We depart from your hotel and proceed to Lake Manyara National Park.
Although small in size, this park is one of the most diverse reserves in the country. Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park. The backdrop to the park is the wall of the Great Rift Valley. The park surrounds the soda lake, followed by marshy grasslands and finally a lush forest. We will stop for a picnic lunch in this area, which consists of open grassy areas, hot springs, dense woodlands, and steep mountainsides.
Lake Manyara National Park is a birding paradise that has more than 350 species of bird. The park is also famed for its unique and elusive tree-climbing lions.
After the game drive, we dine and stay overnight at Bogamvillea Lodge.
Today we visit the largest intact volcanic crater in the world, the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater. The Crater is a large, unbroken, un-flooded volcanic caldera, formed when a giant volcano exploded and collapsed on itself some two to three million years ago. The Ngorongoro Crater sinks to a depth of 610 metres, with its floor covering 260 square kilometres; estimates of the height of the original volcano range from 4,500m to 5,800m.
Animal populations in the crater include almost every individual species of wildlife in East Africa (with an estimated 25,000 animals within the Crater), including the “big five” of rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant, and buffalo.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), measuring 8,300 square kilometres, is the only place on earth where mankind and wild animals co-exist in harmony. The NCA became a Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1971 and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979.
Afterward, we head to Arusha or Moshi. With prior arrangement, we can drop you off at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or book accommodations for this night.