Tarangire National Park

A herd of Elephants crossing the Tarangire Plains

Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park after Ruaha, Serengeti, Mikumi, Katavi and Mkomazi. The name of the park originates from the river which crosses at the middle of the park, the river is the only source of water for wild animals during dry seasons. The park is famous for its huge number of elephants, baobab trees and tree climbing African pythons. It lies a little distance to the south east of Lake Manyara and covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometres. It is named after the Tarangire River that flows through the park.

Location

North Western Tanzania, 118 km (75 miles) southwest of Arusha.

Area
2850 sq km (1,096 sq miles).

Getting there
Easy drive from Arusha or Lake Manyara following a surfaced road to within 7km (four miles) of the main entrance gate; can continue on to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti.

What to do
Guided walking safaris.
Day trips to Maasai and Barabaig villages, as well as to the hundreds of ancient rock paintings in the vicinity of Kolo on the Dodoma Road.

Wildlife
Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons.

Birdlife
The swamps, tinged green year round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world. On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys. More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.

Best time to Visit
Year round but dry season (June – September) for sheer numbers of animals.

Highlights
The fierce sun sucks the moisture from the landscape, baking the earth a dusty red, the withered grass as brittle as straw. The Tarangire River has shrivelled to a shadow of its wet season self. But it is choked with wildlife. Thirsty nomads have wandered hundreds of parched kilometres knowing that here, always, there is water. Tarangire has  the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem – a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.