Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti, named by the Maasai, translates to “endless plains” or “the land that runs on forever,” reflecting its vast, unbroken landscapes

About Serengeti National Park

East Africa, Tanzania

When we think of Africa, many of us–old Africa hands and armchair dreamers alike–think of the Serengeti. For excellent, accurate reasons.

The Serengeti is without a doubt the earth’s greatest wildlife spectacle. Three million or more large mammals–elephant, cheetah, wildebeest, zebra, lion, gazelles by the gazillions, rhinos, giraffe, and going on 60 more large mammal species inhabit the great plain, its riverine forests, and bustling set-piece kopjes. It’s in the Serengeti that something the great Isak Dinesen once wrote rings especially true: “There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne — bubbling over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive.”

The Serengeti is amazing in its enormity, its almost infinite skies and long, golden reaches, its million-year quiet. “How can one convey the power of Serengeti?”

Cyril Connolly asked in The Evening Colonnade. “It is an immense, limitless lawn, under a marquee of sky….The light is dazzling, the air delectable; kopjes rise out of the grass at far intervals, some wooded; the magic of the American prairie here blends with the other magic of the animals as they existed before man. There is a lightening of the spirit….”

Things we love about, and love to do in the Serengeti Flying to the planet’s most populous animal kingdom over the Great Rift Valley (which “makes the Grand Canyon look like a line scratched with a toothpick,” John Gunther wrote).Watching a lion lolling on its back, warming its furry belly atop a rocky kopje.Picnicking under a cooling acacia tree before heading out to see more of the Serengeti’s charismatic creatures—elephants, cheetahs, gazelles by the gazillions, giraffes floating across the plain, miles-long processions of wildebeest and zebras tracing ancient migratory paths.Quad biking, horsebacking, guided walks with our Amber Travel Director, followed by dips in our lodge’s pool.Scintillatingly airy early morning balloon flights over the Plain.Watching a cheetah as it sits on a boulder, its Amber eyes attuned to every shifting Serengeti molecule.Sipping sundowners from our deck, watching animals at the waterhole below, and “frothy mountain ranges of clouds,” as Elspeth Huxley wrote, “piling up, one atop the other.”Paying respectful, heartening visits to traditional Maasai villages.And at night, breathing in the Serengeti’s pure air, looking up at the Milky Way, “arching across the heavens,” as the great Ms. Huxley said, “like a vast and frozen plume of frozen smoke.”

We once saw a sunrise from the Serengeti’s Nyboboro Hill, a little way above the vast plain. The-still hidden sun cast such light on a cloud above it that the cloud glowed like an incandescent jewel, almost too bright to look at directly.Tom Cole,member of East African Safaris.

Closing your eyes, the serenade of Nature soothes the atavistic brain, while her various scents arouse the senses even further.

The near-pristine wilderness aside, Serengeti National Park is most famous for the prolific wildlife that roams the ancient plains. Huge herds of plains game, estimated at some 2 million ungulates, roam the various habitats; grazing, browsing and fertilizing the land they traverse.

The massive herbivorous biomass in turn provides ample hunting opportunities for Africa’s legendary large predators perpetuating the unceasing circle of life and death on the African plains. Here too, visitors are blessed with myriad species of birds and plants–each adding to the awe of nature’s complexity and diversity.

By road, the Serengeti National Park is 335 km (208 mi) from Tanzania’s safari hub, Arusha. By air, seven airstrips service different regions of the park.

Highlights

The Great Migration

the annual migratory circuit of over a million wildebeest and other ungulates, draws predators and tourists alike.

Retina Hippo Pool

Home to some 200-honking, jostling hippos - a cacophonic sight in central Serengeti, not to be missed.

River Crossings

Ungulates run the gauntlet of predators waiting at the rivers they must cross during the migration.

Bologonja Springs

Seldom visited natural springs that offer both tranquillity and diverse sightings at the water and nearby salt lick.

Excellent Infrastructure

Easily accessible with a vast network of roads, several airstrips and a huge variety of accommodation options.

Pristine Habitats

Careful management of the environment ensures a diversity of habitats; home to innumerable species of fauna and flora.

Regions of the Serengeti

Central Serengeti (Seronera)

Also known as the Seronera Valley, this region is the location of many of Serengeti’s permanent lodges, and the main airstrip within the park. As such, the volume of tourists (and vehicles) in the area is typically high, particularly in the peak season. This can be a drawback when game viewing. The valley usually teems with wildlife, with herds of zebra, wildebeest, various antelope species, as well as elephants in abundance. This in turn means there is a very good chance of sightings of the park’s large predators – lions, cheetahs and spotted hyenas. The Seronera region is commonly referred to as Africa’s Big Cat Capital and is said to be the best place within Serengeti to spot the elusive leopard. The landscape is a gently undulating acacia (Vachellia sp.) savanna, where the game is easily viewed. The Great Migration typically moves through this area from April to June and October to December.

Western Corridor and Grumeti

Rated as one of the best places in the Serengeti to view the drama of the Great Migration, the so-called Western Corridor lies within the Kirawira region through which the Grumeti River flows. The river is a key obstacle along the migration route that must be crossed between May and July, to get to better grazing. Not only do the occasionally swift waters carry away the weak, but the river is also home to dozens of huge crocodiles that gorge themselves at this time. Even once across the river, the danger continues as land predators await. Outside the crossing periods, this is a relatively quiet corner of the national park. Various habitats including riverine, floodplains, woodlands and savanna, make up the landscape of this vast valley that leads to Lake Victoria. It is the only place in Serengeti to view colobus monkeys and kongoni antelope, and marked by forests and thickets of dense bush.

Northern Serengeti

Wedged between Seronera and Kenya’s Masai Mara, this area is seldom visited by tourists and is low on infrastructure and service. For those therefore that wish to avoid crowds, this is a region worth the effort to visit. The landscape comprises the rolling grasslands synonymous with Serengeti, and the wildlife is just as abundant, with the migration passing through around June/July, and again from September to November. Dramatic scenes play out on the banks of the Mara River, as the herds make their perilous crossing. The Lobo valley is home to a healthy population of predators, while giraffes, elephants, topi antelope and more criss-cross the landscape. The area is best visited in the dry season, as wildlife tends to disperse with the rains. Bologonja Springs and the nearby salt lick both attract a variety of species at this time.

Southern Serengeti

Between December and May, the vast mixed herd of wildebeest, zebra and antelope pauses in its relentless quest for grazing, and the calving season commences on the plains south of Seronera, to the border with the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Normally in February, the plains resonate with the bleating of thousands of newly born calves, who can walk within minutes and run with the herd within hours. They must strengthen quickly, as when the dry season descends, the mega herd will once again set off in search of grazing to the north. Naturally, the abundance of young means that the predators are on hand, looking for an easy snack–and competition among them is fierce.