07/02/2025
Parks of Tanzania
Tanzania is a nation full of protected national parks. While the Northern corridor is the most popular with tourists, due to the close proximity of the parks and the concentration of animals, there are popular parks spread all over the country. Equatorial Safaris can arrange trips to any of the parks, including these below.
The wildlife reserves of the north are most easily accessed from Kilimanjaro and by road from Nairobi in Kenya. The Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater are without doubt the most popular destinations in Tanzania and whilst the Crater can get a little busy it is the nearest we can come to “guaranteed game viewing” because most of the game is resident and the drivers know their habits.
By contrast the Serengeti is immense and particularly in the western corridor you can get well away from it all. Less known and usually included in this northern circuit is Lake Manyara National Park with the Great Rift Valley escarpment for a dramatic backdrop.
The southern national parks are less visited and offer a great opportunity to explore wild and unspoiled bush.
Likewise the western national parks of Gombe, Mahale and Katavi are remote and little visited. The cost of charter flights in and out prohibit many from visiting but for those who get there the uniqueness of the experience and of the region is quite simply unique.
Northern Region
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK:
This northwestern national park is 14,763 square kilometres and stretches reaching up to the Kenyan border. It is said that it is to be the finest in Africa. Here are 35 species of plain-dwelling animals, including wildebeest and zebra, which feature in the spectacular Serengeti migration, and also an extensive selection of bird life. The best time to see the animals is from November to May, when they have migrated down from the Massai Mara National Park in Kenya into the Serengeti.
The vast, open grasslands of the Serengeti are without doubt one of Africa’s finest wildlife viewing areas, and being there at the height of the migration is a never-to-be-forgotten experience.
NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA:
Ngorongoro is the largest intact volcanic craters in the world, and some scientists maintain that before it erupted and collapsed, it would have stood higher than Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa. Covering a mere 260km², the 600 metre deep crater is home to a permanent population of more than 30 000 animals, and is one of the only places in Tanzania where you stand a very good chance of seeing the ‘Big Five’ (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant) in the course of a morning or evening’s game drive.
LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK:
This is one of the most diverse of Tanzania’s national parks, a tiny (325km²) combination of Rift Valley Lake, dense woodlands and steep mountainside. Manyara was established specifically to protect the elephant herds that have made the area world-renowned. But heavy poaching in the 1970s and 1980s decimated the herds, although they are now recovering and returning to their former strengths. Families of giraffes are also frequently seen here.
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
This national park is considered to be one of the most beautiful and had great game viewing year round. Visitors are likely to witness impressive herds of up to 600 elephants. The dry season months of June-October bring migrating elephant, wildebeest, zebra, eland, hartebeest, buffalo and oryx, from the dry Maasai steppe to the gleaming Tarangire River. November to February is the green season. During this time wildebeest and zebra can be seen giving birth and caring for their babies.
ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
Arusha National Park is the park closest to Arusha town. This park has three distinct zones: Ngurdoto Crater (often described as a mini Ngorongoro), the Momella Lakes, a group of shallow alkaline lakes fed by underground streams, and Mount Meru, one of the most rewarding mountains to climb in Africa.
Animals here include buffalo, elephant, hippo, giraffe, zebra and a variety of antelope, blue monkey and black and white colobus monkey, leopard and hyena.
