Green Lotus Tanzania Safari and Yoga Adventure

Overnight flights from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

A local representative will be waiting for your arrival this evening. Transfer to your Arusha area lodge set in lush gardens amid the forest from the slopes of Mt. Meru. Arusha is the safari hub of Tanzania’s most vital agricultural region and the gateway to the famous northern circuit of national parks.

Karibu Tanzania! (Welcome)

Hotel – Ngare Sero Mountain Lodge

Start the day with a yoga session in the forest, followed by breakfast and check out. 

Meet our private driver-guides and board our 4WD safari vehicles to head west, through Arusha and into the bush. The drive to is about 2hrs and takes us into Tarangire National Park.

Our first camp is a great introduction to ease into safari life. It is situated just inside the park border and has a stunning site overlooking the Tarangire River below. Comfortable permanent tents built on foundations with a private terrace and private bathrooms with showers, attached at the back of each tent. 

Afternoons there is time to relax, or enjoy a swim in the pool before enjoying an exciting game drive. Huge herds of elephants, greater kudu, Impala and Zebra are all easily spotted while the more elusive leopard lurks in the trees. Return to camp to freshen up before dinner. Overnight at Tarangire Safari Lodge

Start the day with an early morning yoga session followed by breakfast. Pack up and head out for a morning game drive with a picnic lunch. We continue our journey westward through the Great Rift Valley. The western wall of the valley rises to the fertile Ngorongoro foothills. We stop at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) for entrance protocols. There is an informative display inside the park building as well as bathrooms and a small gift shop. 

The drive from the gate to the rim of the crater is a beautiful, winding road through rainforests and lush foliage as our vehicles climb to the rim of the crater and an opportunity for a great “Kodak Moment”.  Our camp is reached as we drive around to the other side of the crater. Don’t be surprised if we have to stop for a herd of Cape Buffalo – they love this flora-rich habitat. 

Our beautiful camp welcomes us for a 2-night stay.  You’ll have time to get settled before dinner and overnight. Overnight at Lion’s Paw Camp

Savor morning yoga on the deck of the main lodge.

This afternoon brings an amazing safari experience…the Ngorongoro Crater (Nn-gore-ON-goro)

The Ngorongoro Crater is a geological spectacle – a 260 square kilometer caldera that was formed three million years ago when a giant active volcano exploded and collapsed. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. Today it’s a wildlife haven for lion, elephant, hyena, buffalo, large herds of wildebeest and zebra and the highly endangered black rhino and many other species living on the mineral-rich pastures
of the largely flat crater floor. Overnight at Lion’s Paw Camp

Start the morning right with a yoga session in the cool forest followed by breakfast.

We wind our way out of the Ngorongoro Highlands and down into the vast plains of Serengeti. The conservation area also protects Olduvai Gorge, situated in the plains area. It is considered the seat of humanity after the discovery of the earliest known specimens of the human genus, Homo habilis as well as early hominids.

Settle into our safari lodge at the edge of the southern Serengeti plains which are dotted with acacia trees and expansive views across Lake Ndutu. Our cottages have a private veranda overlook­ing the unfenced landscape that truly is the vision of your Africa dreams.

The Ndutu area is especially popular with bird watchers as the Ndutu area is not only home to Africa’s famous Big Five (Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Buffalo, Leopard), but over 500 species of birds!

Serengeti National Park is undoubtedly the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, unequaled for its natural beauty and scientific value. The name ‘Serengeti’ comes from the Maasai language and appropriately means an ‘extended place’. The Maasai, who had grazed their cattle on the vast grassy plains for millennia call it Siringitu – “the place where the land moves on forever.” Overnight: Ndutu Safari Lodge

Today’s yoga session will be woven into your Serengeti landscape. Travel into a quiet part of the plains to an exclusive wilderness area. Here your guides will unfold large tarps over the grassland in n area surrounded by the local herds. Following this extraordinary yoga and wildlife moment, we’ll continue our game drive.

Every year this area plays host to one of the world’s greatest natural spectacles – the Great Migration. Between January and March the migrating herds of over 2 million wil­debeest, zebra and antelope species return to the nutrient-rich Ndutu short grass plains for their calving season. The large herds make for sightings of some very exciting preda­tor hunting behaviors, most notably that of cheetah hunting. Overnight: Ndutu Safari Lodge

Game drive in the morning en route to the Ndutu Airstrip for a flight to Zanzi­bar, the treasure of Tanzania and a World Heritage Site.

The main island of Zanzibar is situated off the coast of Tanzania. The Indian Ocean is embraced by beautiful beaches with a fascinat­ing history of Arab, Indian, and other cultures. On arrival, you will be met and transferred to your beachfront hotel overlooking a turquoise lagoon.

We have four full days dedicated to yoga and relaxation in Zanzibar. The secluded white beach bay presents a great opportunity for morning and evening yoga, meditation or just going for a beach stroll. There will be two half-day tours included: a spice tour and another to Stone Town.

Learn the history of this ancient island that was the center of the slave trade on the east coast of Africa. It may not have a particularly romantic name, but Stone Town is the old city and cultural heart of Zanzibar, little changed in the last 200 years. The his­tory of Zanzibar is influenced by the cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, and many other spices, which brought the Sultans of Oman and the beginnings of the horrendous slave trade. The spices are seen in the plantations just outside Zanzibar town. Overnight: Sunshine Bay Lodge

Enjoy a final morning at the lodge along with lunch. Then transfer to the local airport for a flight late afternoon arriving at the Dar es Salaam airport for our homeward flights.