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| Lion stalking a prey in Serengeti National Park. |
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti is one of the world's most famous parks. It is situated between Ngorongoro
and Lake Victoria in northern Tanzania, and is the country's second-largest park. As
to wildlife, Serengeti is the best park in Tanzania.
Vast grass plains dominate the south, while woodlands broken by hills and rivers cover
much of the north. Serengeti is generally rich in species, including elephants, African
buffalos and giraffes, and thereto has good populations of lions, cheetahs and leopards.
Hippos and crocodiles inhabit the rivers. There are also rhinos, although the population
is small and mainly restricted to one area, making Serengeti a Big Five park. Huge herds
of wildebeest and zebras, i.e. the migration, can be seen from November/December to
June.
Camps and lodges are found in many parts of Serengeti. A normal stay is 2 or 3 nights.
The area is both large and good enough for even longer stays by safari-goers that want
to focus on Serengeti.
Because of the large size of the park, you may want to choose camps/lodges depending
on the season you're going there, to stay in an area where much wildlife can be expected
at that time.
Central Serengeti is 6-7 hours by road or 1 hour by air from Arusha, and 3-4 hours by
road or 0.5 hours by air from the Ngorongoro Crater. The first half of the road is good
tarmac, while the other half is poor bush road.
More about Serengeti
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| Female rhino and her calf in the Ngorongoro Crater. |
The Ngorongoro Crater
The Ngorongoro Crater is one of the most striking natural formations to be seen. The
crater, 20 km/12 mi wide, is the remains from a high volcano that eventually collapsed,
leaving a 600 m/2,000 ft deep crater. Today, large numbers of mammals live on the crater
floor. These include many species of herbivores, for example elephants, rhinos and gazelles,
and a large predator population, including lions, cheetahs, hyaenas, jackals and others.
There is also a small population of leopards, making the Ngorongoro Crater a Big Five
area.
Lodges on the crater rim offer accommodation, wonderful views, and close access for
game viewing on the crater floor. A normal stay is 1 or 2 nights.
The crater is part of a large park called Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The highlands
surrounding the crater are good areas for trekking. In the west, on the border to Serengeti,
is Lake Ndutu, an area that can be very good for seeing cats and the migration from
January to March.
The Ngorongoro Crater is 3-4 hours by road or 0.5 hours by air from Arusha. Most of
the road is good tarmac, but the roads on the crater rim and into the crater are poor
bush roads. The roads from the crater towards Serengeti are poor bush roads.
More about Ngorongoro
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| Giraffes in Lake Manyara National Park. |
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara is a soda lake on the floor of the Great Rift Valley, just below the western
rift escarpment. It is surrounded by a national park that protects the lake, grass plains,
acacia woodlands, and a dense jungle-style groundwater forest. The lake itself attracts
many flamingos, pelicans and other birds, while the habitats on land are home to a variety
of mammals, including elephants (the park has the highest elephant density in Tanzania),
giraffes, impalas, African buffalos, lions and many baboons.
Several lodges and camps are found around the northern tip of Lake Manyara, and one
to the very south, inside the park. A normal stay is 1 night. The national park is fairly
small, though, and it is possible to visit the park en route to the Ngorongoro Crater.
Lake Manyara is 2 hours by good tarmac road or less than 0.5 hours by air from Arusha.
More about Lake Manyara
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| Elephants in Tarangire. |
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire has a permanent river and swamps that attract wildlife from the dry surroundings,
making this a good area, especially during dry seasons. There is a large elephant population
and a variety of mammal species that includes the big cats. The bird life is excellent,
as Tarangire straddles the border between a northern and a southern bird zone. The landscape
is a mix of woodlands, grass plains, wetlands and riverine vegetation with sausage trees,
borassus palms, figs and other trees. The massive baobab trees are common.
Tarangire has fewer visitors than the other parks. A normal stay on a tour to several
parks is 1 night. Should you want to visit fewer parks, you may spend more time in Tarangire,
as it is quite a large park that offers many areas for game viewing.
Tarangire is less than 2 hours on good tarmac road from Arusha, or 1 hour from Lake
Manyara.
More about Tarangire
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| Mount Meru. |
Arusha National Park
Most safari-goers don't visit Arusha National Park, despite its proximity to Arusha
Town, as the wildlife cannot match that of the parks described above. There is wildlife
and good birding, though, and the landscape is varied and pretty, offering forests,
plains, lakes and an extinct volcano, Mount Meru (4,566 m/14,980 ft). The park is known
for its strong population of black-and-white colobus monkeys. Most mammals are herbivores,
including different antelopes, some elephants and many bushbucks.
Arusha National Park may be an interesting add-on for safari-goers that have a day or
half a day to spare in or around Arusha Town.
The park is 0,5 hours by road east of Arusha Town. The last part of the road is poor
bush road.
More about Arusha National Park
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