The Serengeti National Park is one of world’s greatest game parks. Meaning “endless plains” in the Maasai language, the Serengeti continues to be an ongoing source of inspiration to writers, filmmakers and photographers alike.
It is Tanzania’s oldest game reserve and is world-famous for the role it plays in the annual Great Migration, when an estimated two million herbivores – mostly wildebeest – migrate in a clockwise loop searching for the best grazing at that time. Thousands of animals die along the way and the drama of this epic seasonal journey is a gripping, deeply moving experience and a wonderful photographic subject.
Its far-reaching plains of endless grass, tinged with the twisted shadows of acacia trees, have made it the quintessential image of a wild and untarnished Africa. Its large stone kopjes are home to rich ecosystems, and the sheer magnitude and scale of life that the plains support is staggering. Large prides of lions laze easily in the long grasses, plentiful families of elephants feed on acacia bark and trump to each other across the plains, and giraffes, gazelles, monkeys, eland, and the whole range of African wildlife is in awe-inspiring numbers.
The annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti attract visitors from around the world, who flock to the open plains to witness the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet. More than a million animals make the seasonal journey to fresh pasture to the north, then the south, after the biannual rains. The sound of their thundering hooves, raising massive clouds of thick red dust, has become one of the legends of the Serengeti plains. The entire ecosystem thrives from the annual migration, from the lions and birds of prey that gorge themselves on the weak and the faltering to the gamut of hungry crocodiles that lie in patient wait at each river crossing for their annual feed.
But it’s not just the wildebeest that use the Serengeti to migrate. The adjacent reserves of Maswa and Ikorongo, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya all allow the animals and birds of the area a free range of movement to follow their seasonal migrations. A little known fact is that more than half of all the migration herds never cross into the Masai Mara. Where the bulk of the famous Mara River crossing occurs both sides of the Mara River are in Tanzania.
Indeed, in the wake of the wildebeest migration, many of the less attention-grabbing features of the Serengeti are often overlooked. The park has varied zones in which each ecosystem is subtly different. Serenera in the centre of the park is the most popular and most easily visited area. The Grumeti River in the Western Corridor is another obstacle, requiring a dangerous river crossing during the wildebeest migration. Maswa Game Reserve to the south offers a remote part of the park rewarding in its game-viewing and privacy, and Lobo portion in north-east Serengeti offers a change to see plentiful game during the dry season.
Aside from traditional vehicle bound safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti plains has become a safari rite-of-passage for travel enthusiasts. The flights depart at dawn over the plains and take passengers close over the awakening herds of wildebeest and zebra, gazelle and giraffe. The extra altitude allows guests to witness the striking stretches of plains punctuated only by kopjes. Up in the sky, you have Africa all to yourself.
A drive from Moshi to Seronera (central Serengeti) takes about 10 hours, passing through Ngorongoro Conservation Area (but not through the crater). Most always a safari itinerary will break up this drive by visiting either Tarangire or Lake Manyara National Parks on the first day, then continuing to the Serengeti the next morning. On the way back, it is common to stop at Ngorongoro Crater for overnight, visit the crater then continue to Moshi the next day. This means that a 4 days safari typically would include 24 hours in Serengeti. Adding additional days is well worth it if you have the time and budget. Even a week in just the Serengeti will not be boring. If you want to visit northern Serengeti you will need a minimum of 5 days.
There are several airstips inside of the Serengeti for small planes (18 - 22 passengers) flying into or out of the Serengeti is a great way to maximize your valuable time and your body will be saved from some hours on rough roads. There is also a flight from Seronera (central Serengeti) to Zanzibar on a slightly larger plane which is well worth considering if you want some beach time afterwards. We are happy to give you itineries and prices for all options.
