Elephants stripping bark from a baobab in Tarangire National Park

9 days, Tanzania

9-Day Tanzania Northern Circuit

Baobabs and elephant at Tarangire, the crater floor at Ngorongoro, and three nights in the Serengeti

Duration: 9 days, 8 nights
Group size: 2 to 6 guests
Physical demand: Moderate
From: $7,600

About this safari

The northern circuit is driven, not flown, and that is the point. From Arusha the road climbs through Mto wa Mbu and up the rift escarpment to the Ngorongoro highlands, then out across the short grass plains to the Serengeti, and you watch one landscape turn into the next instead of stepping out of an aircraft into it. We drive in and fly out, which gives you the geography without the nine hour return leg.

Tarangire first, because the elephant density along the river in the dry months is as good as anywhere in Tanzania and almost nobody gives it more than a night. Then two nights high on the flank of Olmoti above the Ngorongoro crater, away from the cluster of large hotels on the rim road, with one full day on the crater floor. Then three nights in the central Serengeti at Seronera, which holds resident lion and leopard year round and is the most dependable big cat ground in East Africa regardless of where the migration happens to be.

Rated moderate rather than easy for two honest reasons. The driving days are real: Tarangire to the highlands is around three and a half hours, and the highlands to Seronera is four to five on corrugated gravel through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. And the rim sits at about 2,300 metres with the lodge higher still, so the nights are properly cold and the first day can feel thin if you have come straight off a long-haul flight.

Highlights

Elephant along the Tarangire river in the dry months, in a baobab landscape that looks like nowhere else
The Silale swamp circuit, which most itineraries skip because they only give Tarangire one night
A full day on the Ngorongoro crater floor, roughly 260 square kilometres inside walls 600 metres high
Black rhino on the crater floor, one of the few places in East Africa where the odds are reasonable
Three nights at Seronera, where resident lion and leopard are found in every month of the year
The Moru kopjes, granite islands in the southern plains with resident lion and Maasai rock paintings
Guided walks to the Olmoti and Empakaai craters from the highlands camp, on foot with a Maasai guide
A dawn balloon flight over the Serengeti, offered as an optional extra

Day by day

01
Land at Kilimanjaro and transfer to Arusha
Kilimanjaro International sits between Arusha and Moshi and the transfer west takes about forty-five minutes on tarmac. Most long-haul flights land in the evening, so the first night does nothing except get you horizontal at 1,400 metres. Your driver guide comes to the lodge before dinner to run through the route, the vehicle and the days.
- Kilimanjaro to Arusha, Tanzania
- Arusha Coffee Lodge
- Dinner
02
South-west into the baobab country at Tarangire
Two and a half hours south-west on tarmac, through Makuyuni and past the turning for Lake Manyara. Tarangire announces itself with baobabs, which grow here in a density you do not see again on this circuit. The afternoon game drive follows the river, where in the dry months the elephant come down in family groups and stay, and where the lion follow them. You climb up to the escarpment camp for sunset.
- Arusha to Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
- Tarangire Treetops
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
03
A full day at Tarangire and the Silale swamp
A full day lets you get south to the Silale swamp, which is two hours inside the park and is where almost nobody on a one-night stop ever reaches. The swamp edge holds buffalo herds, elephant and the tree-climbing lions that Tarangire quietly also has. Look for the fringe-eared oryx and the gerenuk, both dry-country antelope that are on this circuit and nowhere else on it.
- Tarangire National Park, Tanzania
- Tarangire Treetops
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
04
Up the rift escarpment to the Ngorongoro highlands
North-west through Mto wa Mbu, a market town at the foot of the escarpment where a great many languages are spoken and where the banana beer is worth stopping for, then up the wall of the rift with Lake Manyara laid out below you. The road climbs into cloud forest and out onto the crater rim at around 2,300 metres. The camp is on the flank of Olmoti, north of the rim road and away from the big hotels, and there is time for a walk on the ridge before the temperature drops.
- Tarangire to the Ngorongoro highlands, Tanzania
- The Highlands
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
05
Down onto the crater floor
An early start, because the camp is about an hour from the descent gate and the floor is best in the first three hours. The caldera runs to roughly 260 square kilometres inside walls six hundred metres high, and it holds a resident population that does not leave, which is why the density is what it is. Black rhino are here in small numbers and this is one of the few places in East Africa where a sighting is a fair bet rather than a fluke. Lunch is a picnic at the Ngoitokitok springs, and you climb back out mid afternoon.
- Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
- The Highlands
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
06
Across the plains to Seronera
Four to five hours west on corrugated gravel through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, past the Olduvai Gorge turning and out onto the short grass plains, where the horizon goes flat and stays flat for an hour. Naabi Hill Gate is where the Serengeti formally starts and where you climb the kopje for the view while the paperwork is done. The afternoon game drive works the Seronera valley, which is leopard country because of the sausage trees along the watercourse.
- Ngorongoro to central Serengeti, Tanzania
- Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
07
A full day in the central Serengeti
Seronera holds resident lion prides and one of the highest leopard densities in Africa, and unlike the migration these animals are here in every month. A full day with a packed lunch lets you sit with a sighting instead of leaving it to get back for a meal. Cheetah work the open ground east of the valley in the mornings. If you want the balloon, this is the morning it flies.
- Seronera, Serengeti National Park
- Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
08
The Moru kopjes and the southern plains
South-west to the Moru kopjes, granite outcrops standing out of the grass that hold their own lion pride, a rhino population under heavy protection, and Maasai rock paintings on an overhang along with the gong rock that rings when you strike it. It is a long loop and it takes the day. Between December and March the plains out here carry the migration herds; the rest of the year they carry resident plains game and the predators that live off them.
- Moru kopjes and the southern plains, Serengeti
- Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
09
A last drive and the flight out of Seronera
An early circuit of the valley while the light is still low, then breakfast and the short run to Seronera airstrip. The flight to Arusha or Kilimanjaro takes a little over an hour, often with a stop at another strip on the way. Flying this leg saves you the nine hour return drive, which is exactly the day nobody wants at the end of a circuit.
- Seronera to Arusha or Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
- Departure day, no accommodation
- Breakfast, Lunch

What is included

The one-way flight from Seronera airstrip to Arusha or Kilimanjaro on the final day
Eight nights on full board at the lodges named in the itinerary, or comparable properties
A private extended 4x4 with a pop-top roof and one driver guide for the whole circuit
All national park entry fees for Tarangire and the Serengeti for the days shown
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area fees and the crater descent vehicle fee, which is charged per vehicle per day
A guided walk to the Olmoti crater rim with a Maasai guide from the highlands camp
A Maasai boma visit arranged directly with the neighbouring family rather than through a roadside operation
Kilimanjaro airport meet and greet and all road transfers
Bottled water in the vehicle daily and packed picnic lunches on the crater and full drive days
All conservation levies, concession fees and government taxes

What is not included

International flights to and from Kilimanjaro
Tanzania visa, obtained online in advance or on arrival depending on your nationality
Travel insurance, including medical evacuation by air from the bush airstrips
The dawn balloon flight over the Serengeti, which is charged separately per person
All drinks, including beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks at the lodges
Tips for your driver guide, the camp teams and the airport representatives
Zanzibar, which we run as a separate six-day extension from Kilimanjaro or Arusha
Laundry, telephone and anything else charged to your lodge account

On this safari

Flamingos on Lake Magadi inside the crater

Wildebeest spread across the Serengeti grassland

Where this safari goes

Questions about this safari

Should I fly or drive between the parks on the northern circuit?

Drive the first leg and fly the Serengeti. The road from Arusha through Tarangire to the Ngorongoro highlands is worth seeing and the stops are good. The stretch from the crater to the Serengeti is long, dusty and mostly featureless, and a short flight turns most of a lost day into a game drive. Note the baggage limits on light aircraft, which are strict and usually require soft bags.