Tanzania holiday, The Rift and the Crater
| country: | Tanzania |
| trip type: | Walking safaris, moderate walking |
| departures: | This trip can be booked between December and March and adapted to your requirements as necessary. |
| price: | From £2650 excluding flights, based on twin share. We can arrange flights from the UK. In order for us to put together a detailed response it would be very helpful if you could provide full details in your enquiry as listed below |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Losimongori is a volcano that erupted about 2.5 million years ago and is found on an East/West fault that is a volcanic centre of activity that gave rise to Monduli, Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro. The volcano is nearly 8000 ft high at its summit, with a mantle of rain forest, and it is home to greater kudu on the middle slopes, elephant, buffalo and eland in the forest and a small population of lion. Bushbuck, though shy and elusive, can also be seen on the forest margins and in glades.
The foothills are home to zebra, giraffe, hartebeest and gazelle. Bird life is plentiful. The mountain presents some of the most spectacular views of the Rift Valley and the Maasai mountains including theactive volcano Oldoinyo Lengai. Kilimanjaro can be seen on a clear day. This mountain offers some of the most rewarding trekking and game walking that can be had and varies from the challenging to more moderate trails depending on fitness and ability.
Elephants have carved out a trail that follows the spine of the mountain and in places they actually take short cuts by sliding down on their ample behinds in the more steep areas. The elephant trails are used by buffalo and eland and lion pugmarks give away the only predator living on these heights that is powerful enough to tackle the dangerous buffalo. There are secret glades, waterholes and salt licks which all afford the most exciting game watching from the cover of the forest and patience is rewarded by special moments watching animals at close quarters in their own element.
The Rift Plains Between Losimongori, the Rift scarp and the Silela Forest Reserve are open plains punctuated by Maasai bomas. Each boma is the home of a family enclosed in a living thorn fence which forms a kraal for the cattle and dwellings for the family. The Maasai live as they have for centuries following a pastoral tradition with cattle defining their lives, social relationships, their symbolism and rites. When you travel across these plains you will have serendipitous meetings with these proud people.
The foothills are home to zebra, giraffe, hartebeest and gazelle. Bird life is plentiful. The mountain presents some of the most spectacular views of the Rift Valley and the Maasai mountains including theactive volcano Oldoinyo Lengai. Kilimanjaro can be seen on a clear day. This mountain offers some of the most rewarding trekking and game walking that can be had and varies from the challenging to more moderate trails depending on fitness and ability.
Elephants have carved out a trail that follows the spine of the mountain and in places they actually take short cuts by sliding down on their ample behinds in the more steep areas. The elephant trails are used by buffalo and eland and lion pugmarks give away the only predator living on these heights that is powerful enough to tackle the dangerous buffalo. There are secret glades, waterholes and salt licks which all afford the most exciting game watching from the cover of the forest and patience is rewarded by special moments watching animals at close quarters in their own element.
The Rift Plains Between Losimongori, the Rift scarp and the Silela Forest Reserve are open plains punctuated by Maasai bomas. Each boma is the home of a family enclosed in a living thorn fence which forms a kraal for the cattle and dwellings for the family. The Maasai live as they have for centuries following a pastoral tradition with cattle defining their lives, social relationships, their symbolism and rites. When you travel across these plains you will have serendipitous meetings with these proud people.
best time to go
This trip can be done at any time of year. However, in the wet season, the trekking could be challenging especially up the escarpment. The long rains are March/April to June, short rains November to late December/early January.day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | To Losimongori. You will be collected from your choice of location (Arusha, Ngorongoro, Serengeti area) and transferred to Losimongori on the floor of the Great Rift Valley. We will be staying at our private camp called Albezia Camp. Full board. |
| Day 2: | To Losimongori Summit. We have a wonderful hike today. The going is quite steep but we take it slowly as we have all day to get to the top. The views across the African plains are magnificent. Our kit and the camping equipment is all portered up for us and our summit camp will be ready buy the time we arrive. Full board. |
| Day 3: | To Losirwa Camp. Today's hike is all downhill. We walk down one of the extensive flanks back to the bottom of Losimongori. Again our camp will be ready for us on arrival. We will be staying at our private camp called Losirwa Camp. Full board |
| Day 4: | Across the Rift Valley. It is a wonderful walk today from the foot of Losimongori across the African plains in the valley. This is the traditional homeland of the Maasai and we will visit one of the bomas en route. We will be here as their guests and will be welcomed and shown around. Tonight we camp in the Rift Valley, at a halfway point between Losimongori and the Silela Forest. |
| Day 5: | Across the Rift Valley to Silela. We continue our walk with Maasai guides across the Rift Valley floor, finally arriving at the Silela Forest. |
| Day 6: | Ascending the scarp. The challenge for today is to follow the path that the elephants created - right up the side of the rift valley escarpment! We don't have to rush as we have all day to get to our camp at the top of the escarpment. Full board. |
| Day 7: | To Kirurumu. We hike along the top of the escarpment through patchwork fields and beautiful scenery. The end of our journey is at Kirurumu Tented Lodge, a charming eco-lodge set right at the edge of the escarpment with commanding views over Lake Manyara in the Rift Valley below. Full board. |
| Day 8: | We transfer by road to Kilimanjaro Airport (or Arusha) to connect with international flight home, or onward travel. |
tailor made holidays
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort. As this trip can be tailormade it would be helpful if you could you provide the following information: rough budget per person (stating with or without flights), your address and postcode, contact phone number, preferred date of travel, length of trip, number of passengers, preferred countries and areas within those countries, specific interests & type of accommodation.highly commended
This tourism business was Highly Commended in our 2007 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the largest awards of their kind in the world, and organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
|
Silela Forest Reserve: There is an elephant migration route/corridor from Tarangire to the Ngorongoro which has been used for centuries. Population increases and poverty, leading to the pressure to turn to alternative land uses, threaten biodiversity and the corridors and dispersal zones that are integral part of the survival of national parks. This forest belongs to the Maasai village of Silela and they have set it aside for tourism, affording it special protection and making sure that it remains undisturbed for the elephants. In return a tourism project is bringing in an alternative income for them.
Kirurmu Tented Lodge: Kirurumu Tented Lodge is run on strict environmental principles. The lodge is also at the forefront of an initiative to set up the Kirurumu Gorge Conservation area, to help stop the degradation of the gorge, and help local villagers with an income and sustainable wood source. Flights are automatically carbon offset through The Travel Forest, which plants 10 indigenous trees on your behalf (currently in northern Tanzania). Whilst the primary motivation for planting the trees is to offset carbon emissions, the project also works as a poverty alleviation and environmental improvement scheme. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |