SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

Serengeti National Park is one of the great Mara Eco-system, covering 14,750sqkm and it was gazetted as a national park in 1951 and also added to UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. Serengeti National Park is located in the northern part of Tanzania with in the Simuyu and Mara region and it’s one of the oldest and famous parks in Africa.

The park holds Lobo hills, Southeastern plains, Acacia trees and fig trees lined along Seronera and Grumeti rivers, wooded hills, termite mounds and the Granite kopjes. Serengeti National Park`s open tree Savannah vegetation covers the plains and hills that harbor various wildlife like buffalos, elephants, giraffes, eland, topi, kongoni, impalas, grant’s gazelle, cape hare, crested porcupine, yellow and olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, lions, cheetahs and leopards, birds for example black eagle, ostrich, black-headed gonolek, secretary bird, fischer’s lovebird, silverbird, yellow-throated sandgrouse among others. Serengeti National Park is also known for the amazing and legendary wildebeest migration, which happens in July and August, where millions of animals leave to Maasai Mara around September for greener pastures and back to home in October. The crossing of the Grumeti and Mara River makes it the most spectacular part of the migration. Around October, they slowly head back into the Serengeti.

HOW TO ACCESS TO SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK 

Selous Game Reserve is either accessed by road or air transport.

By Air, a flight can be scheduled from Julius Nyerere International Airport to the Arusha Airport or Kilimanjaro International Airport and then drive to Serengeti National Park.

BIO DIVERSITY

The Serengeti National Park is covered by savanna grassland, acacia and fig trees, shrubs and grasses. The park is rich in different species with a total of over 96 mammals, 480 birds of which many are migrants, butterflies, insects and reptiles like black mamba, Nile crocodile, African python, leopard tortoise, puff adder, chameleon etc. making it relatively biodiverse. Some of these unique species of the Serengeti, include buffalo, elephant, giraffe, eland, topi, kongoni, impala, grant’s gazelle, lion, cheetah leopard, gaudy agama lizard among others. The Serengeti National Park also inhabits unique and various birds like black-headed gonolek, fischer’s lovebird, green-backed woodpecker, ostrich, grey-backed fiscal, grey-crested helmet-shrike, hildebrandt’s starling, red-capped robin-chat, rufous-tailed weaver, southern ground hornbill, silverbird, yellow-throated sandgrouse among others.

CLIMATE

Serengeti National Park has a moderate climate with a dry season (June-October) and two wet seasons (November-February) with short rains and (March-May) with long heavy rains but it’s rare to rain the all-day. The mornings and nights in Serengeti are always cold.

ACTIVITIES TO DO ON SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK SAFARI IN TANZANIA

BIRDING

Serengeti National Park is well known for the rarest unique birds in Africa and has various birding spots that bring out the beauty and pleasure of over 480 bird species to bird viewers and researchers. They have various species that are eye-catching and interesting to watch like Black-headed gonolek, Fischer’s lovebird, Green-backed woodpecker, Grey-backed fiscal, Grey-crested helmet-shrike, Hildebrandt’s starling, Red-capped robin-chat, Rufous-tailed weaver, Southern ground hornbill, Silverbird, Yellow-throated sandgrouse, Helmeted guineafowl, Crowned crane, Yellow-billed stock, Lesser flamingo among others. This can be done with experienced rangers available at the parks headquarter. Bird watchin is good all-round the year but the best time is from November to April since migratory birds arrive from Europe and north Africa.

NATURE WALKS

Serengeti National Park offers the opportunity to explorer the wild on foot, these are offered by the savanna grasslands, plains and hills. During the walking various wildlife like animals for example buffalos, antelopes, elephants, giraffes, zebras, lizards, butterflies, plants and birds like ostriches, Silverbirds among others are quietly and closely observed.

GAME DRIVES

Serengeti National Park is known for game driving due to a variety of wild animals. The drive through the plains and along the rivers and waterholes gives a clear and exciting view of different wildlife mostly animals like lions, cheetah, buffalo, Leopards, giraffe among others. The game drives are best during the dry season since the park is more crowded by animals and the roads are good. The game drives are divided into two shifts, the daytime shift done in the morning and the nighttime shift done during the night. An experienced ranger should lead the drive.

ACCOMMODATION IN SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

There are so many accommodation facilities located within and outside the Park ranging from the budget facilities to the midrange facilities to the most luxury facilities. They include lodges, hotels and campsite etc.