Cultural discoveries – Empakaai Cultural Safari

Book your safari: Wildlife of Kenya in 8 days

This exciting and diverse safari takes 8 days on the road – 8 days of getting to know Kenya and watching its amazing wildlife (but it’s guaranteed that you will feel like you’ve been away for longer!). In total you will be in Kenya for 10 days, including the day of your arrival to Kenya and the day of your departure back home.

We book your preferred type of accommodation for you:

Together we will make the right choice of accommodation for you, taking into account your budget and your preferences. Many options are possible in all locations of this trip (and pretty much everywhere in Kenya). You can choose between camping in self-raised tents with public facilities, or spending a night in simple cottages or bandas (traditional houses with a thatched roof), or using comfortable tented camps with private shower and sanitary facilities attached to your tent. Beautiful comfortable hotels are ready for you in Nairobi and top class safari lodges are available in all National Parks in Kenya.

Transport for small groups:

Our safari vehicles are very comfortable for groups of 4-6 friends or family. The cost of renting your safari vehicle, hiring the professional and experienced driver, fuel costs will be shared by all travellers in your group.

No set departure dates! Travel when it suits you best.

Contact us as early as you approximately know your plan: for how many days you are available, how many people you travel with and when you plan to come. The earlier we start planning together with you, the better for availability of any additional options, especially during the popular months of July, August and December.

Here is the trip itinerary day-by-day:

Arrival Day:

Your flight arrival to Kenya!
I meet you at Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Welcome to Kenya!
Night in Nairobi (after maybe some sightseeing in the city, depending on your arrival time).

Day 1:

Nairobi: door to East African wildlife:

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust: elephant orphanage
Karen Blixen House: Out of Africa
Afternoon game drive in Nairobi National Park
Dinner and night in Nairobi

David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and their amazing elephant orphanage

It’s feeding time at Giraffe’s center in Nairobi

Traditional atmosphere of good old days at Karen Blixen’s

Touch the history in Nairobi’s Karen Blixen House

Day 2:

Nairobi – Maasai Mara:

Scenic drive through Great Rift Valley to the famous and beautiful Maasai Mara National Reserve
Photostops and lunch
Sunset dinner and night in Maasai Mara

Day 3:

Maasai Mara National Reserve:

Early morning start (optional – hot air balloon starting before sunrise)
Game drive: magnificent landscapes and surprising wildlife. Picnic lunch
Campfire dinner and night in Maasai Mara

Day 4:

Maasai Mara – Lake Naivasha:

Visit to Maasai village after breakfast
Drive to the highest lake of Great Rift Valley – beautiful Lake Naivasha
Dinner and night on Lake Naivasha shores.

Day 5:

Lake Naivasha and Mount Longonot:

Hike to Mount Longonot green crater
Lunch in Naivasha town
Boat trip to Crescent Island

Can’t miss majestic pelicans while birdwatching on Lake Naivasha

Day 6:

Lake Naivasha to Ol Pejeta:

Scenic drive towards Mount Kenya
Lunch next to Thomson Falls
Sunset dinner and night at Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Day 7:

Ol Pejeta Conservancy:

Game drive with Mount Kenya views
Rhino sanctuary visit and story of northern white rhinos
Chimpanzee center experience (or horseback riding)

Chimpanzees recover and learn to live in wilderness here

Day 8:

Ol Pejeta to Nairobi:

Goodbyes to Mount Kenya
Photostops and lunch with a view
Dinner in Nairobi

Departure day:

Depending on your flight departure time, there is maybe time to visit:

Nairobi National Park
Giraffe center
Nairobi National Museum

Narobi National Park lets you experience wildlife while you are close to the big city

Transfer to Nairobi International Airport and your flight back home. See you back soon in your new Africa home!

Drop us an email on Empakaai.cultural.safari@gmail.com – we always listen carefully to your wishes and make suggestions to create a perfect travel plan.

On our instagram page @empakaai_cultural_safari you will find further inspiration and information about places to visit in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Tanzania, off the beaten path – Empakaai Crater

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to the world famous Ngorongoro crater, as well as many other beautiful places. The entire Conservation Area extends to the borders of Serengeti National Park on the west, reaches Lake Eyasi on the south and on the northern side it is crowned by the sacred mountain of Maasai, Ol Doinyo Lengai.

Very close to Oldoinyo Lengai the mother nature created yet another wonder. Empakaai Crater is a volcanic crater, so with its rich soils it gives life to lush green vegetation around its rim and on its slopes. At the bottom of the Empakaai Crater lies a beautiful lake that is shaped as a perfect oval almost the entire year round. The water here is rich in salt and minerals, and therefore cannot be used by humans. But it is a perfectly fine environment for flamingos and for buffaloes, who come to treat themselves to some grass and a lick of salt here.

There are Maasai villages on both sides of the Empakaai Crater. Maasai people cross by foot from one side to the other, on market days or when visiting family. Their paths are carved into the landscape, as they descend to the bottom, walk around the lake and ascend on the other side.

How do we reach Empakaai Crater?

The best way is to depart in the morning, not later than 8am, from a public campsite or a lodge next to Ngorongoro crater. We will make a short visit to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Headquarters to arrange our permits. And then we will start driving past the magnificent Ngorongoro crater, further north. On our way we will admire beautiful open valleys surrounded by green mountains. We will pass by traditional Maasai villages and see their cattle grazing on immense land, sometimes next to zebra. In one of the villages a local ranger will be waiting for us.

As we move closer to the Empakaai Crater, the open valleys will change into thick bush. And sometimes our vehicle will have to stop and wait until a herd of Maasai cows passes through and clears the way for us to continue our journey.

It takes about 50 km from the Ngorongoro Conservation Area headquarters to reach Empakaai Crater. Once arrived to the place where one of Maasai trails start, we will begin a descent of an overwhelming beauty, following the lead of the local Maasai ranger.

In the morning there will be clouds sitting along the crater rim. As we make our way down to the Empakaai Lake, the skies will be clearing. If we continue in a relaxed but steady pace, then it will be lunchtime by the time we are at the bottom. A good opportunity to enjoy a quick lunch and make a short walk along the lake line. Black sand, white salt, pink flamingos, green forest, blue skies, perfect oval of the lake – this is the world how it was created.

Empakaai Crater is a perfect starting point for a three days hiking trip to Oldoinyo Lengai. We will follow the Maasai trails and cross the Empakaai Crater, and from there continue to the sacred Oldoinyo Lengai.

We invite you to make this exciting trip with Empakaai Cultural Safari. After all, we chose to be named after the Empakaai Crater! So this place is very special for us and we are very proud to guide our guests there.

Want to start planning your trip to Empakaai Crater or to Oldoinyo Lengai? Just contact us on empakaai.cultural.safari@gmail.com

And on our Instagram account @empakaai_cultural_safari you will see more photos featuring Empakaai Crater. We appreciate your likes and follows 😉

Trip feedback: Our mentor in Africa

We are very thankful for this positive review to our guests Sara and Alberto, who traveled with us on a private trip in October 2016.

Thank you dear Sara and Alberto, it was a pleasure to travel with you, as you’ve been open, flexible and enjoying every moment!

“Hello everybody!

We wanted to contribute our part to a great company and share our opinion with people who are thinking about making a trip to Kenya and Tanzania.

We returned two weeks ago after spending 19 days in Kenya and Tanzania. Before doing this trip we were going crazy trying to find something that would fit our needs. Now we say – we have not only found it, but we are totally delighted, with the trip, with the experience and above all with people whom we met. Thanks to them we have been able to live this adventure.

It began with Olena as we contacted her before the trip. She explained every detail, responded instantly and began to make this a reality. Titus our driver and guide in Kenya, Stanley and Costa, our guide and cook in Tanzania, each and every one of them made our trip an unforgettable experience. And we will never forget the great Moses, our mentor in Africa. He has been our guide, our teacher. He was not afraid to roll up his sleeves and help us, with border procedures, maintaining our security, or making hundreds of miles to take us to the airport and say goodbye to us. We can only be very grateful.

For people who are thinking of traveling to these countries – first we thought to do the trip by ourselves, but after our experience we know that this was the best way. Empakaai Cultural Safari www.empakaaiculturalsafari.com is a small company. Moses is in charge of getting everything done with the help of people we mentioned. Our trip had a very tight price, which was important for us, and we got it adapted to our needs, itineraries, accommodations, etc.

All in all our trip exceeded our expectations. We learned about the culture, mixed with people and got to know these two great countries.

Sara and Alberto”

The original text is posted on the travel forum Los Viajeros (in Spanish language):

Empakaai cultural safari: Kenia, Tanzania, Zanzíbar

And here is the trip itinerary of Sara and Alberto:

Day 1: Nairobi to Lake Nakuru

Day 2: Lake Nakuru to Maasai Mara

Day 3 and Day 4: Maasai Mara

Day 5: Maasai Mara to Lake Naivasha

Day 6: Lake Naivasha to Amboseli

Day 7: Amboseli

Day 8: Amboseli (Kenya) to Karatu (Tanzania)

Day 9: Karatu to Serengeti

Day 10: Serengeti

Day 11: Serengeti to Ngorongoro

Day 12: Ngorongoro to Mto Wa Mbu

Day 13: Mto Wa Mbu – Arusha – Zanzibar

Day 14 – Day 19: Zanzibar

Want to start planning your own adventure to Africa, but don’t know where to start? Just contact us on empakaai.cultural.safari@gmail.com

And on our Instagram account you will always see fresh photo impressions from our recent trips: animals of Africa, landscapes, places to visit, accommodations, activities and special moments! Our Instagram: empakaai_cultural_safari

Trip feedback: Kenya and Tanzania, 15 days

Happy to be back and let everyone know that our adventure in Kenya and Tanzania was excellent! And here is a letter from our friend Olena (instagram: @olena.oz) who was with us on the journey:

“A week ago we were in Nairobi, boarding our plane back to Amsterdam. They never ask at the customs if you are carrying some Africa back home with you (in your heart) – though I’m certain that everyone does.

If they asked, I’d tell them that my husband Henk has certainly kept some Lake Naivasha of Kenya, and some Karatu of Tanzania, in his heart and in his feelings. And maybe other places too, he just has not confessed yet. And that I am bringing back the bright buzz of Lake Victoria, the stunning calmness of Empakaai Crater, the “frozen-in-time” beauty of Amboseli crowned by Mount Kilimanjaro.

And then, our minds did not even start processing what had actually overcome us on this journey. Technically speaking, we did about 3,000 km in 2 weeks, including a couple of hundred km on “African massage” roads, 5 national parks, two country border crossings, one camping in the bush next to grazing wild buffalo, one dancing together with Maasai, and I can continue on and on for a long time….

A trip like this can only be enjoyable if someone is constantly working on the background to keep all things impeccably organized and delivered. Our luck is that we know Empakaai Cultural Safari run by the best trip leader in East Africa. He is very professional and he greatly enjoys his work. We can never thank you enough, Moses.

Ashe naleng for your friendship, positive mindset, sense of humor, for having friends in the most remote spots of Kenya and Tanzania, for your patience with us who were constantly showing up late for breakfast and (here comes the most challenging one!) for teaching Henk to embrace the concept of “pole pole” (“no hurry”).

Asante sana for your endless love for your land and culture. You know, those precious pieces of Africa that we took away in our hearts, they made us more enriched and wise people. They will also lead our paths back to your beautiful land very soon.

Still so many places in Africa waiting to be discovered with Empakaai Cultural Safari!”

Photo impressions: visiting a traditional Maasai village in Kenya

We are happy to let you see some photo impressions from the visit to a Maasai village, situated next to the Maasai Mara National Park in Kenya.

These fantastic photos were taken by our guest Gigi and are published here with her permission. Please visit, like and follow her amazing Instagram gallery @ggluna79

We visited this village during our trip in September 2015. The men showed us their traditional dance and welcomed men guests to participate in the traditional jump contest! We were also lucky to see many Maasai traditions and some elements of their life that have not changed for many years. Enjoy the photos and BIG THANKS again to Gigi (@ggluna79 on Instagram)

Cows and goats are the most precious possessions of Maasai people

Maasai men dressed in their colorful shukka's — Maasai men dressed in their colorful shukka’s

The group of Maasai men is preparing to show their famous jump dance

A traditional Maasai dance is all about jumping as high as possible

Maasai men compete in jumping during their dance

Maasai keep their goats and cows inside the village during the night

Traditional skills of Maasai include making fire just using wood

Maasai can make fire just using wood and grass

Fire making skills passed from generation to generation by Maasai

Would you like to visit a Maasai village in Kenya? With Empakaai Cultural Safari you will be guided by a professional Maasai guide who speaks Maa. You will be able to communicate with local people and enjoy a well organized and enriching experience.

Contact us at empakaai.cultural.safari@gmail.com to book your next holiday in Africa. We guarantee to deliver you a trip of your dreams!