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Maasai homestay in
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Stay with the Maasai in their traditional lands in Ngorongoro. This is extremely unique homestay as you will stay with your Maasai family inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Are which is a protected area and a World Heritage Site where you can see all the wild game too. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Your Maasai family lives in a Savannah far away from tourism where you can experience the real Tanzania. Besides, you will help the Maasai directly as the majority of the payment goes directly to them.
About the Maasai homestay
Besides your Maasai family whom you will meet inside Ngorongoro, you will be escorted by a Maasai staff who will take care of your stay. The Maasai staff consists of a Maasai driver, a Maasai Chef and a Maasai guide whom all speak English. They will come to pick you up from your hotel or other location in Arusha or Mto Wa Mbu. During your stay, you will visit and sleep in a Maasai boma where you stay with the Maasai family. In addition, few nights are spent in the most beautiful African bush while attending the warriors' bush camp.
A typical day with the Maasai
We don't have a daily itinerary for the guest because after all, everything happens by nature's speed as this is a real-life experience. A typical day with the Maasai may look like this:
7 am Wake up & breakfast
9 am Herding cows and hiking in Savannah where you can see the more wild game (you will always be escorted by Maasai carrying spears)
2 pm lunch (can be a picnic lunch in Savannah)
4 pm Daily tasks in Maasai boma such as cutting the firewood, fetching water, food preparations, making jewelry, maintaining houses
6 pm Dinner together with the Maasai family
8 pm Storytelling, observing the sky full of stars
Every guest is warmly welcome to participate in the daily tasks with the Maasai
Olpul- A traditional bush camp with the Maasai solders
During your stay you will be invited to attend olpul- meat camp where Maasai solders go to the bush to eat meat to get stronger soldiers. In this Olpul- bush camp Maasai soldiers eat only meat and drink blood and soup. For the guests, we have also vegetarian food options.
This is a very unique opportunity to see Maasai's cultural traditions and the amazing beauty of the real African nature as you will be taken to the deep bush. The night is spent in the bush in tents. There will be Maasai soldiers as watchmen 24/7.
Have a look at the bush camp
Ngorongoro Crater
The Maasai are the indigenous peoples whose traditional lands are Ngorongoro including the Crater where they still herd their cows. On your way back to Arusha from the Maasai family, you will pass by the Ngorongoro Crater where you have many hours to observe elephants, black rhinoceroses, leopards, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, gnu (wildebeests), Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and the densest population of lions in the world. You will experience this amazing Crater with the Maasai who are the best guides to tell you about this unique area and wild game. This is a perfect way to end your stay with the Maasai. After visiting the Crater, you will be driven back to Arusha or Mto Wa Mbu.
Travel basics
Time
Maasai families in Ngorongoro welcome visitors from a year-around.
The standard stay is six days and five night. It is also possible to book longer stays if you wish.
Location
You will be pick-up from Arusha or Mto Wa Mbu. Your Maasai family lives inside the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, but far away from the touristic areas. There are no electricity and no roads so you will be traveling by a Land Rover. The location is extremely beautiful and totally excluded.
Accommodation
Accommodation is in a tent which is set up inside the Maasai boma. All tents have mosquito nets. A toilet is very basic and outdoors. There is no shower, but you will have a bucket of hot water every day to take a bath in trekking style.
Food
To avoid any stomach problems, we have a Maasai chef who will prepare all the food for the guests. The tasty food is made on traditional and local ingredients. All the food is cooked well and we use only boiled water to wash the dishes. You will be served bottled water, tea, and coffee.
Price
Send us a price inquiry. Minimum 2 persons. The price includes own transportation (four-wheel drive), all the gate and camping fees in Ngorongoro & Crater, accommodation in tents including mattresses, food, and drinks (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and you personal Maasai staff (including a chef, guide and driver), bush camp experiences, one night in a lodge while transferring to Ngorongoro, and staying with the extended Maasai family in Ngorongoro.
We donate part of the payment to the Maasai women's community project which is food security. We buy goats for the women's project. With one stay of 2 people, we can buy 6 goats for the Maasai women.
Wi-Fi
Here you can go offline. We are happy to announce this a totally off-grid experience. In case of emergencies, there is a satellite phone. Here you can focus on being in the moment!