TANZANIA northern circuit

Northern Circuit Adventure has been providing ground handling services to the travel industry for quite some time. Its impact has been felt in the whole East Africa region due to efficiency, reliability, and the quality of services rendered. Alfred  Safaris has the ability to handle small as well as large groups of clients, and all will receive the same level of attention to detail.

Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti is known for its endless plains of savannah and forest landscapes. The “Siringeti” in Maasai means the never-ending plains. It is an area of about 30,000 km2 in the north of Tanzania and Kenya, of which 80% is located in Tanzania. The park is famous for the migration involving about 1.5 million herbivores and followers, thousands of predators are moving because of the drought and the northern hills to the southern plains. After the rains in the mid-April, they go back via a detour through the western part. This is known as the Great Migration. The grasslands cover more than one-third of the park, where you will find many animals throughout the year.

ngorongoro crater

The Ngorongoro  Crater has a diameter of about 20 kilometers and 600 – meter – high crater wall. The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact crater in the world. The crater life is estimated to be  30,000 in large mammals with a Salt Lake situated in the center of the crater. This is one of the most densely populated wildlife areas in the world. It is a unique area where animals and humans such as the authentic Maasai and Hadzabe live together. From the edge of the crater, you look out over the impressive crater and its wonderful inhabitants.

tarangire national park

Tarangire National Park is probably one of the best places in East Africa to watch elephants and to get very close to these animals. It is known as the place with the largest herds of elephants, which can often be seen near the Tarangire River.  Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It’s the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem – a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.

lake Manyara national park

 

Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment,Lake Manyara is a scenic gem.  The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience. From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees,
dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.

Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest, and zebra herds congregate on these grassy plains, as do giraffes.  Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the favored haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.

 

arusha national park

The park is located very close to Arusha city (35m minutes’ drive) between Arusha and Moshi. Unlike other national parks, it is small and visitors can see a lot of different games in a short time with different landscapes. The park’s scenery with Mt. Meru in the background makes Arusha National Park ideal for people with limited time or as an appetizer to the other larger parks. Although it is very rare to see big cats in the park, sightings of leopards has been reported.
The name Arusha comes from the word “Waarusha”, a tribe that traditionally used to live in the park. The Wa Arusha tribe is very similar to the Maasai, sharing many rituals and customs. The only difference is that the Waarusha are no longer Nomads moving from place to place. The Waarusha are now farmers doing zero-grazing and growing crops for a living.

Oldonyo Lengai

To the Masai, this means “Mountain of God”. Standing at 2878 meters high, it is an almost perfect volcanic cone with steep sides rising to a small flat-topped peak. It’s the youngest volcano in the Crater Highlands and still active as recent as 2008. A trek from the base village of Ngare Sero is possible in one long day, with a mid-night start so as to reach the summit at dawn. At the peak, one can clearly see hot steam vents and growing ash cones in the still-active north crater.

lake eyas

Lake Eyasi is located about 75 km from the Ngorongoro Crater and 100 km from the Serengeti. It’s an excellent add-on to a safari in either or both of those areas, as well as a great destination in its own right!

Lake Eyasi is well worth visiting. Local eco-lodge Ziwani provides opportunities for birding, hiking, and fascinating cultural experiences. Additionally, visiting the area will give you a perfect chance to visit the last remaining hunters and gatherers of East Africa, the “Hadzable Tribe”.

This tribe do not inhabit the lakeshores, instead, they live 45 mins drive away from the lake. However, this tribe is the highlight of lake Eyas.

DID YOU KNOW?

The best adventure travel experiences happen when you have the best experts and guides. With decades of experience in the field, our guides offer exceptional leadership and expert destination knowledge. Our sales team, expert guides, and trip leaders are highly accomplished professionals who know Tanzania like the back of their hands and are the key to the success of every one of our trips. Please feel free to ask us any questions.