Serengeti National Park Tanzania

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Serengeti National Park Tanzania

The word Serengeti means “endless plains” in the language spoken by the Masai who live around Serengeti national park. The park is covered with grassland plains and being in the middle of it offers views of distant landscapes and the only feeling you get is of the typical African wilderness.

It is well known for its world’s largest wildlife migration and a high concentration of big cats like lions, cheetah, and hyenas. The wildlife migration referred to as “the Great Wildebeest migration” is an annual movement of a large group of animals of about 2million, the largest wildlife being the wildebeest some zebras and gazelle that move from Serengeti national park northwards to Masai Mara National Park and back to Serengeti. This migration is one of the prime attractions of the park. Other animals in the park include elephants, leopards, buffalo, giraffes, and many antelopes. Serengeti national park is a fascinating place for wildlife viewing throughout the year. Depending on one’s interests in wildlife activities, different months come with different things to see and enjoy. For example, around July to August, wildebeest are approaching Mara River, January to March is when wildebeest are calving and predators are many and easily spotted.

Serengeti national park covers a very large area of 14,750sq km. located in the North-western side of Tanzania; it is the oldest park in the country and is a UNESCO world site. It extends to the south of Kenya where is named Maasai Mara national reserve. It is bordered by Ngorongoro conservation area to the southeast, Maswa Game Reserve in the southwest, Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserve in the west, and Loliondo Game Control Area in the east.

The largest area of Serengeti national park is covered with grassland plains though there are others where you’ll find a riverine forest, woodlands, and savannah. The area of the park is really big but it doesn’t disappoint when it comes to wild animals living there. It has big populations of wildebeest, zebra, lion, hyena, giraffe, buffalo, cheetah, hippo, kongoni, impala, and others and all these can commonly be sighted. Black rhinos are also there though rarely spotted. The vegetation of the park is good for viewing these wild animals. They can be viewed throughout the year through different months and periods of the year offer unique sights. More of what to watch is about wildebeest phases of their movement such as crossing rivers Grumeti around June and July and Mara around September. Watching these animals struggle to cross the river is one of the exciting things you won’t wait to see. Your driver-guide sets the vehicle at the best place that you can watch them cross, you’ll stay there and wait for the moment the first brave wildebeest will make the decision to cross and then will be followed by others.

Size of Serengeti National Park Tanzania

Serengeti national park is 30000 square kilometers making it the second-largest protected area in Tanzania after Selous game reserve

Location of Serengeti National Park Tanzania

Serengeti National Park, in northern Tanzania, is known for its massive annual migration of wildebeest and zebra. Seeking new pasture, the herds move north from their breeding grounds in the grassy southern plains. Many cross the marshy western corridor’s crocodile-infested Grumeti River. Others veer northeast to the Lobo Hills, home to black eagles. Black rhinos inhabit the granite outcrops of the Moru Kopjes.

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Things to do in Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park, in northern Tanzania, is known for its massive annual migration of wildebeest and zebra. Seeking new pasture, the herds move north from their breeding grounds in the grassy southern plains. Many cross the marshy western corridor’s crocodile-infested Grumeti River. Others veer northeast to the Lobo Hills, home to black eagles. Black rhinos inhabit the granite outcrops of the Moru Kopjes.

Game drives

The central Serengeti and Seronera area have beautiful and much wildlife, the area is good for doing full day game drives which have to start in the morning for chances of spotting lions.

The Southern plains area gives the best views of the animals especially from December to March but animals are few in the dry season since they will have moved in search for water.

Western Serengeti is a good spot for game and this is also where the animals cross River Grumeti during migration. Crocodiles, hippos, and birds are also common sightings at this river.

The northern Serengeti comprises of Loliondo, Lobo, and Kogatende. This is the part that stretches into Kenya. The best time to visit this part is from September to October and hunters like lions, cheetahs, and leopards are commonly spotted at Lobo.

Hot air balloon

Hot air balloon is also one of the famous tour activities in Serengeti national park. It is done in the morning for about an hour and you have chances of spotting nocturnal en route. Contact Great Adventure Safaris to book safari tours to Serengeti National park in Tanzania.

Bird watching in Serengeti National Park

Not only is Serengeti great for wildlife viewing but also a thrilling safari destination that hosts some of Africa’s beautiful bird species. The park has about 500 bird species with a few endemic species in the Serengeti-Masai Mara ecosystem. Endemic species include the grey-breasted spur fowl which is commonly sighted in Seronera and Fischer’s lovebird in the woodlands of the park.  The rufous-tailed weaver, grey-chested helmet-shrike, and the Usambara barbet

The birds of Serengeti national park are; grey-backed fiscal, red-capped robin-chat, black-headed Gonolek, Ruppell’s vulture, and yellow-throated sand grouse, red-backed scrub, Schalow’s Turaco, and more. The best time to go for birding in Serengeti is from November to April when migrant birds from Europe and North Africa have arrived. This is also the nesting season for resident birds.

Night game drives

Night game drives are one of the best ways of experiencing true African safari as the darkness cannot be compared to anything you can imagine and the wildlife appear in different shapes and the best way of seeing the nocturnal game.

Visit the Masai village

Visiting the indigenous Masaai people should on your list as the culture of these people is extraordinary.

Witness the wildebeest migration

One of the spectacles on earth in the animal kingdom happens between Serengeti and Masai mara as millions of wildebeest and thousands of zebras and gazelles cross the mara river with huge obstacles like currents and crocodiles.

When to visit Serengeti National Park Tanzania

Since Serengeti national park is very large, there are different activities that take place in different sectors of the park and this may happen at different time periods. For example, when we consider the cycle of the behavior of wildebeest, these animals can be viewed at different locations for different experiences such as calving, migrating, and more. Game drives are more thrilling in areas where wildebeest live when calving- Ndutu region. You’ll therefore make a choice of the period to visit and the place to stay depending on what you wish to see. Note that the seasons sometimes change and the wildebeest migration cycle will not go on exactly the same way as always.

Where to Stay in Serengeti National Park

Kati Kati mobile camp

This mobile tented camp is set up in one of the best game viewing spots on the plains of central Serengeti. Kati Kati Camp is rustic rather than luxurious, but with fully-equipped, en-suite tents, you’ll experience a more refined version of camping in the wild African bush. It’s a true safari experience.

Serengeti migration Camp

Perched on a rocky kopje near the Grumeti River in northern Serengeti, this tented camp provides a luxurious camping experience. The time it right and you’ll not only get to see the abundant resident game, but you may also catch the once in a lifetime spectacle of the Great Migration passing through.

Serengeti Sopa lodge

With sweeping views over the vast plains of the world-renowned Serengeti, rich with wildlife, this relatively large lodge is bright and cheerful. There is a resident game all year round and, if you time it right, you may even catch the Great Migration passing through, a once in a lifetime experience.

 

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