Tarangire National Park

 Tarangire National Park is in northern Tanzania, just south of Lake Manyara. One of the lesser-known game reserves in Tanzania, Tarangire National Park rivals the Serengeti in the great number and diversity of its wildlife. This is a protected area of colossal baobabs, grassy plains and huge herds of elephants. The park is one of the most underrated of Tanzania’s attractions, receiving just a fraction of the Serengeti’s visitors, which means more space and exclusivity for those who do make it to Tarangire.

Wildlife at Tarangire National Park

Every year during the dry season from June to November Tarangire hosts a wildlife migration which is not as dramatic as the Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti, but receives a somewhat large number of animals. As most of this part of the country is dry, the Tarangire River remains the only source of water and consequently attracts large numbers of wildebeests, elephants, gazelles, zebras and hartebeest, buffaloes plus various predators like lions that come to drink and graze around the river banks. during the rain months of November to May, The zebras as well as large herds of wildebeests move into the north-western direction towards the Rift Valley floor amongst the large numbers of animals that spread across the large open areas of the Masaai Steppe and dispersing all the way to Lake Manyara.

Tarangire National Park is most well-known for its yearly elephant migration of over 3000 elephants but the park offers so much more than that! This quiet park offers year-round opportunities to view four of the big five, and the guides in the region are so knowledgeable about the migration patterns of the animals within the park that you will no doubt get a glimpse at these exotic creatures up close. No matter the time of year! More so, the great baobab trees and large termite mounds that dot the landscape are like something out of a fairytale. As if it couldn’t get better, this park emulates the importance of national parks in Tanzania as currently, it is home to the fringe-eared oryx, greater kudu, and Ashy Starling. All of these are greatly endangered and can only be found here in Tanzania in the Tarangire National Park.

Tarangire Landscape

The permanent Tarangire River is the most dominant feature here and it’s after this river that the park was named. there are a number of large swamps that feed off some of its tributaries however, these are usually dry for most of the year but get very impassable during the rains .The Tarangire park is usually very dry, in fact drier than the Serengeti, however its vegetation is much more green especially with lots of elephant grass, vast areas with mixed acacia woodlands and some of the wonderful ribbons of the aquatic forest not to forget the giant baobab tree that can live up to 600 years storing  between 300 and 900 liters of water

Tarangire is the ideal park for those who want to explore beyond game drives. Walk through the savannah to study the smallest creatures and learn about tracking animals. Soar through the sky in a hot-air balloon at dawn or head out on a night drive to find nocturnal wildlife.