Located slightly off the main safari route, Tarangire National Park is a lovely, quiet park in Northern Tanzania. It is most famous for its elephant migration and bird watching.
Located slightly off the main safari route, Tarangire National Park is a lovely, quiet park in Northern Tanzania. It is most famous for its elephant migration and bird watching. Many tourists travellers to the region visit only for a matter of hours, or either miss it out Tarangire completelyaltogether or venture into the park for a matter of hours - leaving swathes of Tarangire the park virtually untouched.
The best time to visit:
June to October (dry season)
+ Wildlife sightings in abundance at this time as animals migrate from surrounding areas
+ Greater chance of spotting wildlife in the shorter grass and around waterholes and rivers
+ Warm and sunny weather
+ Fewer mosquitoes result in lower risk of malaria during this time
+ Depending on the rains, animals can be in abundance at beginning or end of the dry season
November to May (wet season)
+ Dense, full vegetation
+ Excellent birdwatching opportunities during this time
- Animals tend to migrate out of the park during this season, hence viewing opportunities not being as strong
- Peak wet season is March to May with heavy downpours frequent
At a glance
- During the dry season ( August to October), the park attracts one of the highest concentrations of wildlife animals in Tanzania. Sightings include large numbers of wildebeest and zebra as well as giraffe, buffalo, Thompson's gazelle, greater and lesser kudu, eland, leopard and cheetah. The real prize is seeing the dwarf mongoose, oryx or generuk – although sightings are rare.
- Safari activities centre on game drives featuring excellent landscapes views of beautiful riverine forests, acacia woodlands, ancient African baobab trees and, endless rolling hills
- Herds of up to 3,000 elephants can be seen during the peak season - one of the largest concentrations of elephants in Africa.
- Tarangire is also one of Tanzania's finest birding destinations, with over 500 species found here, including large flocks of beautiful yellow-collared lovebirds.
