Serengeti National Park is one of the largest national parks in the northern part of Tanzania. The park is located in the Eastern Mara region and the northeastern Simiyu region of Tanzania. Serengeti National Park was gazetted in 1940, and it covers over 14,763 square kilometers of virgin savannah.
The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai language, meaning endless plains. This is the national park you shouldn’t miss visiting once you have a trip in Tanzania. Serengeti National Park is one of the most popular wildlife areas, with one of the largest populations of wild animals on the planet.
What to see in Serengeti National Park?
Serengeti National Park will leave you with memories forever once you visit this national park. The park has all the big five animals that every tourist can’t miss seeing. These Big Five include lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo, and rhinos.
The park also has other amazing animal species that you can see, such as serval cats, hyenas, cheetahs, and giraffes, among others. Serengeti is also a place for bird lovers since it has over 500 bird species, including flamingoes and ostriches. Other bird species include African fish eagle, Kori bustard, white-backed hooded, long-crested eagle, martial eagle, grey crowned crane, pelicans, among others.
What to do in the national park?
Serengeti National Park is, without a doubt, a fortress of beauty and adventure well-crafted for exploration. The various activities elaborated below offer a chance for visitors to explore this marvel.
Game drive
During this activity, several animal species are seen since the park has a high population of animal species such as the lions, leopards, buffalos and others. Game drives are divided into two: morning and night game drives. Under morning game, you can see several animal species since most of them are going to their homes, and also the temperatures are low. And during the night game drive, this gives a chance to see the species you missed seeing during the day.
Seeing the migration of wildebeests
The Great Wildebeest Migration is one of the amazing events that attracts tourists to the national park. Millions of mammals are stampeding around the vast wilderness with all types of predators. This activity is mostly done in June and late August.
Birding
This national park is also a good place for birding since it holds over 500 bird species, including the migratory species, savannah, woodlands, and some birds from Lake Victoria. The common bird species that can be seen in the park are ostriches, vultures, African fish eagle, pelicans, herons, kingfishers, bee eaters, secretary birds, and others.
Hot Air Balloon Rides
Having a hot air balloon ride is one of the unique things and also the best way to explore the landscape of the Serengeti National Park. During this activity, you will enjoy the beautiful natural views of nature and also see millions of wildebeests and others like herds of elephants, giraffes, and some bird species.
Cultural experience
Having a trip to the Serengeti National Park, minus visiting the Maasai village in an incomplete adventure trip. The Maasai people are semi nomadic who have lived in both Kenya and Tanzania for a period of years. Visit the Maasai people and learn more about their lifestyle, customs, and traditions.
These are some of the other activities that can be done in Serengeti National Park.
- Explore the retina hippo pool
- Visiting the Seronera river valley
- Visit the Grumeti River
- Horseback riding and game walks
Best time to visit the Serengeti National Park
The park is open throughout the year. The best time to visit the national park is during the dry seasons, and this tends to occur in the months of June to October and also January to February. This is because during these months the trails are dry and it is easy to walk through the national park as well as driving, and also during dry seasons several mammal species gather around water sources to take water, and this gives a chance to the tourist see a variety of mammal species. For tourists who are interested in wildlife viewing and nature walks, the dry season is the best season.
Also, the wet season is good to visit the national park, especially for bird lovers. This happens in the months of March to May and November to December. This is because during wet seasons, the number of bird species is high, and also a variety of migratory bird species are around for food from the flowering tree species. So birding is mostly done during the wet seasons.
Where to stay in the Serengeti National Park?
The accommodation in Serengeti ranges in classes from luxury and midrange to budget options. This ensures that visitors can have a desired option to stay in the park. During your trip to the national park, you can either stay in the lodges within the national park or in the lodges outside the park. These are some of the lodges within the park: Seronera wildlife lodge, Serengeti Serena safari, Africa Safari Serengeti Ikoma, and also those outside the park are Serengeti Simba Lodge, Ikoma Tented Camp, and Singita Sasakwa Lodge.
How to access the Serengeti National Park?
There are two ways to access the national park. You can travel by means of road transport or by means of air transport.
Road transport
Enjoy the road drive of about 6 to 8hours to the national park. We shall use the Arusha route, and this route often offers a stopover at Ngorongoro Conservation Area, heading towards the main Nabi Hill Gate.
Air transport
Travelling by air transport is by means of domestic flights. The plane will fly from Arusha to the national park, and it will take about 1 to 2 hours to the national park. This is the fastest means you can use to reach the park compared to road transport.
Ultimately, Serengeti national park is one of the national park on this planet that is full of wonders due to its size and the population of wildlife that is found in the park especially the most attractive ones the big five animals, lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and also buffalos and the other species like cheetahs and also the bird species such as ostriches, secretary birds, pelicans, African fish eagle, kingfisher among others. To miss visiting the national park since it is a park for the great wildebeest migration and also the amazing activities that are normally done in the park, like Game drives, hot air balloon, birding, and many others.