5 Days Hiking to Ngorongoro Highlands

We will pick you up from your hotel at 0800 and depart for Ngorongoro Crater, descending for game viewing and a tour of the crater with a picnic lunch in the crater. Ascend to the rim and proceed to Nainokanoka Village campsite where you have dinner and overnight. You may hike to Olmoti Crater rim for about 1.5 hours and Mungu Waterfalls before dinner and overnight at the camp. 1-2 hours | Walking Distance: About 2 km | Altitude: Nainokanoka/Olmoti ↑ ↓ 300 m

After breakfast and loading the Masai donkeys, the journey begins and you will pass many traditional Masai bomas and cattle herds. Soon, you might also see wild animals such as Thompson and Grant’s gazelles, zebras and wildebeests with hungry jackals not far behind and majestic eagles observing the situation. After approximately 16 km ~ 5 hrs of hiking you will reach a campsite not far from the Masai village Bulati. Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner About 16 km | Walking time: 4-5 hours | Altitude: ↑ 500 m

After breakfast, the journey goes up a hill from where you have a last panoramic view of the grass plains below. The trek (9 km ~ 4-5 hrs) continues up and down through the bushy landscape which finally opens up to the active volcano, Oldonyo Lengai. The trek gives you great views of the majestic volcano as well as into the impressive Empakai Crater (6 km) wide before reaching the campsite for the night. You can explore the crater and on a well-maintained path you descend to Lake Empakai inside the crater. This alkaline soda lake is an important food source for flamingos, which can be seen throughout the year. During the night you might hear the flamingos call as they fly back to their breeding nests at Lake Manyara and Lake Natron. Dinner and overnight at the camp. About 9 km | Walking time: 4-5 hours | Altitude: ↑ 500 m

Today you will hike to the Masai village Naiyobi and following a good path, the village as well as Oldonyo Lengai, an active volcano, can be seen from a distance. After lunch in Naiyobi, the trek leaves the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the landscape becomes drier and warmer. Tonight’s camp will be set up at amongst an acacia forest. About 13 km | Walking time: 4-5 hours | Altitude: ↑ 200 m

The last stage of the journey is not too long and it goes mainly downhill. The highlights of the trek are the great views of Oldonyo Lengai, Engaresero River Gorge and Flamingos in Soda Lake Natron and the Rift Valley. The rugged countryside looks almost surreal covered by grey ash of the last eruption in 2007. The trek descends down into the dry and hot Rift Valley, where the ash can be seen up close. After lunchtime you will reach the waiting vehicle and your driver will take you back to Arusha/Moshi. About 6 km | Walking time: 2-3 hours | Altitude/Descend: ↓ 1200 m