Tanzania Tours – Serengeti National Park

In the vast plains of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, natures’ mystery power and beauty surround you. It is here that one of earth’s most impressive natural that cycles have played out for eons as hundreds of thousands of hoofed animals, driven by primeval rhythms of survival, move constantly in search of fresh grasslands.

The most famous and numerous, are the wildebeests of which are there some 1.5 million and their annual migration is the Serengeti’s calling card. During the rainy months of January to March, the wildebeest are scattered over the southern section of the Serengeti and western side of Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Most streams dry out quickly when the rains cease, nudging the wildebeest to concentration on the few remaining green areas, and to form thousands-strong herds that by April begin to migrate north- west in Africa in search of food.

The crossing of the crocodile-filled Grumeti River, which runs through the park’s western corridor, usually takes place between late May and early July, and lasts only about a week.

Usually in August they make an even more incredible river crossing while leaving the Serengeti to find water in the Maasai Mara (just over the Kenyan border) before roaming back south in November in anticipation of the rains.

Besides the migrating wildebeest, there are also resident’s populations in the park and you will see these smaller but impressive herds year-round. In February more than 8000 wildebeest calves are born per day, although about 40% of these die before reaching four months old.

Serengeti National Park is also renowned for its predators, especially its lions, hunting alongside the lions are cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, jackals and more. This feast on zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, Topis, elands, hartebeest, impalas, Klipspringers, duikers and so many more.

Activities in Serengeti National Park

Wildlife Game Drives: A wildlife drive in the Serengeti either self-drive, as part of an organized Tanzania safari or as operated by your Serengeti lodge is one of the most enjoyable things you can do in Africa.

Whilst the annual migration is the Serengeti’s most famous attraction, the park is also renowned for its lion, many of which have been fitted with radio-transmitter collars so that their movements may be tracked, and additionally for its wealth of cheetah, zebra, giraffe, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, eland, impala, klipspringer, hippo and warthog.

Exploring the Serengeti’s four major areas including Seronera and the South, Grumeti and Western Corridor, the Central plains and the Northern Serengeti requires careful planning and understanding of what each has to offer and at which time of the year will determine how you experience this wonderful place.

• Seronera and the Southern: Seronera, at the heart of the par and readily accessed from both Arusha and Mwanza, offers almost guaranteed sightings of lions, leopards and cheetahs. However, this abundance comes at a price: you may find yourself observing lions with a pack of 20 vehicles jostling to look at a lion. Southeast of Seronera is a prim base for wildlife watching during December – April wet season, when it is full of wildebeest.

This corner of the Serengeti also has year-round water and a good mix of habitats. Most Seronera Tanzania Serengeti safaris concentrate along the Seronera River, as the trees along the riverbank are home to one of the world’s densest concentration of leopards, while lion sightings are common.

Lion sightings are also plentiful around the Maasai Kopjes, Simba Kopjes, Moru Kopjes, Gol Kopjes, and Barafu Kopjes and around Makoma Hill. The vast plains south of the Seronera River, often known simply as the Serengeti Plains, are particularly good for cheetahs.

• Grumeti and Western Corridor: The wildebeest migration usually passes through Serengeti’s Western Corridor and the contiguous Grumeti Game Reserve, sometimes between late May and early July. While the crossing of the Grumeti River may not rival that of the Mara River further north, it is still one of the migrations’ great spectacles.

During the rest of the year, lions and leopards are prevalent along the forest-fringed Grumeti River, which also has hippos and giant crocodiles. North of the river, try the Kitunge Hills, Ruaha Plain and just about anywhere in the Grumeti Game Reserve, while south concentrate on the Ndabaka Plain, Simiti Hills, Dutwa Plain, Varicho Hills and down to the Mbalageti River.

The Western Serengeti is best accessed from Mwanza, from the Ndabaka gate; count on at least half a day to reach Seronera.

• Central Plains: Except when the migration passes through usually in November and December, this is not the Serengeti’s most prolific corner when it comes to wildlife.

It is a mix of light woodland, acacia thorn and open plains can also be dispiriting during the heat of the day, which given the lack of lodges in the area, is when most people pass through as they travel between the north and south of the Serengeti.

This is also one area of the park experiencing a growing problem with local communities encroaching into the park, with a concomitant effect on wildlife numbers.

In other words, you are more likely to visit here on your way elsewhere, rather than for its own sake. Even so, there are some vistas along this north-south route through the park plus remote, untrammeled feel.

If nothing else, the park’s central area is worth passing through to gain a deeper appreciation of just how vast the Serengeti ecosystem really is.

• Northern Serengeti: Compared with Seronera and the South, the Serengeti’s North receives few visitors. It begins with acacia woodlands, where elephants congregate in the dry season, but north of Lobo is vast open plains. The migration usually passes through the western side during August and September and comes down the eastern flank in November.

Where the park narrows and the Grumeti River crosses the park from east to west, as well as the areas immediately to the north and south of the river, and excellent wildlife regions. Further north, the Bologonga Hills, Bologonga River, Nyamalumbwa Hills and Mara River are all outstanding.

Outside the park, the little visited Ikorongo Game Reserve, which shadows the north-western boundary of the park, is wild and worth visiting.

The Loliondo Game Controlled Area, just outside the Serengeti’s north-eastern boundary, offers the chance for Masai culture activities, walking safaris, night drives and off-road drives. A loop east across Loliondo and then down through the crater highlands or Ngorongoro is a wonderfully remote alternative to driving back down through the park.