Skip to main content

Simba Pride Safaris

Mto wa Mbu · Lake Eyasi · Maasai land · 3 days

the maasai & hadzabeTrail

Three days with the people of the Rift. A village walk and a family lunch in Mto wa Mbu, a dawn hunt with Hadzabe hunters and an afternoon with Datoga blacksmiths at Lake Eyasi, and a morning in a Maasai boma hosted by our own guides’ families.

  • 3days
  • 2nights
  • 3communities
  • Smallgroups, max 6
01 · Overview

The route, and why it runs this way

This is not a safari with a village stop. The whole trip is built around time with people, arranged through a community organisation and through families our guides grew up beside, and the fees are paid to the hosts.

From Arusha you drive west to Mto wa Mbu, a market town at the foot of the Rift Valley wall where people from many tribes farm side by side, and spend the morning there on foot or by bike. After lunch the road climbs past Karatu and drops to Lake Eyasi, a shallow soda lake below the escarpment and home to the Hadzabe, one of the last hunter-gatherer peoples in Africa. Day two starts before dawn with a Hadzabe family. Day three is spent with a Maasai family near Karatu before the drive back to Arusha.

Starts

Your Arusha hotel, day 1

A morning pick-up. Most guests arrive in Arusha the day before.

Ends

Arusha, day 3

Back in town by late afternoon.

Style

Community-led

A guide and vehicle for the three days, local guides in each community, a lodge or camp at Lake Eyasi.

Pace

One early morning

The Hadzabe hunt starts at 5:30 on day 2. The rest of the trip is unhurried.

01

Village walk · road day · L D

Mto wa Mbu, then down to Lake Eyasi

Your guide collects you in Arusha and drives west for about two hours to Mto wa Mbu. With a local guide you walk or cycle out to the rice paddies and banana farms, taste banana beer at a village brewery and watch painters and carvers at work.

Lunch is in a family kitchen: pilau, beans and greens. In the afternoon the road climbs to Karatu and then drops south-west to Lake Eyasi, where you arrive in time for a walk along the shore before dinner.

Meals
Local lunch, dinner
Highlight
Banana beer and a family lunch
Sleep
Lodge or tented camp, Lake Eyasi named when you book
02

Dawn hunt · village visit · B L D

Hunters at dawn, blacksmiths after

You meet a Hadzabe family at their camp at about 5:30, bows already strung. For three hours you follow the hunters at a distance through the bush, watching them track birds and hyrax, dig roots and take honey from a baobab, then share what was caught around the fire.

Late in the morning you visit a Datoga homestead, where the smiths turn scrap metal into arrowheads and bracelets over a charcoal fire. The afternoon is free for a rest, and the evening is for the sunset over the lake.

Meals
Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Highlight
Following the Hadzabe hunt
Sleep
Lodge or tented camp, Lake Eyasi named when you book
03

Boma visit · road day · B L

A morning in a Maasai boma, then home

After breakfast you drive back up to the highlands near Karatu and spend the morning with a Maasai family our guides know. You help with the cattle, sit with the women as they bead, and ask the questions you have been saving up, with your guide translating.

Lunch is a shared meal at the boma. Then it is the drive back through Mto wa Mbu to Arusha, where your guide drops you at your hotel by late afternoon.

Meals
Breakfast, shared lunch
Ends
Your Arusha hotel
Next
Add a day in the Ngorongoro Crater

When to go

Any month works

Village visits run all year. The seasons change the colours, the roads and what is happening in the fields.

  • Best for this trip
  • Good
  • Green season, fewer vehicles

Community visits follow the families’ own calendar; we confirm each visit a few days ahead.

What it costs

Fill the vehicle, pay less each

Your guide and vehicle for all three days, two nights full board at Lake Eyasi, the local lunches and every community fee, paid directly to the hosts. Priced per person, with a maximum of six guests.

Mid-range fromUS$640per person sharing

Important information

All prices are per person and exclude international flights. Final rates depend on your travel dates, seasonal park fees and availability; we confirm them in writing with your quote.

Your selection · click a group size2 guests · Mid-range1 double

Get the exact price

Travelling with children

Children are welcome, and they often get on best of all at the boma. The Hadzabe hunt is for ages 10 and over, and the Mto wa Mbu bike ride suits children from about 10; younger children can walk it instead.

in the price

  • Vehicle and English-speaking guide, all 3 days
  • Two nights as described, full board
  • Local lunches in Mto wa Mbu and at the boma
  • All community fees and local guides
  • Village bikes in Mto wa Mbu
  • Bottled water in the vehicle

not in the price

  • International flights and visa
  • Hotel nights in Arusha
  • Travel and medical insurance
  • Tips for your guide and hosts
  • Personal purchases, such as beadwork

Make it yours

Add to the week

Tick anything you like the sound of. It goes straight into your enquiry, and we will price it with the trip.

Send my enquiry →

Before you go

The practical part

Questions

We work with a community organisation that sets the fees and the visiting days, and the Hadzabe decide when they host. You follow and watch; you do not hunt.

No. It is a normal morning in a working homestead with a family our guides know, and the fee goes straight to the household.

You leave the lodge in the dark to meet the hunters at about 5:30. The hunt lasts about three hours, so wear closed shoes and long trousers.

Yes. The Ngorongoro Crater is close to the day 3 route, and Tarangire or the Serengeti are easy to add either side.

A maximum of six guests, so every visit stays small and personal.

ready when you are

Three days, three peoples

Tell us when you would like to travel and who is coming. We confirm each visit with the families a few days ahead and reply with a day-by-day plan and an exact price.

Plan this trip
Ask on WhatsApp
Admit
2
guests
SPS · 03
Print itinerary

Other journeys like this one

2 days · from US$180Coffee & Chagga Day Trips
3 days · from US$890Crater & Lake Weekend
5 days · from US$1,650Serengeti to Natron
Loading itinerary…
Saved Trips