Northern Circuit: the perfect Tanzania safari itinerary

What makes Tanzania’s Northern Circuit so special?

Tanzania’s Northern Circuit makes the perfect destination for a once-in-a-lifetime safari. If you’re only going to do it once, do it here. What makes northern Tanzania so special is the combination of wildlife, landscapes and Maasai culture. Nowhere else offers such mind-blowing variety – it’s a truly humbling place.

Over the course of just one week, you can see prides of lions stalking across the savannah of the Serengeti, walk with the Maasai across the lunar-like plains of Olduvai Gorge, see elephants by the dozen amidst gnarly baobabs in Tarangire National Park and explore the wildlife-packed caldera of the Ngorongoro Crater.

For the ‘ultimate’ northern Tanzania safari itinerary, I recommend combining the headliners (Serengeti and Ngorongoro) with lesser-visited areas (Tarangire National Park, Olduvai Gorge, and Grumeti Wildlife Management Area). Each of these destinations offers something different and unique, so when you put them together, you have the safari of a lifetime.

This route also promises far more than a breath-taking wildlife experience and the journeys between destinations often double up as game drives. You’ll watch the vast landscape changing hourly before your eyes, meet the local Maasai people, stay in one-of-a-kind tented camps and fall in love with the gentle culture of Tanzania.  

When to travel to Tanzania

Northern Tanzania’s climate means that you set off on your safari at almost any time of year. Aside from March and April, when the ‘long rains’ can make some tracks and routes impassable, there’s no bad time of year to travel and the wildlife viewing is always incredible. For example, most of the species in the Ngorongoro Crater don’t migrate, so you’re guaranteed an amazing experience at any time of year.

In the summer (June to October), the ‘Great Wildebeest Migration’ famously takes place across the Northern Serengeti, with huge thundering herds making the perilous Mara River crossing while predators lie in wait. This is the busiest (and most expensive) time of year for tourists, so you won’t have the Serengeti to yourself. It is also possible to see migrating herds at other times of year – you just need to research their route.

‘Green season’ in northern Tanzania runs from November to March when the landscape is lush, and the skies are alive with fascinating migratory birds. There are fewer tourists during this period and, while you might experience a few dramatic showers, you are likely to see the migrating herds with their newly born calves. I travelled in December and saw scattered herds peacefully grazing on the grasslands of the Serengeti with their young. It was pure magic!

Arriving into Kilimanjaro

If you’re planning to explore northern Tanzania, it’s far better to arrive into Kilimanjaro Airport than into Dar Es Salaam. From Kilimanjaro, it takes less than an hour to get to Arusha, where many tourists spend their first night in Tanzania.

I recommend staying at the beautiful Arumeru River Lodge, situated halfway between Kilimanjaro Airport and Arusha. A former coffee plantation with cosy bungalows scattered across its tropical gardens, Arumeru is a lovely place to unwind after a long flight. You can take a refreshing dip in the gorgeous pool while the resident dik-diks graze in the grass, monkeys swing in the tree canopy and the birds sing on the branches. In the distance, you can look across to the snowy peak of Kilimanjaro.

If you have time on your side, I recommend staying at Arumeru long enough to try the activities offered by the lodge. You can take a rainforest walk with an experienced guide straight from the door, explore the nearby Maasai village or hike on the slopes of Mount Meru.

If you have time on your side, I recommend staying at Arumeru long enough to try the activities offered by the lodge. You can take a rainforest walk with an experienced guide straight from the door, explore the nearby Maasai village or hike on the slopes of Mount Meru.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park doesn’t receive nearly as much media attention as Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, which makes it something of a hidden treasure. It was a real highlight of my trip, so I beg you not to miss it out!

For me, Tarangire feels like a ‘Land Before Time’. It’s a scrubby, gnarled wilderness peppered with ancient baobab trees and criss-crossed by shallow rivers. Everything about it feels utterly prehistoric. We didn’t see another single vehicle during our safari here, which added to the magic of the experience.

In terms of the concentration of wildlife, Tarangire is second only to the Serengeti, so you’re 100% guaranteed a jaw-dropping safari. Known for its population of tree-climbing lions, as well as its huge herds of elephants, Tarangire really does feel truly untouched. We watched a herd of nearly 100 hundred elephants plod gently past us – a sight that brought tears to my eyes

I stayed at Maweninga Camp, buried in a remote area of Tarangire National Park. Built on top of a huge granite boulder, with views stretching across to Lake Manyara and Burunge, it’s a genuine wilderness camp. The canvas safari tents are all perched on raised platforms with uninterrupted panoramas and all the creature comforts that you need. After dinner, you can sit around the campfire with a glass of wine while the rock dassies scamper around you.

Tarangire to Karatu

You only strictly need one night in Tarangire (although if you can stay longer, do it!). This is because the meandering journey from Maweninga Camp back to the road is, essentially, a safari. You can spend the morning looking out for wildlife in Tarangire National Park, before leaving the park and heading towards Karatu, a great base for exploring the Ngorongoro Crater. Along the way, the dusty scrubland of Tarangire will turn slowly into the lush tropical scenery of the Ngorongoro Highlands. It’s a magical transformation!

I stayed at Bashay Rift Lodge, which feels like an organic farm. The beautiful swimming pool is perfect for a refreshing dip after a day on the road and the gorgeous rooms all look out over the Rift Valley or Lake Eyasi.

I spent one night here, but if you have time on your side, I recommend staying for 2 nights. This will give you a chance to explore the Ngorongoro Crater and see the local area. You can visit the organic farm run by the lodge, rent bikes and cycle to the nearby Maasai villages or take a trip to Lake Manyara.

Ngorongoro Crater

The Ngorongoro Crater is somewhere that must be seen to be believed. The world’s largest unbroken caldera, the crater base measures over 100 square miles and is home to 25,000 large animals. While most of the crater is made up of grassy plains, there are also several shallow soda ash lakes that attract massive flocks of pink flamingos.

The journey into the Crater is epic too, as the thickly forested slopes give way to a vast savannah crammed with wildlife. It’s mind-blowing stuff – no wildlife documentary can do it justice.

Even though you will come across plenty of other safari vehicles in the Ngorongoro Crater, the wildlife roams completely freely, often in great numbers. It’s very clear that the animal kingdom rules here. We saw lions lazing in the shade, as well as hyenas, warthogs, jackals, and more zebra than you could shake a stick at.

Olduvai Gorge

After an unforgettable morning, we climbed back out of the Crater and started the journey towards the Serengeti, passing through the heart of Maasai country. It’s a spectacular trip. Most tourists go straight from Ngorongoro to the Serengeti National Park, but I highly recommend stopping roughly halfway at Olduvai Gorge. Known as the Tanzania’s ‘Cradle of Mankind’, Olduvai is a site that holds evidence of our earliest human ancestors, making it one of the most important historical places on Earth.

Aside from its staggering history, the scenery surrounding Olduvai Gorge is simply breathtaking. It’s a barren lunar-like landscape that seems to stretch on forever, with Maasai herdsman leading their cattle across the plains. The area is dotted with small Maasai villages all living a traditional way of life on their ancestral lands. It’s a place that really puts things in perspective.

Olduvai Camp is, hands down, the most extraordinary place I have ever stayed. Built around a kopje that rises from the plains, it looks like something straight out of a sci-fi film. The canvas safari tents all have unbroken views over the surrounding plains and the local Maasai people sing and dance around the fire in the evening. We took a walk with a Maasai guide to a lookout point for sunset, which is something that I’ll never forget.  

Northern Serengeti National Park

From Olduvai, you can head towards the Serengeti. In many ways, the Serengeti National Park needs no introduction – it’s perhaps the most famous wildlife destination in the world. However, when it comes to the Serengeti, you CAN believe the hype.

This is a vast natural wonderland made up of open grassy plains, rocky outcrops, swampy lakes, rolling green hills and acacia groves. Wherever you look, you’ll find astonishing wildlife, from lions, elephants and giraffes to cheetahs, leopards, hippos and crocodiles.

We stopped at Ronjo Camp for lunch, a rustic bush camp deep in the heart of the Serengeti. If you’re looking for a totally remote ‘Out of Africa’ experience, I definitely recommend stopping here for a night. Tucked away in a small acacia forest, elephants quite often wander between the safari tents here and, after dinner, you can sit around a campfire under the stars of the Serengeti.

Grumeti Hills

In the afternoon, we continued to the Grumeti Wildlife Management Area, a less-visited region on the edge of the Serengeti. I stayed at Grumeti Hills, a camp built on the highest hill in the area, with a stunning swimming pool carved into the rocks and overlooking the plains. The views from the canvas tents are endless, with no sign of any human development in any direction. It’s wilderness without compromise.

Grumeti Hills offers a unique chance to take a night safari with a special ranger from the local Wildlife Department. The safari vehicles are kitted out with special lights that don’t disturb the wildlife, so you can watch the amazing nocturnal action unfold. In the morning, you can also take a thrilling walking safari, learning about medicinal plants and insect life as you walk through the bush. It’s a fantastic place to end the safari of a lifetime.

From Grumeti, it’s a short drive to the remote Ikoma Airstrip and, from here, you can fly back to Kilimanjaro or straight over to Zanzibar. Leaving the bush by small plane is a memorable experience in itself – we had to wait for the zebras to clear off the runway!

Words simply don’t do Tanzania justice. I’ve never been so overwhelmed by a destination, and I would go back in half a heartbeat. In just one week, I felt like I had been on a real journey, packed with variety, natural beauty, and wildlife.

The atmospheric accommodation added an extra layer of magic to the experience and the peace-loving Maasai people made me feel truly welcome. Looking back, I’m still pinching myself. If you get the chance to explore Tanzania on safari, grab it with both hands. You won’t be sorry.

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