The Elephant Ride at the bottom of Mount Kilimanjaro

Day 1: Arrival

After arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport, a transfer will take you to the Polo Safari Club, 35 minutes away, where you will spend your first night.

Enjoy time to settle in, relaxing and getting to know the other safari participants. After this, sundowners and a delicious dinner await you in the clubhouse. Your guide will also give a safety briefing for the safari.

Day 2: Departure

You will be woken up with fresh coffee and tea while a delicious breakfast is waiting for you. At 11:00 a.m. you will be taken to Arusha National Park, about 20 minutes away, where your safari horses are ready to be mounted.

One of the most beautiful national parks in East Africa awaits you. The vegetation will change dramatically during the ride, from open grasslands to dense rainforests. You will have good chances of seeing elephant, buffalo, many plain’s game species and leopard alongside rare species like the magnificent Hartlaub’s turaco or the red duiker.

It is a magical feeling riding into the dense forests of the national park. Here, in the shade of the forest, there will be time for lunch and a little siesta. After everyone has had a good rest, the route continues through good leopard habitat. With a little luck and open eyes, you may see one of the beautiful cats.

On the way to the first night camp, the path leads past the previous house of Margarete Trappe. The legendary woman, known as the ‘Iron Lady of the First World War’, is remembered for her wondrous stories. “If we had been thrilled as children by Buffalo Bill, we would have been even more enchanted by the adventures of Mrs Trappe. The adventures of the fearless woman with her two legendary horses Comet and Diamond. Like a phantom she suddenly appeared, like a phantom, she suddenly disappeared; so intimate with wild animals as if they were tame.”

You will enjoy hearing some of the fascinating stories about Margarete, whose old paths you will follow on this riding safari through the mysterious forests.

You arrive at your camp at the foot of Mount Meru in time for sunset. Enjoy sundowner drinks, a refreshing shower and a delicious dinner under the stars.

Day 3: the ‘Hatari’-Region

This morning you may be woken by the very talkative yet shy colobus monkeys.

Shortly after breakfast, you’ll ride towards an area where the film ‘Hatari’ was filmed. From here the ascent on horseback to the fig tree arch begins. This is a huge fig tree with an arch so big that 5 horses can ride through it abreast and offers a fascinating and mystical scene.

The route then leads to a beautiful waterfall in the middle of the forest, where you will enjoy a break and your lunch. You are now about 2,000 meters above sea level. After lunch, you return to the camp, passing another 30-meter high waterfall en-route.

Back at the camp, you can take a safari drive and visit the Momella lakes with the aim of spotting some hippos. Enjoy the sunset and some cool drinks overlooking the lake before heading back to camp for a hot shower and a delicious dinner.

Day 4: off to Kilimanjaro

Today begins with sunrise and a big breakfast. You mount your horses and ride out of Arusha National Park, heading east, directly towards Kilimanjaro and leaving Mount Meru behind.

This long day’s ride will take you through typical Tanzanian farmlands and the Maasai steppe. The scenery is picturesque and many cultural interactions await you.

Thanks to the cool hours of the morning, a lot of distance is covered before lunchtime. Enjoy a well-deserved 3-hour lunch break in a scenic spot, perhaps under a large acacia tree or even next to a dam where the Maasai water their cattle.

Once everyone is well-rested, the route takes you back to wildlife areas in the afternoon. The open grasslands invite you to ride fast so that the camp is reached in time for sunset and your evening ritual of a sundowner.

Day 5: Elephant search

You will be woken with fresh coffee and tea before a bush breakfast is served. Directly after breakfast, it is time for the first ride.

Today is entirely dedicated to the search for the largest land animals in Africa, the elephants. The landscape you will travel through is mainly composed of dense bush and acacia forests.

You return to camp for lunch and then a second ride awaits you, where again the search for elephants is at the fore.
Another beautiful night under the starry sky of Tanzania, in the remote and wild bush awaits you.

Day 6: Seven Hills

After a hearty English breakfast, the horses are mounted to set off in the direction of the ‘Seven Hills’. After crossing the hills, you continue towards Sinya Village. Here a shady tree awaits you for a relaxing lunch break.

The landscape consists mainly of open grasslands and idyllic woods, with good chances to spot zebra, gnu, giraffe and rare species like the gerenuk.

Tonight is spent in an impressively scenic place. Hopefully, the night is clear so you will have a view of the 4 breathtaking mountains that surround you. Mount Meru, Mount Namanga, Mount Longido and the most legendary of them all, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Day 7: the Kenyan border

The day starts at sunrise because today your long route will take you north towards the Kenyan border. This terrain is also very popular with elephants and again you may get to have close encounters with these peaceful giants.

Tonight’s camp is set up in the middle of wide-open pans with a fascinating view of the surrounding mountains and the breathtaking night sky, which is even more impressive in this area as there is little light pollution.

Day 8: Depature

The last day has begun and your safari is coming to an end. Enjoy a last big breakfast in camp before heading back to civilization. Depending on the road conditions, the drive to the airport takes about 3 hours.

For those who have a late afternoon flight, a room in the Polo Safari Club’s Clubhouse is available for the day before your transfer to the airport.