Safari and trekking

Udzungwa Falls Iringa town Kalenga Museum Ruaha National Park Udzungwa Forest isimila Stone Age

Description

Trip to the south to visit daily life.

Infant on request

Program

Day 1:

DAR > MIKUMI - 5 h 57 min (305,0 km)
Arrival at Nyerere International Airport, where you will meet you guide who is there to assist you with the last formalities and to escort you to your first destination.
You will pass through the Mikumi National Park, where, a part from seeing many species of animals, you may be lucky enough to be forced to give precedence to a herd of Elephants crossing the road.
You will reach your hotel in time for a nice lunch and you can enjoy the afternoon relaxing in the pool and resting after the long flight.
Accommodation - Lunch, dinner and Breakfast: Camp Bastian Mmikumi (o similar)

Day 2:

MIKUMI > IRINGA - 4 h 12 min (190,0 km)
At dawn, after breakfast, you will depart towards Iringa.
Panoramas with a thousand colors will make sure you do not get bored along this interesting journey that will end with the arrival in Iringa town in time for lunch. Your guide will show you the best restaurant based on your needs and tastes.
You can decide to spend the afternoon visiting Isimila Stone Age Site (an archaeological site of extraordinary beauty), taking a walk through the streets of the center, where the central market is, or deciding for trekking on the surrounding hills.
Accommodation - Breakfast: Mama Iringa (or similar)

Day 3:

IRINGA > RUAHA NATIONAL PARK - 2 h 50 min (136 km)
After breakfast, you will start your journey toward the Ruaha National Park.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of the Hehe tribe and its leader Mkwawa, ask the guide to let you visit the Kalenga Museum that you will find on your way.
Although the structure would need careful maintenance, it houses a number of interesting findings and anecdotes about the Chief Tribe, who is famous for the strenuous resistance he opposed to the German invaders. Colonel Freiherr Friedrich von Schele managed to conquer the fortress of Mkawawa, located in the village of Kalenga, only on October 28, 1894 and then he had to wait until the month of July 1898 to definitively eradicate the bloody guerrilla organized by the heroic leader. The Chief preferred to commit suicide, rather than fall prisoner of his enemy.
At the entrance of the park you will complete the formalities relating to entrance permits and then you will immerse yourself in an enchanted panorama. The guide of the lodge, who is waiting for you on board a safari vehicle, will accompany you to the camp. You will find yourself surrounded by a natural and uncontaminated habitat populated by wild animals: Elephants, Giraffes, Lions, Leopards, Hippos, Antelopes, and many others no less amazing than their older brothers, including thousands of bird species.
The camp staff is waiting for you to give you a warm welcome and all kinds of information necessary to make you appreciate this exciting experience and to experience it in complete safety.
If conditions allow, you will also have the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic dinner under the stars.
Accommodation - Lunch, dinner and breakfast: Mwagusi Safari Camp (or similar)

Day 4:

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK
After the alarm clock rings at dawn and after breakfast, you will leave to explore other areas of the park.
You will appreciate the "silence" of nature and the full contact with the natural elements. You will drive along dusty paths, trying to see the animals before the guide shows them to you. You will enrich your collection of breath-taking panoramas that will remain forever in your eyes and heart.
In the most natural darkness of the night you can admire a starry sky that only tropical areas are able to display.
Accommodation - Lunch, dinner and breakfast: Mwagusi Safari Camp (or similar)

Day 5:

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK > IRINGA - 2 h 50 min (136 km)
With a little regret, you will depart after breakfast to leave the park.
During the safari you will have the opportunity to meet those animals that you have not yet seen. You will enjoy the last glimpses of the bush before leaving at the same time you entered.
After lunch, if you are interested, you could go to Isimila Stone Age and visit an area where some archaeologists brought to light, in the late 1950s, very significant findings dating back to the Stone Age.
Among these, worth to be mentioned are the bones of extinct mammals, such as an ancestor of the current hippopotamus or a giraffe with a much shorter neck than the current one.
As confirmed by the tools found, this area was a hunting area for hominids who lived between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago. The study of the conformation of the site, allows to get a fairly precise idea of what the area was like before erosion originated the current large canyons, where the hardest rocks, resisting over time, formed pillars that are even 30m tall.
Accommodation – Lunch and breakfast: Iringa Sunset Hotel (or similar)

Day 6:

IRINGA > UDZUNGWA- 3 h 40 min (232 km)
After breakfast, you will leave for Udzungwa. After crossing the Kilombero River, you will arrive at your lodge for lunch. The enchanting panoramas of the rainforest will give you the impression of having to look for fairies and gnomes.
You can spend the afternoon relaxing or doing one of the many activities offered by the lodge.
Accommodation Lunch, dinner and breakfast: Hondo Hondo (o similar)

Day 7:

UDZUNGWA
Immediately after breakfast you will drive to the park entrance, where you have to pay the entrance fees to the national park. You will then be go to the beginning of the Trekking path.
It is a 3.6 km walk inside the forest. Monkeys and baboons will keep you company looking at you from the trees. The relaxing roar of the falls is the background to the singing of many birds of a thousand colors. The lush flora is rich in endemic and non-endemic plants, many of which are officinal. You will reach the highest point of the waterfalls where, if you want, you can enjoy a swim in the purest water. On request and if agreed in advance, the walk can also continue or be organized on a different path.
If you want, you can take the lunch with you to enjoy it surrounded by nature, or return to the lodge to eat, a little later, in comfort. You can decide to spend the afternoon in total relax or opt for one of the many activities offered by the lodge.
Accommodation Lunch, dinner and breakfast: Hondo Hondo

Day 8:

UDZUNGWA > KIBAHA - 5 h 40 min (317 km)
Immediately after breakfast you will depart towards Dar Es Salaam. Along the way there is a stop in Morogoro where you can visit the Research Center to find out more about the Rat training program in identifying landmines and some human diseases.
You will stop to have lunch along the way and then continue towards the lodge where you will spend your last night on the mainland.
Accommodation Lunch, dinner and breakfast: Mapeni Lodge

Day 9:

KIBAHA > AIRPORT OR PORT OF DAR - 1 h 40 min (42 km)
After breakfast you will depart towards DAR to reach the International airport for the continuation of your journey or for taking your fight home.

Price includes

All transfers indicated in the program (except air or ferry transfers)
All park entrances and guide fees
The complete safari package
All transfers indicated in the program (except air or ferry transfers)
All meals indicated in the program L = Lunch, D = Dinner, BB = Breakfast and Overnight

Price does not include

International flights
Internal flights
Ferry transfers
Gratuities
Drinks
Meals not listed in the program
Travel insurance
Personal expenses

Itinerary

Accommodations provided in each place