Ngorongoro Highlands Trek — Seven Days

Pickup from Arusha, then an afternoon descent into the crater — 19.2 km across, 610 m deep, covering 304 sq km. Game drives reveal the Big Five alongside zebra, hippo, wildebeest, hyena and diverse birdlife including flamingos, geese, storks and vultures. Lunch at the Ngoitoktok spring picnic site inside this extinct volcano, often called Africa's Eden and the 8th Natural Wonder of the World. After more crater game viewing, ascend the rim and return to camp.

Stay Simba Public Campsite Meals Lunch & Dinner

After 07:00 breakfast, head toward Nainokanoka Maasai village where a ranger or Maasai warrior guides the trekking days ahead; donkeys carry the luggage. The trek crosses highland vales past traditional Maasai bomas bustling with people and cattle. Wildlife soon appears — Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, zebra and wildebeest — with jackals hunting nearby and eagles overhead. The 16 km day ends at the Bulati Village campsite.

Stay Bulati Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, climb a hill with panoramic views over the grass plains, then continue through bushy landscape toward the slopes of the extinct volcano Empakai, with views of Ol Doinyo Lengai and into the crater before reaching camp. A well-maintained track descends toward the crater, where Empakai Lake covers a third of the basin — an alkaline soda lake supplying essential nutrients for flamingos. Dinner back at camp, with nocturnal flamingo sounds.

Stay Empakai Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early wake for the sunrise panorama above the crater lake. After breakfast, the donkeys are loaded for a 7 km rim trek to Nayobi Village (the name means source of water), where water bottles are refilled and lunch eaten. After lunch, a rolling grassy track with distant views of Ol Doinyo Lengai leads to the acacia forest campsite. Watch for porcupine quills on the forest floor.

Stay Acacia Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Breakfast around 07:00 before the trek's highlights: expansive views of Ol Doinyo Lengai, Lake Natron and the Rift Valley. Much of the rugged countryside displays ash from the 2007 eruption, creating a surreal landscape. The trek descends into the dry, hot Rift Valley, sometimes requiring scrambling down white ash gullies carved by solidified lava before ascending the opposite sides. A vehicle picks up for the Lake Natron camp and a refreshing river dip.

Stay Lake Natron Viewpoint Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After 06:00 breakfast, choose between two Great Rift Valley experiences. The Lake Natron option explores the vast alkaline lake — a critical breeding sanctuary for millions of lesser flamingos — including walks through desolate landscapes to hidden mountain waterfalls where cascading rivers allow swimming, with baboons in the gorge. The alternative is ascending the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai, the sacred Mountain of God — a demanding climb over volcanic ash to a 2,962 m summit with views of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Highlands and molten crater lava. Both end at camp, with an optional afternoon visit to the nearby hominid footprints site.

Stay Lake Natron Viewpoint Campsite Meals Breakfast, lunch, dinner

An early visit to a neighbouring Maasai village to share in daily family life, observing cattle handling and milking. After breakfast at camp, the drive back to Arusha passes numerous Maasai villages and wildlife including gazelles, giraffes, zebras, baboons, beehives and birds such as vultures, ostriches, glossy starlings, kori bustards and kites. Arrival in Arusha in the late afternoon.

Meals Breakfast & Lunch