Ngorongoro Forest Tented Lodge

Whether the great migrations are ongoing or not, the views from Ngorongoro's crater rim are tremendous and the wildlife down in the centre so close it’s nearly unreal. To combine watching with walks, climb the Olmoti volcano two hours’ drive away, or hike down the smaller Empakaai crater (two and a half hours) ending up among flapping meadows of pink flamingos at the lake. Lake Manyara National Park, half an hour away, makes a good intro to Africa’s wilderness: though compact, its diverse bush plains, baobab-dotted crags and hot springs make a haven for pelicans and yellow-billed storks as well as some dangerously talented tree-climbing lions. Take a boat cruise or a canoe safari and you might glide past hippos and crocs as well. Humans are the main interest at Lake Eyasi (an hour and 20 minutes): the Tindiga and Hadzabe bushmen live a hunter gatherer lifestyle unchanged for aeons, but welcome visitors from the modern world who come to see the tribespeople gathering honey, hunting with handmade weapons and performing dances (almost) as old as the hills. To head further back into the human past, make the hour and half trip to Olduvai Gorge and its museum: see where the earliest evidence of human life and toolmaking was unearthed amid an impressive ravine.