from Zanzibar.
Include
- Accommodation
- Meals
- Safari 4x4 vehicles
- English-speaking guide
- Drinking mineral water
- Daily game drives
- Park fees
- Donkey and escort fees
- Staff salaries
Exclude
- Visas
- Travel insurance
- International flights (can be booked for you on request)
- personal expenditures such as Souvenir
- personal equipment
Our Green Camp Philosophy
Our company was named Tanzania Adventures and Safaris after the founders, hunter-gatherer people who, before the Maasai immigration, occupied most of the Maasai habitats. We have adapted their lifestyle in our camping methods. Our camps are nomadic, spending no more than a few days at each campsite. We ensure our environmental impact is minimal. Our lightweight camps imply we don’t have heavy water demands, as flush toilets don’t produce the large septic waste that permanent camps do. We pre-cook in Arusha, with local ingredients. We source many of the vegetables from an organic farm in our village.Since the inception of Tanzania Adventures and Safaris, we have minimised the use of plastic water bottles. We provide drinking water from our own borehole in Arusha. We also filter water from our personal well through our Carta Dyne water filter. We serve drinks such as soda and beer in returnable bottles. We are well-trained in Leave No Trace LNT.
Price 3300$ ppt The price gets lower as the number of customers increases Book now and grab your offer
FAQ
The Ngorongoro Crater is known as the “Eden of Africa”. The crater is a safe, permanent home for the animals, with a sufficient water supply, grasslands, forests, and a soda lake. The ecological balance makes the safari destination ideal. You can see resting lions, massive elephants, herds of elephants and zebras, and flamingos around the lake. You can even spot the black rhinos in the protected wildlife area.
You can go on a safari journey to the Ngorongoro Crater any time of the year. Yet the dry season (June to October) is considered ideal for wildlife viewing. The green season (November to March), with occasional rain, also presents beautiful viewing. The extra advantage of this time is the fewer crowds.
Very rarely. The crater’s steep walls make it difficult for the giraffes to descend. Moreover, the area doesn’t have taller trees ideal for feeding giraffes. You may see a giraffe here on rare occasions.
On your Tanzania safari, whether to the Ngorongoro highlands or the Serengeti plains, pack t-shirts, shorts, raincoats, light, warm clothes, sunglasses, swimsuits, socks, and a hat, among other things.
The weather in the crater is cool and damp due to the high-altitude walls.
