Last updated: 2011-06-13

Itinerary

Day 1

Arrival at the Kilimanjaro Airport, Arusha, Tanzania.

Transport from the Airport: In the evening there are shuttle busses going to Arusha that will cost you about 10 USD. Using the shuttle bus is the easiest way to get to the hotel. It is about 60 km from the airport to Arusha and you are getting off at the Freedom Torch. It is a roundabout 100 meters from the hotel. However, during day there are only taxi's available. The taxi fee is 50 USD, one way. Try to find someone on the flight to commute with.

Check in; upon arrival at the hotel, you should report to the hotel reception as a traveller with Study and Travel. The tour leader Hamisi Gyori has made the reservations, even for you coming one or two days earlier if you have informed us.

Gathering: Hamisi will give you an appointment for the first gathering (in our last letter to you three weeks before departure) where you will have time to come to know one another and have a the first introduction to your weeks in Tanzania. In case your flight arrives so late that you will miss the second gathering please contact "Study and Travel" so we can report this to the tour leader.

Flight delays: In case your flight is very much delayed and you will not be able to reach the hotel in time for the gathering, you should contact the tour leader directly.

Arusha is a vibrant city, situated exactly halfway between Cairo and Capetown, in the shadow of the volcano Mt Meru, the second highest peak in Tanzania (4566 m). From the centre of town you will have a beautiful view of the mountain. With about 800'000 inhabitant's Arusha is the third largest city in Tanzania and considered being the safari capital of the world. The mix of people in Arusha creates a buzzing atmosphere. The restaurants, the markets and the souvenir shops blend with mineral businesses and the International Criminal Tribunal Court for Rwanda. Something interesting is happening all the time.

Day 2

In the afternoon you will leave Arusha and go by minibus to Manyara National Park. This less known national park is situated along the road to Ngorongoro, in the Great Rift Valley and along beautiful Lake Manyara. In the evening you will have a tour in the park. Within the park you will have the opportunity to see elephants, antelopes, zebras, giraffe, birds, monkeys and with luck you might see a tree-climbing lion.

You stay in an area known as Karatu, not far from the Ngorongoro gate. It could take about twenty minutes to reach the gate walking.

Day 3

In the morning you continue to Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The main vegetation type is open grassland with islands of acacia woodland. You will see large herds of zebra, wildebeest and buffalo. There are lots of different antelopes, warthogs and elephants. Lions and rhinos are also often seen. You will visit the famous Ngorongoro Crater a whole day, where the animals go for water all year round. Back to the same lodge for a second night.

Day 4

After having breakfast you go back to Arusha to the same hotel as the first night. Preparations are made for the coming days.

Day 5 to 8

By bus to Longido. The area lies north of Arusha and is the heartland of the Maasai people. During four days you will be walking in the vicinity of Mt Longido (2587 m). Donkeys will carry all your food and gear and you will walk in a scenic environment in company of Maasai warrior's. Night camps will be situated close to Maasai bomas. Along the route you will meet tribesmen with their herds and possibly wildlife like antelopes, giraffes, zebras and maybe even buffaloes.

Day 9

Again you return to Arusha, this time to prepare for the climbing of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Day 10 to 15

By bus to Machame gate. You have a six day climb in front of you, up Mount Kilimanjaro, 5891 meters and the highest peak in Africa. And come back. There are several possible routes. We will use the 'Machame route', which is not the fastest, nor the cheapest route (the fees are very high), but a route which gives more time for acclimatisation. It is also known for its breathtaking views and for the number of wildlife you will see during the trek.

From the entry-gate at 1800 meters you start walking though the cloud forest. Later you will cross through alpine moor with giant lobelias. On day 15 you should reach Uhuru peak which is just above the crater.

Included:

  • porters, you only carry a small rucksack with what you need during the day
  • tents
  • food and cooking
  • a recognised, licensed mountain guide
  • the tip

Climbing Kilimanjaro is physically strenuous and for some even painful. Make sure you are in good physical condition. In case you feel you cannot make it all the way up to the highest peak, you will have to stay behind in the camp in company with one of the porters, or descend. In case of emergency you will get help.

Day 1: climb to Machame hut at 2990 meters.
Day 2: climb to Shira at 3880 meters.
Day 3: climb to Barranco at 3965 meters.
Day 4: climb to Barafu at 4540 meters.
Day 5: climb to the top and return late to Mweka Hut
Day 6: descend to Mweka gate and go to Moshi for a well-earned rest at the hotel.

Six days is the normal amount of days on Machame route.

Day 16

By ordinary, big bus to Dar es Salaam, where you have one day to explore this town.

"Dar" is the biggest town in Tanzania with a bit more than 3 million inhabitants and the most important port of the country.

You are divided into groups of 3-4 persons and have the possibility to visit different places in the city. Visit the different market places, for example in the Indian part of town, the fish-market or the markets for Makonde- and Tingatinga art.

Eduardo Saidi Tingatinga was an artist whose very special style inspired many others after his death in 1972. The modern paintings are naiv, colourful and show fantasy birds, mammals or a village scene. The paintings often have different symbolic messages.

The Makonde people are famous for their woodcarvings. Typical for their sculptures is that they are made of ebony and show one or more persons in a very distort form. Traditional sculptures often display women with children. In its purest form, the intricate ebony carvings of the Makonde relate to their cult of womanhood. The (male) carvers as a good luck charm traditionally carry them.

The custom started when the first carver, who according to folklore was a person but not yet a man, carved a piece of wood into the shape of a woman and left it outside his home overnight. In the night, the carving was transformed into a real woman. Twice the woman conceived, but both times the child died after three days. Each time, the pair moved higher onto the plateau, believing this would bring them luck. The third child lived and became the first true Makonde. The Makondes came from northern Mozambique several centuries ago and they have been practising their craft for at least 300 years.

Day 17-18

Today another bus will take you to Bagamoyo, 70 km north of Dar. Bagamoyo is one of East Africa's most historically compelling settlements and was before one of the most important harbours on the East Coast. Arabic salesmen settled down here in the 13th century. Later on it was an important mainland port connecting Zanzibar to the caravan routes through the interior, Bagamoyo also became an important springboard for European exploration of Africa. In the middle of the 19th century (1800-talets mitt) approximately 50 000 slaves were shipped from Bagamoyo to Zanzibar annually. Various meanings have been attributed to the name Bagamoyo, "to lose hope", because it was the place where the slaves had to get on the boats to be sold to the Arabic salesmen.

The town was also the centre for export of ivory and salt to Zanzibar and then further on Burton, Stanley and Livingstone passed Bagamoyo and it was their publishing of the horrors of the slave trade that led to the establishing of a mission station at Bagamoyo in 1868.

The Germans built their headquarters in Bagamoyo in 1873 and for a short time it was the capital of German East Africa. Nowadays it is a fishing-village and a tourist place, even though there are not so many tourists that go there. There is a long, very beautiful beach!

Bagamoyo is where the traditional sailing boats, dhows, are made. You will see the masons working on the beach.

In the night you sail with a dhow to Zanzibar, Unguja Island. However, if the weather is bad we will not go by dhow!

Day 19-20

You will probably arrive around ten o'clock in the morning. The time of crossing is a little hard to predict, sometimes it takes longer. In Unguja, which is the proper name for the Island, you will stay two nights in Stone Town. Most of people are Sunni Muslims. The climate is tropical, it is warm all year round and often very humid. It receives more rainfall and is windier than the mainland. The temperature is about 24-29 degrees but the wind is refreshing. The light rains usually starts in November, like in the mainland.

Here you can be "ordinary tourists" and enjoy the sea, beaches, corals and giant turtles in Nungwi, red Colobus monkeys in Jozani and dolphins in Kizimkazi. In the central part of the "Spice Island" you will find clove (nejlikor) and coconut plantations. There will be free time to wander around Stonetown and make excursions on your own. We recommend the cheap and very delicious dinners down at House of Wonders.

Zanzibar has a very exciting history, because they have been trading with ships from Persia, Arabia and India for about 2000 years. The Portuguese established a trading station on the site of Zanzibar Town and followed by the British and the Omani Arabs. In 1963 the Unguja became independent from Great Britain, in 1964, Zanzibar and Tanganyika the Republic of Tanzania was formed.

Stone Town is the old quarter of Zanzibar town with a fascinating maze of narrow streets and alleyways with old houses and mosques, ornate palaces, shops and bazaars. Many of the houses date from the slave boom. The houses reflect their founder's wealth. You see that in the sizes of the doors and the complicated designs of the decorated doorframes. Arab houses have plain outer walls and large front doors; Indian houses have a more open facade and large decorated balconies. Most of the houses are still occupied!

Some of the sights in Stone Town:

  • Forodhani Garden, gives you a good view of the town
  • Palace Museum, the residence of the Sultan between 1911 and the revolution in 1964, today it is a museum
  • Old Arab Fort, built at the end of the 17th century, probably the oldest building in the Stone Town.
  • House of Wonders (Beit el Ajaib) a ceremonial palace from 1883 with impressive balconies
  • Tippu Tip's, a powerful slave trader's house. Tippu Tip helped Stanley, Livingstone and other explorers with their equipment and planning of their activities.
  • House of Peace Memorial Museum (Beit el Amani). An exhibition about the slavery, archaeology, missionaries, sultans etc. It is closed on Saturdays.
  • The bazaar at Creek road where you can buy anything and everything.
  • Hammani Baths

Day 21 to 22

In the morning by bus to the cost in the north. Snorkelling is available at Mnembu Island east of Nungwi village where we stay. For those who are less intrested in the beach we will present some options of other things to do. Anyhow - relax and enjoy the island of Zanzibar!
Now you are at the end of the tour. Many of you have plans to remain in Tanzania so the detailed program might start to differ.

Day 23

Day of departure. Very fast hydrofoil back to the mainland and Dar es Salaam where the journey is finished. Flight home not earlier than 17.00