Serengeti & Kilimanjaro

Serengeti & Kilimanjaro

Hike through surreal hanging moss forests and moonscapes, Spot monkeys hiding in tropical rainforest, Experience an incredible African sunrise from Mt Kilimanjaro, Tackle the trek to the peak by lamplight, Shop for local sculptures and textiles at a bustling Musoma market, Spot iconic wildlife in the African Serengeti, Conquer Africa's highest peak, Camp high above the Ngorongoro Crater

Travel to Africa and experience some of Kenya and Tanzania's most famous natural wonders on this Active trip for those with a passion for the outdoors. The vast Serengeti plains evoke a sense of wonder and deep respect for the animal kingdom, while the imposing peaks of Mt Kilimanjaro inspire awe and rouse a spirit of adventure. Safari through the savanna in search of stealthy predators and try to spot other game in the gigantic Ngorongoro Crater. Rise to the challenge and conquer Africa's highest peak on a difficult trek to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. This is a trip that will reward those with an appetite for excitement and an appreciation for nature - get ready for thrills, challenges and discovery on this amazing trip to Africa!

Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6pm on Day 1.

You can arrive at any time as there are no activities planned until this important meeting; please ask the hotel reception where it will take place. If your flight arrives too late, we recommend that you consider arriving a day early and book a night's accommodation prior to the trip so you are able to attend. If you are going to be late please inform the hotel reception. We'll be collecting your kitty, insurance details and next of kin information at this meeting so please ensure you have all details on hand to provide to your leader.

Nairobi - which takes its name from a Maasai phrase meaning 'place of cool waters' - has a cosmopolitan atmosphere. There are plenty of good bars and restaurants, while markets and shops have most things you could want or need, as well as various arts and crafts from the region.

If you arrive early, you can head out and explore the National Museum of Kenya, the Karen Blixen Museum (author of Out of Africa) or Bomas of Kenya where traditional homesteads of several Kenyan tribes are displayed in an outdoor village.

ALTITUDE SICKNESS:

Parts of your trip go above 2800 metres / 9200 feet where it is common for travellers to experience some adverse health effects due to the altitude - regardless of your age, gender and fitness. It even happened to Sir Edmund Hillary!

Before your trip: Some pre-existing medical conditions are known to severely worsen at high altitude and be difficult to adequately treat on the ground, leading to more serious consequences. It is imperative that you discuss your pre-existing medical condition/s with your doctor. We understand certain medications are reported to aid acclimatizing to high altitude. Please discuss these options with your doctor.

During your trip: While our leaders have basic first aid training and are aware of the closest medical facilities, it is very important that you are aware of the cause and effects of travelling at altitude, monitor your health and seek assistance accordingly. 

Optional Activities

Bomas, Nairobi - USD10.00

Carnivore Restaurant, Nairobi - KES2000.00

Giraffe Center, Nairobi - USD12.00

Karen Blixen museum, Nairobi - USD14.00

Nairobi National Park safari walk, Nairobi - USD20.00

National Museum, Nairobi - USD10.00

1 Breakfast

Accommodation

Hotel (1 nt)

Our drive to the tea-growing highlands is a fantastic introduction to the beautiful landscapes of Kenya. Pass through the ancient homeland of the Maasai, keeping a look out for these tall, graceful tribesmen dressed in distinctive scarlet robes tending to their prized herds of cattle.

We stop for a picnic lunch in the town of Narok and pick up our fellow passengers who have previously completed an eight day trip around Kenya. Make a final stop near the hilltop town of Kisii, our last chance to stock up on supplies before heading into the African wilderness. Today's drive will take about 8-9 hours (310 km) and the roads are pretty rough.

Camp with hot/cold showers and flush toilets. If we arrive late, you may be accommodated in very simple shared rooms with en suite (bedding provided).

Meals Included

Accommodation

Our journey today is 250 km and takes approx 7-8 hrs.

Lake Victoria is Africa's biggest lake and the world's biggest tropical lake. Its shores are shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

There are plenty of activities to choose from around Lake Victoria. You may wish to hire bicycles for a fascinating local experience from handlebar height, hire a boat and visit a local island, visit an African market place for a chance to interact with the people of Musoma or you may prefer to just chill out with a cold lakeside drink.

Our campsite tonight is on the shores of the lake.

Included Activities

Optional Activities

Meals Included

Accommodation

The first 100 km from Lake Victoria to the gate of Serengeti National Park is on a smooth road; the next 120 km is completed through the Serengeti and the driving will be slow as we game drive our way to the campsite.

The wide, open plains of the Serengeti - green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season, and home to thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators - are perhaps the quintessential image of Africa. Flat and rolling with long grasses and dotted with acacia trees, the plains get their name from the Maasai word Siringitu - 'the place where the land moves on forever'.

On our second day here we awaken at dawn to begin our game drive. We will head out while the animals are at their most active and head back to camp for brunch around 11am. After spending the day relaxing (just like the animals do) we head out again as the day begins to cool for our dusk game drive, returning in time for another delicious camp dinner.

Our campsite is within the Serengeti itself so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep. The bush camp is quite basic with drop toilets and cold showers.

For an unforgettable experience, you might like to do an optional sunrise balloon ride over the Serengeti. As the balloon only holds 16 people, places are limited and must be arranged in advance. Please enquire when booking your trip to secure this optional activity.

If you have pre-booked this activity, you'll be picked up and driven to the launch site where you receive a safety briefing from your pilot and help inflate the balloon. You'll then float over the Serengeti as the sun comes up gaining an overview of the immensity of the Serengeti, seeing the abundance of wildlife in their early morning activity and sometimes descending to tree height for amazing wildlife photography opportunities. Upon landing, you'll be treated to a five-star bush breakfast before being returned to your accommodation.

You'll notice many Maasai villages in the region of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. While it's of course fascinating to visit different cultures, past experience has shown that these villages exist primarily as tourism businesses offering somewhat contrived performances of their traditional ways. You'll be charged an entry fee of approx US$20-35 and the Maasai will try very hard to sell souvenirs to you. While many clients still enjoy the experience, others have found it artificial and uncomfortable. We recommend our travellers bypass this activity as our Kenyan colleagues observe that it negatively impacts the Maasai culture and travellers' perception of this culture.

Included Activities

Optional Activities

Meals Included

The first 100 km from Lake Victoria to the gate of Serengeti National Park is on a smooth road; the next 120 km is completed through the Serengeti and the driving will be slow as we game drive our way to the campsite.

The wide, open plains of the Serengeti - green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry season, and home to thousands of hoofed animals and fierce predators - are perhaps the quintessential image of Africa. Flat and rolling with long grasses and dotted with acacia trees, the plains get their name from the Maasai word Siringitu - 'the place where the land moves on forever'.

On our second day here we awaken at dawn to begin our game drive. We will head out while the animals are at their most active and head back to camp for brunch around 11am. After spending the day relaxing (just like the animals do) we head out again as the day begins to cool for our dusk game drive, returning in time for another delicious camp dinner.

Our campsite is within the Serengeti itself so listen out for the sounds of nocturnal animals as you drift off to sleep. The bush camp is quite basic with drop toilets and cold showers.

For an unforgettable experience, you might like to do an optional sunrise balloon ride over the Serengeti. As the balloon only holds 16 people, places are limited and must be arranged in advance. Please enquire when booking your trip to secure this optional activity.

If you have pre-booked this activity, you'll be picked up and driven to the launch site where you receive a safety briefing from your pilot and help inflate the balloon. You'll then float over the Serengeti as the sun comes up gaining an overview of the immensity of the Serengeti, seeing the abundance of wildlife in their early morning activity and sometimes descending to tree height for amazing wildlife photography opportunities. Upon landing, you'll be treated to a five-star bush breakfast before being returned to your accommodation.

You'll notice many Maasai villages in the region of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. While it's of course fascinating to visit different cultures, past experience has shown that these villages exist primarily as tourism businesses offering somewhat contrived performances of their traditional ways. You'll be charged an entry fee of approx US$20-35 and the Maasai will try very hard to sell souvenirs to you. While many clients still enjoy the experience, others have found it artificial and uncomfortable. We recommend our travellers bypass this activity as our Kenyan colleagues observe that it negatively impacts the Maasai culture and travellers' perception of this culture.

Included Activities

Optional Activities

Meals Included

Our drive today is 80 km and takes approx 3 hrs.

Our campsite on the rim of the crater overlooks jagged volcanic peaks and rolling grasslands thousands of feet below - you can be sure that there are few campsites in the world with a better view than this. It also has drop toilets and cold showers.

Included Activities

Meals Included

Accommodation

Our drive to Mto Wa Mbu is 140 km and takes approx 5-6 hrs.

A small village community, Mto Wa Mbu offers an excellent way to get a close-up look at life in an African town away from the main tourist trail.

Our campsite is in Meserani, on the outskirts of Arusha, and has flush toilets and showers.

Included Activities

Meals Included

Accommodation

Bidding farewell to your truck and crew, this morning we make our way back to Arusha where will catch an afternoon shuttle bus from Arusha to the Marangu Hotel in the foothills (1,300 m/4,500 ft) of Mt Kilimanjaro. (approx 4 hours). This section of the trip is unaccompanied by a leader.

The shuttle departs from the Impala hotel at 2pm which will give you some time to relax or explore Arusha town.

Marangu Hotel is a beautiful farmhouse set in 12 acres of delightful tropical gardens.

This evening before dinner you will receive a full briefing and kit inspection by an experienced Kilimanjaro climber at the hotel to prepare for the start of our trek. Please note that it is sometimes necessary to have this meeting on the following morning if someone arrives late. Please check at reception for up to date information on where and when this important meeting will take place.

Breakfasts are provided at your pre/post climb accommodation. Please budget an additional US$D20 if you would like dinner.

Meals Included

Accommodation

We meet our guides and porters after breakfast. Each person has a personal porter and there are extra porters for camping equipment and food. Please read your trip notes for further information about your guides and porters.

It takes just 15 minutes to get to Marangu Gate (1,860 m/6,000 ft) at the entrance of the Mt Kilimanjaro National Park. We have to register as a group which can take a little bit of time depending on how busy things are. From here it is a long but easy walk through dense rainforest to the first mountain hut.

In the forest there are many species of brightly coloured birds and different types of monkeys can be seen and heard. We walk through giant heather on our way to Mandara Hut (2,725 m/9,000 ft) where we stop for the night.

From here an optional walk to nearby Maundi Crater can be undertaken. If the skies are clear, there may be excellent views of the nearby town of Moshi far below. The distance from Marangu Hotel to Mandara Hut is 12 km (approximately 3-5 hours).

Included Activities

Meals Included

Accommodation

Our second day on the mountain involves another long hike over a slightly steeper stretch. The rainforest gives way to open and rolling alpine meadows dotted with giant heather trees. Once out of the forest canopy, the twin snow-tipped peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi lie directly ahead.

During the day's walk we traverse several ravines before reaching the hut, which is set in a rocky valley. As we walk there is time to enjoy a wide variety of vegetation and changing landscapes on the way to Horombo Hut (3,780 m/12,000 ft), where we spend the night.

The distance from Mandara to Horombo Huts is 15 km (approximately 5-7 hours).

Meals Included

Accommodation

The landscape becomes progressively more rugged and rocky and the air noticeably thinner today so we slow our pace accordingly. We pass giant groundsels and lobelias while travelling across the sparse moorland. Skirting Mawenzi Peak, we arrive at the stark lunar landscape of the Saddle.

Reaching Kibo Hut in afternoon (4,740m/15,450ft), we take the opportunity to have an early night.

The distance from Horombo to Kibo Hut is 15km (approximately 5-7 hours).

Meals Included

Accommodation

At around 11pm we are woken by our guides and hot tea is served before we begin the last leg of our trek to the summit. The trek begins beneath the stars as we zigzag our way up a large scree slope guided only by torch light to reach Gilman's Point (5,685 m). Hopefully we'll arrive in time to see breathtaking views of the sun rising behind Mawenzi Peak.

This is the stretch that most people find the hardest, and you should be prepared for a very cold morning. However, the dramatic spectacle of the sun rising over the ice fields of the crater will make the early start totally worthwhile.

For those who still have the will and the energy, it is a further two hours along the rim of the crater to Uhuru Peak (5,896 m), the highest point in Africa. From this peak, there are unforgettable views of the crater, the ice fields and the vast and distant East African plains below. After photos and time to catch our breath we descend back to Horombo Hut for a well-earned rest.

The distance from Kibo Hut to Uhuru Peak is 14 km (approximately 6-8 hours), and the descent to Horombo takes approximately the same amount of time.

Meals Included

Accommodation

The distance from Horombo to Marangu Gate is 27 km (approximately 5-6 hours). Here transport awaits and we return to the Marangu Hotel for a relaxing shower or bath - a real treat after the physical exertions of the last few days.

Over a celebratory meal we can relive and share our experiences of the past five days on the mountain.

You are free to depart at any time on the final day of your trip.

Transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport or Nairobi can be arranged at Marangu - please ask at reception.

Accommodation

The distance from Horombo to Marangu Gate is 27 km (approximately 5-6 hours). Here transport awaits and we return to the Marangu Hotel for a relaxing shower or bath - a real treat after the physical exertions of the last few days.

Over a celebratory meal we can relive and share our experiences of the past five days on the mountain.

You are free to depart at any time on the final day of your trip.

Transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport or Nairobi can be arranged at Marangu - please ask at reception.

Accommodation

@variation

Key: (B) = Breakfast, (L) = Lunch, (D) = Dinner