Tanzania Walking Safaris

Mount Kilimanjaro Walking Safari

We pick you up from your accommodation then drive to Marangu Gate, a drive of 1,800m. After registering at the gate your guide will commence the walking safari. Your safari guide will give you information about different  plant and animals at the park and the history of Mount Kilimanjaro and the tribes which live around this mountain.

It will take 3 hours to cover the 2,700m distance to Mandara Camp. On your safari walk you will see animals like black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys as well as flowers like impatients kilimanjari, Fireball lily, Protea kilimanjarica, lobelia deckenii and different type of birds. For three hours you will be walking in the shade of a rain forest in a comfortable temperature.

When you arrive at Mandara Camp you will stop for lunch and then you will have time to go to Maundi Crater. In this area you will have emerged from the rain forest so you will be able to have nice view of Mawenzi Peak and Kibo (Uhuru) Peak, the highest in Africa. We then descend via the same route to Marangu Gate and drive back to your hotel.

One advantage of this day trip is that you will not be required to have any special mountain climbing gear. All that you need for this walking safari is comfortable clothing, comfortable walking shoes and a rain coat in case it rains on your way up. It’s also good to wear something on your head to protect your face from sunburn. You should have a light back bag for your small things and drinking water. Remember to take your camera.

Contact us now to book your Mount Kilimanjaro walking safari.

Mount Meru Walking Safari

This one day walking safari tour will take you through the beautiful forest of Mt. Meru.

Mt. Meru is an under appreciated gem in Northern Tanzania. Rising up from the savanna plains and rain forests of Arusha National Park, Mount Meru is known for small mammals, colobus monkeys, and a variety of exotic birds which can be best experienced on a walking safari.

Take time to relax and enjoy nature as its greatest on one of the Tanzania’s major attractions. Mount Meru is also a good start to acclimatise for a Mt. Kilimajaro climb, and a hike to a waterfall nearby.

You can combine the walk with a nature walk through the Mangalia Waterfalls and relax with the wonders of nature.

Contact us now to book your Mount Meru walking safari.

Ngorongoro Crater Walking Safaris

Even a short walk of only an hour or two can be very rewarding and in the Ngorongoro Crater there are also many opportunities for longer hikes. After spending days sitting in a vehicle, a walking safari is a great way to stretch your legs and experience Tanzania from another perspective.

Crater Rim Walk

Drive to the starting point on the crater rim about 5 kilometres from your lodge or camp. The safari walk commences along the western rim of the Ngorongoro Crater past the Oloirobi viewpoint.

There are patches of forest to begin with and later it opens up into thicket and grassland, giving beautiful views down into the crater on your right and eventually equally good views towards Olduvai Gorge, the Serengeti and the Gol mountains to your left.

This is an easy-paced safari walk with no arduous climbs, just a few short gradients. The walk lasts about 2 hours and can be done at any time of day. The best time for a safari walk would be either early morning before departure on a game drive, or late afternoon on arrival at the lodge after a day’s game viewing.

Contact us now to book your Ngorongoro Crater rim walking safari.

Mount Oldeani

A walking safari on Mount Oldeani is a stiff climb taking about 2 hours.

Your walking safari commences from the Eyasi Viewpoint where you walk directly uphill. You climb about 900 metres to a height of 3,200 metres at the top.

As you progress on the walk, you will notice a change in the vegetation, the plants and the birdlife. It is all open grassland with no forest or thickets of dense bush. At certain times of the year, the profusion and blossoming of different colours of the wild flowers and trees will surely amaze you. Eventually your hard work is awarded by a spectacular panorama from the top with wonderfully excellent views from all sides, e.g. the Ngorongoro Crater to the north, the Serengeti and Lake Eyasi to the west, Lake Manyara to the south, and the crater highlands to the east.

This safari walk can be done in about 4 hours if you walk at a continuous pace without stops in between till you ascend to the top. However, it can be easily expanded into a more leisurely, half-day excursion with a picnic lunch.

Contact us now to book your Mount Oldeani walking safari.

Empakaai Crater

From your lodge you will drive north-west along the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, and through the village of Nainokanoka and the Embulbul Depression enjoying good views of Mt. Loolmalasin on the right. At 3,648 metres, Mount Loolmalasin is the third highest mountain in Tanzania. The drive is through open grassland dotted with Maasai villages. You will see a mixture of lots of cattle, and a few wild animals like zebra and other harmless animals.

After about an hour and a half you arrive at the eastern rim of the Empakaai Crater. This is a little-visited area due to the fact that the only means of accessing the crater floor is on foot. Its walls are steep and thickly-forested.

The walk down, which runs along a good path, takes about 30 minutes involving a drop of about 300 metres and goes through patches of forest. Look out for the two huge strangler fig trees as you approach the crater floor.

Most of the floor is occupied by a soda lake, 85 metres deep. Depending on the season, there are numbers of flamingos, which congregate to feed along the edge of the lake. The lake is also a home to black-winged stilts, little grebes, and cape teal. You may not see many animals, but the tracks of leopard, hyena, baboon and buffalo betray their presence.

The more energetic visitor will enjoy a walk along the edge of the lake around the entire floor of the crater. This takes 2-3 hours and is a chance to soak up the quiet beauty of this magical place. Then follows the hardest part – the climb back up to the rim.

A picnic lunch can be eaten either in the crater or on the rim from where you can have a beautiful view northwards the Ol Doinyo Lengai, a still-active volcano of great religious importance to the Maasai. This excursion can be done in half a day if you don’t walk around the lake. If you do, then it will take about 7 hours.

Contact us now to book your Empakaai Crater walking safari.

General

In order to ensure availability of a ranger, it is recommended that you book your safari walks in advance. It may occasionally be possible that adverse weather conditions happens (low cloud and rain) making it impossible to do the walk. We recommend good walking shoes or boots, a sunhat and a waterproof jacket – just in case of a shower of rain. During these walks small numbers of animals will be seen but the main attraction of the walk is the beauty of the scenery, not the game viewing.

All walks are accompanied by an armed Ranger from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority. Although the risk of coming into contact with a dangerous, large animal is small, it is a law that you are accompanied by a ranger.

Costs: The fee per day for a ranger is US$50.00 per person, which has to be included to the tour package. It is customary to give him a tip if you are satisfied with his services. The only other costs are transport to/from the start point of the walk which also has to be included in the tour package.

Intro for Visitors (Tourists)

Experience shows us that the average length of stay in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is only two days/one night. Naturally, the main attraction is the crater itself, but guests often tell us that they would welcome the opportunity to see more of this beautiful area, especially on foot. Maybe they have spent several days in a vehicle, enjoying the game-viewing in the Tarangire, Serengeti and Lake Manyara as well as the Crater, but we do hear them say they would welcome the chance to use their legs and enjoy a good walk.

World Air Travel and Tours Limited are happy to organise a variety of safari walks around Tanzania. Even a short walk of only an hour or two can be very rewarding and there are also many opportunities for longer hikes. Some can be done as a simple add-on either at the beginning or end of a day of game-viewing.

Contact us today to book your Tanzania walking safari.