Jungle Safaris Meets Ndutu

Serengeti From The Sky

A popular addition to your game drives and stay in the Serengeti or Tarangire National Parks is a balloon safari. It is an adventure as the hot air floats gently in the direction of the wind, offering a different view over the amazing scenery and wildlife below.

The excursion starts early, with pick-up from your lodge and driving to the launch site before dawn; on the way you may see some nocturnal animals. Your balloon rises as the sun rises, and the flight takes about an hour of sheer excitement floating at varying altitude and at times climbing 1000 feet high or more. After landing, enjoy a traditional champagne celebration and an Out of Africa breakfast prepared and served in the bush. Thereafter continue with the day’s planned activities.

Breathe The Fresh Crisp Air

Most visitors to Africa, especially first timers, find the continent and its people enchantingly different and a special experience. We at Jungle Safaris appreciate this fact and endeavor to include visits to the local communities to give our guests the opportunity to see first-hand the way of life in a typical African village.

Tanzania has over 120 tribes each with its own culture. The Maasai in northern Tanzania are among the most popular ethnic groups in the area, a proud people fervently attached to their cultural values. Ngorongoro is the home of the pastoral Maasai, who have been allowed to live in the conservation area, a pioneering experiment in multi-purpose land use where people, their livestock and wildlife coexist and share the same protected habitat. The Maasai move widely with their herds of cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys in search of pasture and water. In recent years the Maasai have been encouraged to work on the land to supplement their traditional staple food of milk and meat.

While in Ngorongoro most of the guests on safari love to include a visit to a Maasai Boma (homestead). The Seneto Maasai Boma on the western slopes of the Ngorongoro Highlands about two hundred metres off the main road to Serengeti is one of the most famous cultural visitor points for guests. Another popular Maasai village is Irkeepus which is located in the Ngorongoro Highlands and a visit can be combined with a trek of Olmoti or Empakaai Crater.Visitors will be shown around the Maasai Boma, and are welcome to explore the huts where Maasai families live and learn a few things about their way of living. The huts, normally built by women, are made of wood, mud and cow dung.

The visit lasts about 30 to 45 minutes and at the end the villagers will show off and try to sell their colorful beadwork and other handcrafted wares. If time allows the Maasai warriors would challenge men to engage in a spear throwing match or perform a tribal dance, and ladies may choose to participate in beadwork. This is intended to expose visitors to the Maasai culture though briefly and enrich them with some authentic African experiences.