One day camel riding safari with Maasai
The Maasai of Mkuru (West Kilimanjaro) provide Camel Ride safaris. Accompanied by Maasai, you ride camels through the beautiful Tanzanian savannah surrounded by wild animals such as antelopes, zebras, giraffes and ostriches. The starting point of the Safari is Mkuru, the day trip includes transfers from and to Moshi. The destination of the one-day ride is a cave that is populated by over 300 baboons every night. The cave is also a place of worship for the Maasai: “Orpul”, a healing ritual which includes the consumption of meat to strengthen body and mind, is regularly held at this place.On the way, you see a dam from German colonial times.The initiative was launched by an international development program as an alternative source of income through community tourism and is now operated solely by the Maasai of Mkuru.The price includes a lunch box. You will leave around 8am from Moshi and will return to Moshi at around 6pm.
A Tanzanian of Somali descendent brought about 20 camels from Somalia to Tanzania in the early 90s, to offer camel rides to tourists there. However, he didn't report the activity as a business and when the Tanzanian authorities subsequently demanded taxes from him, he fled and left the camels on the spot. The tax authority integrated the camels into a poverty reduction program, which has been conducted in Tanzania for several years. In each case, a goat or a cow was given to a needy family, which had to pass this animal to another family, after the first offspring. The camels were used in this program and thereby, along with the local breeds like asses, are now used as transport animals. They tolerate the climate in Tanzania very well, grow healthy and multiply. Approximately 400 camels live in Tanzania, all descended from the 1990 years - from the 20 camels brought from Somalia. An Italian NGO started camel riding as a tourist offer in 2005, with the Maasai in the area of "Mkuru". It is now completely run by the Maasai alone, supported by the "Tanzania Cultural Tourism Programme" of the Tanzania Tourist Board. The Mkuru Camel Group (MCG) today consists of 16 Maasai, who own about 20 camels, including pups and dams, which are not used for riding. You can take a camel safari in northern Tanzania on different routes for between half a day and 7 days. The main objective of the Community project is to improve the living standards of the local Maasai through sustainable, culturally appropriate tourism. Through a "Community fee", which is included in the price, schools are financed to provide scholarships, as well as other improvements made in the living conditions in Mkuru. Starting point of the Mkuru Safari, is a hard-to-reach place right in the Maasai land north of Mount Meru and the Arusha National Park.