Serengeti National Park, often known as the animal hub, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a fantastic place to see wildlife on a Tanzania safari. This park, which is situated in northwest Tanzania, is connected to Maasai Mara National Reserve in the north by a boundary that runs along Kenya. Serengeti National Park is bordered to the south and east by Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Maswa Game Reserve, Ikorongo and Gumet Game Reserves, Loliondo Game Control Area, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Located 14,763 square kilometre Serengeti National Park, a popular safari destination in Tanzania, is made up of rolling grasslands, savannah, riverine forest, and forests. Serengeti is a Masai word “siringet” means “endless plains” or “the place where the land runs forever,” and Serengeti national park is a true representation of an African wildlife safari destination made up of these endless rolling plains.
According to history, Maasai people used Serengeti national park’s lands as grazing areas for their livestock for more than 200 years while grazing on the wide-open plains of the eastern Mara region. Sir Stewart Edward White was the first American to enter Serengeti National Park, and his explorations are recorded in northern Serengeti in 1913. Until professional hunters began visiting the area to hunt a variety of animals inhabiting the lands, little was known about the plains of Serengeti National Park. He went back to Serengeti National Park in 1920 and slept there for three months close to Seronera. He and his companions killed roughly 50 lions during their visit, and as a result of the intense hunting, lions are now becoming rare in the region. Due to this, the British Colonial Administration established a 3.2 square kilometre partial game reserve; Serengeti National Park as a whole was fully established in 1952.
Serengeti national park became more famous after the book and “Serengeti Shall Not Die” produced by Bernhard Grzimek and his son Micheal in 1950s.
Serengeti national park comprises of a scenic landscape comprises of Lobo valley, Barfafu Gorge and Kopjes, Matiti plains, olduvai gorge, makoma hill, kusini plains, lake Ndutu, lower Grumeti woodlands, retina hippo pool, Seronera valley, Lamai triangle, upper grumeti woodlands and kopjes such as Moru kopjes, Masai kopjes, Gol kopjes and Simba kopjes.
One of the greatest places for Tanzania wildlife safaris is Serengeti National Park, which is home to a variety of mammals, including the full Big 5, carnivore species, monkeys, and reptiles. Numerous species of antelopes, including dik-diks, fringe-eared oryxes, and common elands, as well as aardvarks, aardwolves, bat-eared foxes, ground pangolins, crested porcupines, three species of hyraxes, cape hares, and many others can be found in the Serengeti National Park. Serengeti National Park is home to a variety of reptiles, including puff anders, black mambas, crocodiles, African pythons, black-necked spitting cobras, leopard tortoises, and serrated hinged teerapins.
One of the top tourist safari attractions in Serengeti National Park is the big wildebeest migration, which elevates the park to a top spot for wildlife viewing safari. The biggest population of large mammals observed anywhere in the world, the wildebeest migration involves the movement of over 1.5 million people, including over 500,000 wildebeests wandering the Serengeti-Mara environment, 250,000 plains zebras, and 300,000 Thomson gazelles.
Serengeti national park is also one of the top listed Tanzania birding safari destination habiting over 500 bird species, these birds include Yellow-throated sandgrouse, silver bird, Schalow’s turaco, Ruppell’s vulture, Red-capped robin-chat, Usambiro barbet, Grey-crested helmet-shrike, kori bustards, love birds, Grey-breasted spurfowl, secretary bird, Verreaux’s eagle, Masai ostrich, marabou storks and among others.
Safari activities to do in Serengeti national park.
Game drives.
One of the most well-known Tanzania safari activity is a game drive through Serengeti National Park, which has four main regions: Seronera and the south, Grumeti and the western corridor, central Serengeti, and northern Serengeti. The game drives available are, the greatest time to see big cats, such as lions, leopards, and cheetahs, is during a morning game drive, when they are most active and likely to be sunbathing. Afternoon game drive done after lunch is also done in the park to spot various animal species.
Full-day game drives give you the chance to explore the entire park and see a variety of creatures, including zebras, leopards, elephants, and many more.
The greatest time to see nocturnal species like lions, leopards, cheetahs, and other big cats is during a night game drive that is conducted in the pitch-black hours of the night with the use of a spot light.
Generally game drive safaris in Serengeti national park offers sights of many animals such as lions, elephants, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos, topis, elands, coke’s hartebeests, giraffes, impalas, warthogs, various species of antelopes such as roan antelopes, common eland, bushbucks, greater kudus, fringe- eared oryxes and dik-dik and many more.
Bird watching.
Serengeti National Park is one of the top birding locations in Tanzania for birding safaris. The park is a refuge for birders and is home to more than 500 species of birds that thrive in its unique habitat. Birding in Serengeti national park offers sights of many species of birds such as Schalow’s wheatear, red throated tit, black crake, lesser flamingo, Ashy starling, love birds, yellow barbets, crowned cranes, helmeted guinea fowls, southern ground hornbill, Kori bustards, secretary birds, Oxpeckers, small finches, Hartlaub’s turaco and many more.
The best time to go bird watching safari in Serengeti National Park is from November to April, when most birds are in their breeding season and migratory birds from Europe and other parts of Africa are present in the park, though bird watching is possible throughout the year.
Hot air balloon safaris.
As part of a Tanzania safari, hot air balloon safaris in Serengeti National Park are a spectacular and iconic way to view the park’s plains and attractions from air. This breathtaking safari experience offers aerial views of Serengeti National Park’s wilderness, including animals like lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, and cheetahs as well as the magnificent landscape. Beginning as early as 6 am, hot air balloon safaris in Serengeti National Park depart from authorized locations in the Seronera area. This safari experience lasts for about 1-2 hours and is followed by a champagne brunch in the bush.
There are three locations in Serengeti National Park where hot air balloon safaris are approved, including
Flying over the Seronera river valley in the centre of the Serengeti allows you to see the animals congregating along the river.
For views of the wildebeest migration crossing the river in the months of June and July, fly above the Grumenti River in the Western Serengeti.
Flying above the southern Serengeti grasslands during the great wildebeest migration’s calving season can provide views of 8000 newborns.
Photographers who want to capture beautiful natural scenes can go on hot air balloon safaris.
Walking safaris.
The best way to see every part of Serengeti National Park that a safari vehicle cannot access is to go on a walking safari. This thrilling safari experience gives views of Serengeti’s nature, including animals like lions, elephants, and many more. A game ranger and a guide provide guidance during walking safaris.
Cultural tours.
The ideal experience if you wish to experience a traditional Maasai way of life is to take part in a cultural tour of Serengeti National Park, which provides insight into the Maasai people’s traditional way of life. Before the parks were gazetted, the Maasai, a semi-nomadic people, lived in numerous areas of Kenya and Tanzania. Travellers have the chance to interact with the Maasai community when visiting Bomas, which are Maasai villages. Visitors can participate in typical Maasai activities including cattle husbandry and enjoy local dance and songs. The practices, rituals, traditions, and more of the Maasai people are also made more accessible to tourists.
Where to stay in Serengeti national park.
Serengeti national park has many safari lodges and camps that offers accommodation to visitors who visit the park, safari lodges and camps in Serengeti national park are categorized as luxury, midrange and budget and they include Mwiba lodge, Lake Ndutu luxury tented camp, Namiri plains camp, And Beyond Under Canvas, Sanctuary Kichakani Serengeti camp, Olakira camp, Serengeti bushtops camp, Ndutu wilderness camp, woodlands camps, Serengeti Ndutu safari lodge, Ehlane plains camp, &Beyond Klein’s camp, Serengeti North Wilderness camp, Serengeti safari camp, Kaskaza Mara camp, Mara Tented Lodge, Nasikia Mobile Migration camp, Ikoma safari camp and many more.
How to get to Serengeti national park.
Serengeti National Park is a very accessible Tanzania safari destination for many places, including Arusha City. The park is reachable by both road and air transportation. It is situated in a rural area in north Tanzania.
By car: There are four primary entry and exit gates to Serengeti National Park: Naabi Hill Gate, Ndabaka Gate, Klein’s Gate, and Bologonya Gate. The drive to the park’s main gates from Arusha takes about 6-7 hours. It is highly recommended to have a 4X4 wheel vehicle when travelling to Serengeti National Park by road.
Through air: Both domestic and international airlines offer flights to Serengeti National Park. Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is located between Moshi and Arusha towns and is the preferred point of entrance to the park via international air travel, is 200 miles from the Serengeti National Park. International flights from KLM, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and many more are available at this airport. Kilimanjaro National Park also offers connecting flights to Nairobi.
Regional airlines like Air Excel, Coastal Aviation, and Regional Air provide flights to Serengeti National Park that take between one and five hours to complete from Kilimanjaro International Airport and Arusha Airport to one of the park’s seven airstrips