Northern Parks
Serengeti
Renowned for its wildebeest migration and plentiful lions, the Serengeti is undoubtedly a strong contender for Africa’s finest game-viewing destination.
https://www.bradtguides.com/destinations/africa/tanzania/serengeti-national-park/
The great wildebeest migration passes through the Serengeti between December and April. Tanzania’s oldest, largest and most famous national park, the 14,763km² Serengeti is the centrepiece of a twice-larger ecosystem that also incorporates the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, several smaller Tanzanian wildlife reserves, and the Maasai Mara in neighbouring Kenya.
Home to unusually dense populations of lions and other predators, the Serengeti is probably the leading contender for the accolade of Africa’s finest game-viewing destination, renowned above all for the annual migration of millions of wildebeest and other ungulates across its vast plains. And while sceptics might fear that such a heavily hyped icon is unlikely to match expectations, our experience over more than a dozen safaris is that the Serengeti seldom disappoints: the variety and volume of its wildlife truly is second to none, as is the liberating sense of space attached to exploring its immense plains.
The Serengeti speaks for itself and with good reason not only the migration of over 1 million wildebeest through its plains and woodlands but also unique landscapes and other spectacular wildlife. Maasai people called this park 'Siringet', meaning endless plains
The Serengeti is home to the world’s largest populations of Wildebeest, Zebra, Cape Eland, Lion, Cheetah, Hyena and Gazelles. The scenic beauty of the sky with cool nights and warm days makes your visit to this remaining home for great migration of large mammals incredible!
Road
Accessed from all towns and cities to the present entry or exit points/gates namely Naabi Hill, Seronera, Ndutu, Kusini, Kirawira, Handajega, Ikoma, Tabora ‘B’, Lamai, Lobo, Ndabaka, Machochwe and Kleins.
Air.
There are all weather airstrips in the centre of the park (Seronera), in the South (Kusini), in the East (Lobo), in the West (Kirawira) and in the North (Kogatende & Lamai). There are scheduled and private charters from Arusha, Mwanza, Kilimanjaro, Musoma, Dar es salaam and Zanzibar.
Attractions
Serengeti National Park, a world-renown, World Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site that has many attractions than any other national park in Africa. The Great Migration, The Big Five, Unique Bird Collections, Endangered Species, Highest concentration of Carnivores and Herbivores, Scenic and Spectacular Landscapes are some of the attractions one will encounter!.
Tourism Activities
Having unparalleled attractions, Serengeti has a number of tourism activities and opportunities for visitors to get the best wildlife experience! Some of these includes Hot Air balloons, Game Drives, Filming and photographic safaris, Walking safaris, Bush meals and Cultural tourism.
Ngorongoro
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most famous sites and is said to have the highest density of wildlife in Africa. Sometimes described as an ‘eighth wonder of the world, the Crater has achieved world renown, attracting an ever-increasing number of visitors each year. You are unlikely to escape other vehicles here, but you are guaranteed great wildlife viewing in a genuinely mind-blowing environment. There is nowhere else in Africa quite like Ngorongoro!
The Ngorongoro Crater is the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Forming a spectacular bowl of about 265 square kilometres, with sides up to 600 metres deep; it is home to approximately 30,000 animals at any one time. The Crater rim is over 2,200 metres high and experiences its own climate. From this high vantage point, it is possible to make out the tiny shapes of animals making their way around the crater floor far below. Swathes of cloud hang around the rocky rim most days of the year and it’s one of the few places in Tanzania where it can get chilly at night.
The crater floor consists of a number of different habitats that include grassland, swamps, forests and Lake Makat (Maasai for ‘salt’) - a central soda lake filled by the Munge River. All these various environments attract wildlife to drink, wallow, graze, hide or climb. Although animals are free to move in and out of this contained environment, the rich volcanic soil, lush forests and spring source lakes on the crater floor (combined with fairly steep crater sides) tend to incline both grazers and predators to remain throughout the year.
Ngorongoro Crater: Wildlife Highlights
Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most likely areas in Tanzania to see the endangered Black Rhino, as a small population is thriving in this idyllic and protected environment. It is currently one of the few areas where they continue to breed in the wild. Your chances of encountering leopards here are also good, and fabulous black-maned lions. Many flamingos are also attracted to the soda waters of Lake Magadi.
Ngorongoro Crater: Maasai village trips
Part of the reason behind the Ngorongoro Conservation Area has been to preserve the environment for the Maasai people who were diverted from the Serengeti Plains. Essentially, nomadic people, build temporary villages in circular homesteads called bomas. There are possibilities to visit a couple of these now, which have been opened up for tourists to explore. Here you can see how the huts are built in a strict pattern of order according to the chronological order of the wives, and experience what it must be like to rely on warmth and energy from a fire burning at the heart of a cattle dung dwelling with no chimney. These proud cattle herding people have a great history as warriors, and even though they are no longer allowed to build villages inside, they continue to herd their cattle into the crater to graze and drink, regardless of the predators nearby.
Tarangire
Tarangire National Park is best known for its density of baobab trees and year-round proliferation of elephants.
https://www.bradtguides.com/destinations/africa/tanzania/tarangire-national-park/
The 2,850km² Tarangire National Park lies at the core of a 20,000km² semi-arid ecosystem that also incorporates several more-or-less contiguous Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) created since 2006 in consultation with local communities.
These are the Randileni WMA to the north, the Levolosi WMA to the northwest, the Burunge WMA running west towards Lake Manyara, and the vast but undeveloped 5,372km² Makame WMA extending southwards across the Maasai Steppes. Inherently drier than the Serengeti, and less well publicised, Tarangire National Park is nevertheless a highly rewarding wildlife destination, especially during the latter half of the year, when it’s a recommended inclusion on any safari itinerary of a week or longer.
The park is best known for its year-round proliferation of elephants, but predators are also well represented, the birdlife is consistently rewarding, and large herds of migrant grazers are drawn to the perennial water of the Tarangire River when other sources dry up.
Lake Manyara
Despite its small size, Lake Manyara is a superb birding reserve, with around 400 species recorded, ranging from flamingos to eagles.
https://www.bradtguides.com/destinations/africa/tanzania/lake-manyara/
A popular first port of call on any northern Tanzanian safari, Lake Manyara National Park is named after its dominant geographic feature, a shallow, alkaline lake set at the base of the tall wooded cliffs of the western Rift Valley Escarpment.
This scenic sanctuary protects the lake’s northwestern shore, along with a diversity of terrestrial habitats that seems truly remarkable considering that water comprised up to twothirds of the park’s surface area of 330km² (prior to the recent incorporation of the largely inaccessible 250km² Marang Forest Reserve).
Lake Manyara National Park has long been touted as the best place in Tanzania to see tree-climbing lions, an accolade that now more accurately belongs to the Serengeti, but more reliable highlights include the large habituated baboon troops, often accompanied by blue monkeys, that inhabit the groundwater forest close to the entrance gate, and a hippo pool that also offers some great aquatic birdwatching.
Only one (very exclusive) permanent lodge stands within the park boundaries, but several decent upmarket lodges run along the escarpment overlooking the lake, while a selection of cheaper lodgings and campsites is centred on the village of Mto wa Mbu near the entrance gate.
Although Manyara and its well-defined game-viewing circuit kick off a high proportion of safaris through northern Tanzania, it gets mixed feedback: some find it rather low-key and boring compared with the Serengeti and Ngorongoro, while others relish the opportunity to see several species that are less common or shyer elsewhere in the region.
Arusha
Coming soon