Serengeti National Park
Open plains in the south, woodland and granite kopjes in the centre, and the Mara River country in the north. Where you stay in the Serengeti depends on the month and on where the herds are.
- Best time
- All year. Calving on the southern plains runs from about December to March. The herds usually reach the northern Serengeti and the Mara River from around July to October. The central Seronera area has resident wildlife all year.
- Time to allow
- Three nights or more
- Size
- 14,763 sq km
- National park since
- 1951
- World Heritage Site
- 1981
- Altitude
- 1,100 to 2,000 m
The name comes from the Maasai word “Siringet”, meaning wide, endless plain. The park covers 14,763 square kilometres. It became Tanganyika's first national park in 1951, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1981.
It is the core of a much larger ecosystem of about 30,000 square kilometres, which takes in part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Grumeti, Ikorongo and Maswa game reserves, and the Maasai Mara in Kenya. The migration sets its limits: more than 1.5 million wildebeest, with hundreds of thousands of zebra and half a million gazelle, on a yearly loop in search of fresh grass and water.
Beyond the migration
The big cats and spotted hyena are here whether the herds are or not. The park is one of the last refuges of the black rhino, which is critically endangered, and the African wild dog. Patas monkeys and Angolan black-and-white colobus live in the west, and more than 530 bird species have been recorded. People lived here too: the Maasai rock paintings, Gong Rock and the Ikoma ruins can be visited alongside game drives.
What you can do
Most days are spent on game drives. Balloon flights leave early in the morning from every part of the park, and walks with an armed ranger run in the east and the north. At the Retima Hippo Pool you can get out of the vehicle and watch the hippos on foot. Meals can also be served out in the bush.
Getting there
The drive from Arusha takes about seven to eight hours. All-weather airstrips at Seronera, Kusini, Lobo, Kirawira, Kogatende and Lamai put you in the centre, south, east, west or north of the park, with scheduled and charter flights from Arusha and other towns.
Wildlife
- Wildebeest: More than 1.5 million move through the park on a yearly loop
- Zebra: Hundreds of thousands travel with the wildebeest
- Lion: More than 3,000 live across the wider ecosystem
- Leopard
- Cheetah
- Elephant
- Hippo: Watch them on foot at the Retima Hippo Pool
Through the year
- Southern plains: January, February, March, December. The herds graze the short grass and calve.
- Western Corridor: May, June. The herds move west to the permanent water of the Grumeti.
- Northern Serengeti: July, August, September, October. The herds usually reach the Mara River and cross it.
- Seronera: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. Resident wildlife in the centre of the park, all year.
- The rains: January, February, March, April, November, December. Rain falls from November to April. May to October is dry.