Tarangire National Park

Tarangire covers 2,850 square kilometres and became a national park in 1970. It is a small part of a much larger ecosystem of about 30,000 square kilometres across the Maasai Steppe. When that country dries out, wildlife from across it moves here for water.

The river and the baobabs

The Tarangire River gave the park its name. Seasonal sand rivers feed it, and it runs north through the park to Lake Burunge, linked along the way to the Silale, Gurusi and Larmakau swamps. In the dry season it shrinks to scattered pools, and the animals gather at those pools.

The baobabs on the ridges support a good deal of life. Bees nest in them, genets and civets shelter in their hollows, and fruit bats pollinate their flowers.

Wildlife and birds

Tanzania National Parks describes the elephant herds as the largest in the country. In the dry months they share the water with buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, eland and ostrich, and lion and leopard may be seen. The green season brings newborn animals and chattering birds. The park authority also counts more resident breeding bird species here than anywhere else in Tanzania, and raptors from martial eagles to pygmy falcons are among the species recorded.

What you can do

The park allows day game drives, night game drives, balloon flights and walks with an armed ranger.

Getting there

The road from Arusha runs through Makuyuni and Minjingu, and the park authority gives figures for the drive from about one and a half to three hours. Scheduled and charter flights land at Kuro airstrip, in the centre of the park. Many safaris start here, then carry on through Lake Manyara and Karatu to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti.