Serengeti National Park

As discussed previously, the Serengeti landscape provides visitors with the stunning African panoramas of golden grass plains flowing over the horizon. These plains are home to hundreds of thousands of animals, which have marvelled travellers for centuries. Every now and again, the open sea of yellow is decorated with grey, rocky kopjes, and these islands of stone provide excellent homes for leopards and shelter for other small creatures.

At times of the year, many of the herds of the migration cross over the border into the Masai Mara in Kenya. However, a huge number also stay behind in the Serengeti Mara area, in the far north Serengeti. This means that the wildebeest migration can be witnessed at any time of year on a Tanzanian safari; it is just important to travel to the right place at the right time. Take a look at our Wildebeest Migration page which gives a breakdown of how best to view the migration.

There are very few parks in Africa which enable visitors to cover such great distances on game drives, or which offer such an overwhelming sense of space. Game drives inside the park are run only during daylight hours, and can take you in any direction to any number of excellent game viewing areas. Due to the flat landscape and nature of the savannah, game viewing is easy, with cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyena, jackals, buffalo, giraffe and numerous types of herbivores being seen in all of the region.

Although only conducted in certain areas and from specific camps, guided walking safaris in the Serengeti are truly special, being led by experienced Masai morans (warriors). The Masai people have lived in and walked through this region for centuries, and have an innate knowledge of the fauna and flora found in the Serengeti. A guided walk by one of the locals is an amazing way to see the wilderness from another perspective, and to get the thrill of seeing wildlife while on foot.

If there is any place in the world to take a hot-air balloon flight, the Serengeti, or the Masai Mara, must surely rank up there with the best of them. After being collected from your camp before sunrise, you will spend up to an hour floating above the plains of Africa and herds of wildlife, enjoying the silence and incredibly coloured sunrise. Watch the continent come to life, before setting down and partaking in a champagne breakfast in the bush. Is there a better way to start the day?

Due to the seasonality of the rains and the available water sources, certain areas of the Serengeti can seem a little bit quiet wildlife-wise at certain times of year. But not the Seronera Valley, in central Serengeti. Even during the height of the dry season, when the herds of the migration are likely to be far north, the Seronera area has an excellent concentration of wildlife, and particularly predators. While it is also the busiest section of the park as far as tourists go, there are ways to escape the crowds and enjoy some fantastic sightings.