Horseback riding in Tanzania. How Tanzania Became the Inspiration for Equitours

Tanzania’s Mt. Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain and is surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful and spectacular landscape with teeming wildlife.  The family farm of Mel Fox, wife of Bayard who founded Equitours, was located on the slopes of this mountain and that is where she was raised as a child.  At an early age she began riding her horse on the farm and in the neighboring forest.  When she married Bayard and moved to their Wyoming ranch in 1979 she had the idea of taking guests during the winter on riding safaris in Africa when the dude ranch was closed. It proved to be a great success.  Now Equitours promotes rides in many parts of the world including Tanzania, but that was how it began.

Tanzania was a British protectorate which was given independence in 1961 as Tanganyika and combined with the island of Zanzibar, formerly an Arab sultanate, in 1964 to become Tanzania.  The country is twice the size of California and incudes a very diverse group of languages and ethnicities from Masai tribesmen in the highlands to Arabs in Zanzibar.  Despite the diversity of the population, it has one of the most stable democracies in Africa.  It also has some of the best and most abundant wildlife in the world and almost half the country has been set aside for national parks or game reserves.

The Serengeti in northwest Tanzania is famous for the largest wildlife migration in the modern world when nearly a million wildebeest plus a 500 hundred thousand zebra with attendant predators travel between Tanzania and Kenya’s Masai Mara.   The Serengeti Ride will take you onto remote, uninhabited parts of the vast expanse of the Serengeti Plain in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area where the herds calve on the mineral rich plains. Viewing these huge numbers of animals as far as the eye can see is an unforgettable experience.  You can also observe this unique migration on Kenya’s Masai Mara side from July to October.

Equitours also offers the Kilimanjaro Ride, a marvelous riding safari between the base of two great extinct volcanoes: Kilimanjaro at over 19,000 ft. and Mt. Meru at nearly 15,000.  Meru was once the taller of the two, but the volcano collapsed, leaving a caldera over two miles across.  The ride begins in Arusha National Park and around the base of Mt. Meru, offering a great diversity of wildlife and landscape.

If you really want to get off the beaten path, there is a seasonal ride to the remote soda lake, Natron.  The ride begins at the foot of Ol Donyo Lengai, the Masai holy mountain, and during the trip you will come in contact with members of this unspoiled tribe which has retained much of its ancient culture.

  Peak Season

February, May, June, July , August, September, October


  Timezone in Tanzania

East Africa Time (GMT+3)


  International Airports

Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) in Arusha


Climate in Tanzania

Tanzania lies just south of the equator and on the whole enjoys a tropical climate. There are two rainy seasons, the short and the long rains. The long rains called Masika fall from mid March to May, and the shorter rains called Mvuli fall from November to mid January. The cooler climate is during the dry season and lasts from May to October.

  Average Temperature

85 °F » 45 °F


 

Browse 5 Trips in the destination Tanzania

All tours
Save to Favorites

Serengeti Migration Ride

This safari explores the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of the wider Serengeti Ecosystem. It is an incredible opportunity to indulge in your sense of adventure and get truly off the... Read more

Save to Favorites

Kilimanjaro Ride

This horseback riding vacation in Tanzania ventures into prime elephant habitat, allowing you to and experience the excitement of horseback riding among these magnificent creatures. You have opportunities to... Read more

Loading Trips...

My horse had a good strong walk, was comfortable and fit: perfect. Long gallops were a blast. While camping, the Milky way overhead was a halo on our piece of heaven. I wouldn't change a single moment of our adventure.

George Richardson, 2014

Related Articles

Read articles related to Tanzania

Travel Virtually to the Serengeti

Serengeti Migration Ride, February 2020

The Serengeti by Horseback

Diary from the Kilimanjaro Safari

Loading Articles...