The Seronera River is the largest and well-known of the four rivers that sneak through the broad SeroneraValley like giant green fingers. Each river is lined with beautiful umbrella acacia, yellow barked acacia, and sausage trees. The Seronera Riverine mini forest is spectacular with its seasonal swamps and deep pools of water, is an ideal lion and leopard habitat and there is perhaps no easier place in Africa to see both these species of big cats in action. The Seronera River Valley is well known for the largest resident lion prides in the Serengeti. It is the ‘Park Place’ of lion territories in the Serengeti due to the permanent sources of water and the high resident prey biomass. Seronera is home to the world-renowned Serengeti Lion Project, which is the longest continuous field study ever conducted on a large mammal. Since its inception in 1966, twenty-six lion prides residing around Seronera have been continuously tracked and studied with the use of radio collars.

Water is a key factor for wildlife survival in Africa as many people know the annual rains in Masai Mara and Serengeti wildebeest migration is triggered by the rains.

This is undoubtedly one of the best places in the entire national park where you can spot cheetahs and lions; with its Water Rivers and seasonal swamps, it is the ideal habitat for wildlife, Leopards are commonly spotted on the branches of the sausage trees that line the Seronera river Serengeti Tanzania, where they usually drag their prey and hold it in a safe position, not reachable by other predators.

Some studies show that this is precisely one of the areas with the highest concentration of leopards in entire Africa.

The lions on the other hand are often spotted along the river always lurking, ready to catch prey that comes here to drink.

Here reside several lions pride that are the subject of study and monitoring under the Serengeti Lion Project; the pride studied under this project are: the Maasai Kopjes pride; the Makoma Hill pride; the Campsite and the Seronera pride.

The river is also home to the huge Nile crocodiles, often standing motionless on the river banks with their mouth open, to regulate their body temperature. There are also hippos that spend their days immersed in water and you can often see just the ears and the big nostrils, while at night they emerge from the water bed and graze on the grass that grows near the river banks.

Flying to Seronera River Valley

Seronera airstrip is in the center; Lobo, Kleins, and Kogatende serve the north; and Grumeti and Sasakwa airstrips serve the Western Corridor. You can fly in from Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, or Ngorongoro, or fly within the park for relatively little money (a round-trip from Arusha to Kogatende, near the Mara River, will run you around

Best time to visit Seronera River valley in Central Serengeti Tanzania

While the year-round supply of water from the Seronera River means that the area is excellent for wildlife spotting throughout the year, April to June is the peak season for game viewing in the Seronera, as this is when the plains are full of migrating wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle as they’re making their way up north.