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National Parks of Tanzania - Safaris in Tanzania, Northern Circuit, Southern
Circuit, Tanzania map, map of Tanzania, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Lake
Manyara, Tarangire, Selous, Grumeti
TANZANIA
NATIONAL PARKS
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TANZANIA
Tanzania is the largest country in Eastern Africa, and has an area of
937.062 Sq Km. Tanzania is home to one of Africa’s most magnificent game
reserve and fabulous National Parks. The country is famously known as the
“Cradle of mankind” for it is in Olduvai Gorge where the remains of Homo
Habilis was found. It’s a multi ethnic state with a great variety of
languages in the country and the main ones being English and Swahili.
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TANZANIA NATIONAL PARKS
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NGORONGORO CRATER
The famous Ngorongoro Crater is a World
Heritage Site situated at the eastern edge of the Serengeti in northern
Tanzania. The crater is the largest unbroken ancient caldera in the
world. Nearly three million years old, the once-volcanic Ngorongoro is
now considered “Africa’s Garden of Eden” – a haven for thousands of wild
game, including lions, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, rhinos, Thomson’s
gazelles and buffaloes.
- Called the eighth wonder of the world and
stretching across some 8,300 sq km, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in
northern Tanzania boasts a blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and
archaeology that is unsurpassed in Africa. The volcanoes, grasslands,
waterfalls and mountain forests are home to an abundance of animals and
to the Maasai.
Ngorongoro Crater is one of the world's greatest natural spectacles, its
magical setting and abundant wildlife never fail to enthral visitors. It
borders the Serengeti National Park to the north and west. A few hours
drive to the east takes you to the town of Arusha which nestles at the
foot of Mount Meru, within view of Mount Kilimanjaro. Arusha is known as
the gateway to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the Northern Parks.
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SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
- xSerengeti National Park
A million wildebeest... each one driven by the same ancient rhythm,
fulfilling its instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life: a
frenzied three-week bout of territorial conquests and mating;
survival of the fittest as 40km (25 mile) long columns plunge
through crocodile-infested waters on the annual exodus north;
replenishing the species in a brief population explosion that
produces more than 8,000 calves daily before the 1,000 km (600 mile)
pilgrimage begins again.
Tanzania's oldest and most popular national park, also a world
heritage site and recently proclaimed a 7th world wide wonder, the
Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million
hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000
Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet
even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the
most scintillating game-viewing in Africa: great herds of buffalo,
smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands
of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.
The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest
park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain
grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the
Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the
southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal
species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more
elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous aardwolf to
the beautiful serval cat.
But there is more to Serengeti than large mammals. Gaudy agama
lizards and rock hyraxes scuffle around the surfaces of the park’s
isolated granite koppies. A full 100 varieties of dung beetle have
been recorded, as have 500-plus bird species, ranging from the
outsized ostrich and bizarre secretary bird of the open grassland,
to the black eagles that soar effortlessly above the Lobo Hills.
As enduring as the game-viewing is the liberating sense of space
that characterises the Serengeti Plains, stretching across sunburnt
savannah to a shimmering golden horizon at the end of the earth.
Yet, after the rains, this golden expanse of grass is transformed
into an endless green carpet flecked with wildflowers. And there are
also wooded hills and towering termite mounds, rivers lined with fig
trees and acacia woodland stained orange by dust.
Popular the Serengeti might be, but it remains so vast that you may
be the only human audience when a pride of lions masterminds a
siege, focussed unswervingly on its next meal.
About Serengeti
Size: 14,763 sq km (5,700 sq miles).
Location: 335km (208 miles) from Arusha, stretching north to Kenya
and bordering Lake Victoria to the west.
Getting there
Scheduled and charter flights from Arusha, Lake Manyara and Mwanza.
Drive from Arusha, Lake Manyara, Tarangire or Ngorongoro Crater.
What to do
Hot air balloon safaris, walking safari, picnicking, game drives,
bush lunch/dinner can be arranged with hotels/tour operators. Maasai
rock paintings and musical rocks.
Visit neighbouring Ngorongoro Crater, Olduvai Gorge, Ol Doinyo
Lengai volcano and Lake Natron's flamingos.
When to go
To follow the wildebeest migration, December-July. To see predators,
June-October.
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LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
- Stretching for 50km along the base of the
rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a
scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the
loveliest I had seen in Africa”.
The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual
microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience.
From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush
jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops
lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly
between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily
through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk
cacophonously in the high canopy.
Contrasting with the intimacy of the forest is the grassy floodplain
and its expansive views eastward, across the alkaline lake, to the
jagged blue volcanic peaks that rise from the endless Maasai
Steppes. Large buffalo, wildebeest and zebra herds congregate on
these grassy plains, as do giraffes – some so dark in coloration
that they appear to be black from a distance.
Inland of the floodplain, a narrow belt of acacia woodland is the
favoured haunt of Manyara’s legendary tree-climbing lions and
impressively tusked elephants. Squadrons of banded mongoose dart
between the acacias, while the diminutive Kirk’s dik-dik forages in
their shade. Pairs of klipspringer are often seen silhouetted on the
rocks above a field of searing hot springs that steams and bubbles
adjacent to the lakeshore in the far south of the park.
Manyara provides the perfect introduction to Tanzania’s birdlife.
More than 400 species have been recorded, and even a first-time
visitor to Africa might reasonably expect to observe 100 of these in
one day. Highlights include thousands of pink-hued flamingos on
their perpetual migration, as well as other large waterbirds such as
pelicans, cormorants and storks.
- About Lake
Manyara National Park
Size: 330 sq km (127 sq miles), of which up to 200 sq km (77 sq
miles) is lake when water levels are high.
Location: In northern Tanzania. The entrance gate lies 1.5 hours
(126km/80 miles) west of Arusha along a newly surfaced road, close
to the ethnically diverse market town of Mto wa Mbu.
Getting there
By road, charter or scheduled flight from Arusha, en route to
Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.
What to do
Game drives, night game drives, canoeing when the water levels is
sufficiently high.
Cultural tours, picnicking, bush lunch/dinner, mountain bike tours,
abseiling and forest walks on the escarpment outside the park.
When to go
Dry season (July-October) for large mammals;
Wet season (November-June) for bird watching, the waterfalls and
canoeing.-
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TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
- The fierce sun
sucks the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red,
the withered grass as brittle as straw. The Tarangire River has
shrivelled to a shadow of its wet season self. But it is choked with
wildlife. Thirsty nomads have wandered hundreds of parched
kilometres knowing that here, always, there is water.
Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for
underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo,
impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons.
It's the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti
ecosystem - a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in
Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared
oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.
During the rainy season, the seasonal visitors scatter over a 20,000
sq km (12,500 sq miles) range until they exhaust the green plains
and the river calls once more. But Tarangire's mobs of elephant are
easily encountered, wet or dry.
The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 550 bird
varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the
world.
On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird;
the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world's largest bird; and small
parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys.
More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks
of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the
somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all
endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.
Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the
endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which
draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting.
Tarangire's pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards,
lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree
disguises the twitch of a tail.
- Tarangire
National Park
Size: 2850 sq km (1,096 sq miles).
Location: 118 km (75 miles) southwest of Arusha.
Getting there
Easy drive from Arusha or Lake Manyara following a surfaced road to
within 7km (four miles) of the main entrance gate; can continue on
to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.
Charter flights from Arusha and the Serengeti.
What to do
Guided walking safaris.
Day trips to Maasai and Barabaig villages, as well as to the
hundreds of ancient rock paintings in the vicinity of Kolo on the
Dodoma Road.
When to go
Year round but dry season (June - September) for sheer numbers of
animals.
ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
- The closest national park to Arusha town –
northern Tanzania’s safari capital – Arusha National Park is a
multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safarigoers, despite
offering the opportunity to explore a beguiling diversity of
habitats within a few hours.
The entrance gate leads into shadowy montane forest inhabited by
inquisitive blue monkeys and colourful turacos and trogons – the
only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic
black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of the
forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep, rocky
cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor dotted with herds of buffalo and
warthog.
Further north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty of
the Momela Lakes, each one a different hue of green or blue. Their
shallows sometimes tinged pink with thousands of flamingos, the
lakes support a rich selection of resident and migrant waterfowl,
and shaggy waterbucks display their large lyre-shaped horns on the
watery fringes. Giraffes glide across the grassy hills, between
grazing zebra herds, while pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik dart into
scrubby bush like overgrown hares on spindly legs.
Although elephants are uncommon in Arusha National Park, and lions
absent altogether, leopards and spotted hyenas may be seen slinking
around in the early morning and late afternoon. It is also at dusk
and dawn that the veil of cloud on the eastern horizon is most
likely to clear, revealing the majestic snow-capped peaks of
Kilimanjaro, only 50km (30 miles) distant.
But it is Kilimanjaro’s unassuming cousin, Mount Meru - the fifth
highest in Africa at 4,566 metres (14,990 feet) – that dominates the
park’s horizon. Its peaks and eastern footslopes protected within
the national park, Meru offers unparalleled views of its famous
neighbour, while also forming a rewarding hiking destination in its
own right.
Passing first through wooded savannah where buffalos and giraffes
are frequently encountered, the ascent of Meru leads into forests
aflame with red-hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before
reaching high open heath spiked with giant lobelias. Everlasting
flowers cling to the alpine desert, as delicately-hoofed
klipspringers mark the hike’s progress. Astride the craggy summit,
Kilimanjaro stands unveiled, blushing in the sunrise.
About Arusha National Park
Size: 552 sq km 212 sq miles).
Location: Northern Tanzania, northeast of Arusha town..
Getting there
An easy 40-minute drive from Arusha. Approximately 60 km (35 miles)
from Kilimanjaro International Airport. The lakes, forest and
Ngurdoto Crater can all be visited in the course of a half-day
outing at the beginning or end of an extended northern safari.
NOTE: Mountain Climbing Permits duration time is 12 HOURS.
What to do
Forest walks, numerous picnic sites;
three- or four-day Mt Meru climb - good acclimatisation for
Kilimanjaro.
When to go
To climb Mt Meru, June-February although it may rain in November.
Best views of Kilimanjaro December-February
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National Parks of Tanzania - Safaris in Tanzania, Northern Circuit, Southern
Circuit, Tanzania map, map of Tanzania, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti, Lake
Manyara, Tarangire, Selous, Grumeti
Tanzania Safaris:
Tanzania Safaris Safaris in Tanzania Best of Tanzania Wildebeest Migration
in Tanzania
Tanzania, truly, is a safari destination without peer. The statistics speak
for themselves: an unparalleled one-quarter of its surface area has been set
aside for conservation purposes, with the world-renowned Serengeti National
Park and incomprehensibly vast Selous Game Reserve heading a rich mosaic of
protected areas that collectively harbour an estimated 20 percent of
Africa’s large mammal population.
Tanzania offers safari destinations such as the legendary Serengeti Plains,
the geological marvel that is the Ngorongoro Crater and magnificent Mount
Kilimanjaro. On top of all this, it hosts the greatest show on earth - the
Annual Wildebeest Migration.
A Tanzania Safari provides you with an ultimate Tanzanian
holiday safari tour. Experience Tanzania's rich diversity of culture and wildlife.
Whether you decide upon: a luxury lodge safari to Ngorongoro Crater, a
camping adventure safari in Central Selous, climbing Tanzania's Mount
Kilimanjaro, relaxing on superb Zanzibar Beaches, or a hot air balloon
Serengeti Safari, you will have an unforgettable experience.
And yet there is more to Tanzania than just
safaris. There is Mount Kilimanjaro and Meru, respectively the highest and
fifth-highest peaks on the continent. And Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika and
Nyasa, the three largest freshwater bodies in Africa. Then, of course, there
is the magical ‘spice island’ of Zanzibar, the highlight of a vast Indian
Ocean coastline studded with postcard-perfect beaches, stunning offshore
diving sites, and mysterious mediaeval ruins.
Rising from the sandy shores of Lake Tanganyika, the forested Gombe Stream
and Mahale Mountains National Parks vie with each other as the best place in
the world to track wild chimpanzees. Closer to the coast, the isolated
massifs of the underpublicised Eastern Arc Mountains have been dubbed the
‘African Galapagos’ in recognition of their wealth of endemic plants and
animals. And Tanzania’s daunting natural variety is mirrored by a cultural
diversity embracing 120 distinct tribes: from the iconic Maasai pastoralists
of the Rift Valley, to the Arab-influenced Swahili of the coast, to the
Hadzabe hunter-gatherers of Lake Eyasi.
Northern Circuit Tour starting from Arusha, the Tanzanian safari capital featuring:
-Ngorongoro Crater
-Tarangire National Park
-Lake Manyara National Park
-Serengeti National Park
-Arusha National Park.
-Mt Kilimanjaro Climbing
-Moun Meru Climbing
Southern safari Circuit tour starting from Dar- es- salaam features Mikumi National Park,
Udzungwa Mountains National Park, Ruaha National Park and Selous Game Reserve.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Size: 1,990 sq km (770 sq miles).
Location: Five hours (350 km/215 miles) from Dar es Salaam; 65 kms (40
miles) southwest of Mikumi.
Getting there
Drive from Dar es Salaam or Mikumi National Park.
What to do
From a two-hour hike to the waterfall to camping safaris.
Combine with nearby Mikumi or en route to Ruaha.
When to go
Possible year round although slippery in the rains.
The dry season is June-October before the short rains but be prepared for
rain anytime.
Accommodation
Camping inside the park.
Bring all food and supplies.
Two modest but comfortable lodges with en-suite rooms within 1km of the park
entrance.
Activities: Bird watching, Cultural Tours, Game
Drives, Game Viewing, Wildlife Viewing The safari starts by taking you to
northern Kenya across the equator to Samburu National Reserve, a beautiful
and game abundant park home to rarely found species such as the Beisa Oryx,
Grevy's zebra, blue-necked Somali
Ostrich and reticulated giraffe. The safari then heads down to the floor of
the Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park, world famous bird sanctuary
before proceeding to Masai
Mara Game Reserve, Kenya's most popular game sanctuary where you have the
best opportunity of spotting the "Big Five" - Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino
and Elephant. Also Voted 7th Wonder of the world. (Cross Masai Mara to
Tanzania)
Without coming back to Nairobi, Tanzania will include a brief visit of Ol
duvai Gorge, more accurately called Olduvai after the wild.
Sisal in the area, which is the site of some of the most important fossil.
Hominid finds of all time - "Nutcracker Man" or Australopithecus boisei who
lived 1.75 million years ago. Then a visit to Ngorongoro crater another
wonder of the world and Heritage site then to Zanzibar for a beach
relaxation.
Serengeti is Tanzania largest and most famous national park with the
wildebeest migration expected in December and May, Tree climbing lions and
birdlife in Manyara and finally a tour to the worlds most visited
destination (Ngorongoro) famous for high wildlife concentration and breath
taking sceneries-more days spent trailing with migration in Serengeti.
