Experience · Ngorongoro highlands · Culture & food
Maasai Village Visit
The Maasai have grazed their cattle across these highlands for centuries, and still share the Ngorongoro Conservation Area with its wildlife. A visit to a boma, a family homestead, offers a warm and personal introduction to their way of life.
Enquire about this experienceDuration
About 2 hours
Starts from
Ngorongoro highlands, Tarangire or Mto wa Mbu
Best time
Year-round
Ideal for
Everyone, including families with children
Life in a Maasai boma
A boma is a circle of low houses built by the women from branches, mud and cow dung, surrounded by a thorn fence that protects the cattle at night. Cattle are at the heart of Maasai life, measuring wealth and providing milk and, on special occasions, meat. You are welcomed with a song and the famous adumu, the jumping dance of the young warriors, then invited inside a home to see how families cook, sleep and store food around the central fire. The men show you how to start a fire with sticks, and the women explain the meaning of the colours in their intricate beadwork. Many bomas also run a small school or kindergarten you can visit. We work with community-run bomas where the entrance fee goes to the families, and photographs are welcome once you have asked.
Your experience
How the visit unfolds
Easily added on the way to or from the Ngorongoro Crater or Serengeti.
15:00 · Welcome
Arrive at the boma and meet your host, usually a son of the elder.
15:15 · Song and dance
Join the welcome song and watch, or try, the adumu jumping dance.
15:45 · Inside a home
See how a Maasai house is built and how family life works around the fire.
16:15 · Cattle and fire-making
Learn about the herd and make fire the traditional way.
16:45 · Beadwork and school
Hear the meaning behind the beadwork and visit the boma school if open.
17:15 · Farewell
Continue to your lodge for the evening.
Included
— Community entrance fee
— English-speaking Maasai host
— Transport with your safari guide
Not included
— Beadwork and crafts (optional)
— Donations to the school (optional)
— Tips
Book this experience
Tell us where you would like to fit a Maasai visit into your safari and we will arrange it with a community boma.
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