6 days Usambara, Mkomazi & Materuni
Cool forested mountains, a viewpoint over a 1,000 m drop, then down into the dry bush of Mkomazi and back up to a waterfall on Kilimanjaro.
Hiking & Culture
Mount Meru & the Northern Parks
Climb Tanzania’s second mountain in three days, then spend four on safari. Meru is the acclimatisation Kilimanjaro climbers wish they had done.
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At a glance
- Destinations
- Mount Meru · Arusha National Park · Lake Manyara · Serengeti · Ngorongoro
- Best for
- Climbing, Wildlife safari
- Travel style
- Mountain hut trek & wildlife safari · Road transfers
- Activity level
- Demanding — long days on foot at altitude
- Best time to travel
- June to October usually combines drier Meru trekking with good conditions for the northern safari. January and February are another climbing window; allow for cold summit weather and wet forest paths even when the parks below are dry.
- Start and end
- Starts and ends in Arusha
Why this journey
- Socialist Peak at 4,566 m, along a crater rim ridge above the cloud
- Sunrise on Kilimanjaro from the summit, seen across the plain
- Game on the walk in — giraffe, buffalo and colobus in Arusha National Park
- Straight from the mountain into the northern parks, with no return to town
- Real acclimatisation if Kilimanjaro is next
Day by day
Meru is 4,566 m, walked with an armed ranger because the lower slopes hold buffalo and elephant, and its summit ridge is the finest walk in northern Tanzania. This route climbs it, then continues into Manyara, the Serengeti and the crater.
Day 1 — Arusha to Momella Gate
*2,500 m · 10 km · 4–6 hrs.* Morning pickup from Arusha after breakfast, then transfer to the Mt Meru park gate where guides and porters wait. Hike 4–5 hours via the Northern Route or 6 hours via the Southern Route, passing a fantastic wild fig tree en route to Miriakamba Hut at 8,500 ft. Optional evening walk to see wildlife at the crater watering holes.
Stay Miriakamba Hut Meals Lunch & Dinner
Day 2 — Miriakamba to Saddle Hut
*Ascent 1,050 m to 3,566 m · 4 km · 2–3 hrs.* After breakfast, hike to 11,500 ft. Weather permitting, go further for views of the Roof of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, while acclimatising.
Stay Saddle Hut Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 3 — Saddle Hut to Meru summit, then Lake Manyara
*Descent to 1,516 m · 14 km · 6–8 hrs.* Pre-dawn departure with tea, then the summit attempt over rocky terrain. Return to Saddle Hut for breakfast, rest, then descend through Miriakamba Hut to Momella Gate, passing the Momella Lakes before continuing to Lake Manyara for game viewing.
Stay Lake Manyara Kilimamoja Lodge / Manyara Serena Lodge / Jambo Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 4 — Lake Manyara National Park
Packed lunch and a full-day game drive. More than 380 species of birds have been recorded in Manyara, including the hadada ibis, saddle-bill stork, plover, and African pied wagtail. Vervet monkeys in the groundwater forest, Great Rift Valley vistas, and tree-climbing lions in the fig forest.
Stay Acacia Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 5 — Lake Manyara to Serengeti National Park
Breakfast at the lodge, then depart for the Serengeti, visiting the Olduvai Gorge Museum en route for an archaeological lecture and overview of the findings. Continue with game viewing toward the park. Serengeti is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary globally, unequalled for its natural beauty.
Stay Seronera Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 6 — Serengeti to Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Early morning game drive until about 10:30 a.m., then back for brunch. After brunch, depart toward Ngorongoro with game viewing en route, arriving at the crater by evening.
Stay Ngorongoro Crater Lodge / Ngorongoro Serena Lodge / Simba Public Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Day 7 — Ngorongoro Crater tour to Arusha town
6:00 a.m. departure after breakfast for a half-day crater floor game drive. Lunch at the Ngoitoktok swamp and Hippo Pool picnic site. Game viewing continues after lunch before ascending the crater for transfer to the agreed Arusha town or Kilimanjaro Airport drop-off.
Meals Breakfast & Lunch
Stay and travel
Miriakamba and Saddle huts on Mount Meru, followed by the safari lodges or camps listed in the programme.
The Meru ascent is on foot with a guide and armed park ranger. Road transfers and a safari vehicle connect the mountain with the northern parks.
Camps fill, and roads change with the rains. Where something has to change we substitute at the same level and tell you before you travel, not after.
Included and excluded
What is included
- Every activity named in the day-by-day
- Accommodation as listed, or a similar alternative if a camp is full
- Meals as noted against each day
- Transfers between the agreed pick-up and drop-off points
- Park, reserve and conservation area fees
- An English-speaking Tanzanian driver-guide
- A 4×4 with a roof hatch, or the vehicle the route calls for
- Drinking water through the day
- Government taxes
- Boat safari and transfers
- Mountain crew, including porters
- Bottled oxygen and a pulse oximeter
- TANAPA armed ranger where the park requires one
- Ngorongoro crater service fee
Not included
- International flights, airport taxes and visa fees
- Travel, medical and baggage insurance
- Personal spending — drinks, laundry, telephone
- Tips for your guide and crew
- Anything not listed as included
Practical information
- Fitness and altitude
- No technical climbing, but long days on your feet and real altitude. Come with hill-walking fitness and take the acclimatisation days seriously.
- Mountain equipment
- Layers, a four-season sleeping bag and broken-in boots. Anything you would rather not buy can be hired in Moshi — tell us and we will arrange it.
- Visas, insurance and tipping
- A visa is arranged before travel or on arrival. Travel and medical insurance is a condition of booking. Tipping is customary and we will suggest a range rather than set one.
Related journeys
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Public campsites, a cook travelling with you, and three nights in the Serengeti. The cheapest way to spend real time in the northern parks.
Wildlife & Culture
4 days Nyerere for Two — Honeymoon
A riverfront lodge with a plunge pool, private drives, and the Rufiji at the end of the veranda. Four days built for two people and nobody else.
Honeymoon & Wildlife
Every route here can be changed
Tell us what you would keep, what you would drop and how long you have. We will send back a version that is yours.