Serengeti National Park

Overview

The Serengeti is one of the most famous parks in Africa and is synonymous with wildlife and classic African scenery. It is Tanzania’s oldest park and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is home to the spectacular wildebeest migration and offers top-class wildlife viewing throughout the year.
Serengeti National Park
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Wildlife

Wildebeest Migration - Every year, over 2 million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle migrate from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. If you're there at the right time, you can spot herds of wildebeest and zebra stretching to the horizon. The Serengeti offers some of the best wildlife viewing in Africa. All the major safari animals occur in great numbers. Cheetah and four of the Big 5 are easily seen, but rhino sightings are rare, and only black rhino are present. Aside from the big cats, many other predators can be spotted including spotted hyena (especially in the morning), jackal and bat-eared fox. More About the Wildlife

Scenery

Serengeti’s scenery is renowned for its grassland plains in the southeast. The northern part is more hilly and rocky. To the west, valleys, rivers and forest can be found. Several areas in the Serengeti are dotted with ‘koppies’, granite outcrops rising up from the plains. It’s an immense landscape and quite stunning – big sky country that feels like untamed wilderness.

Best Time to Visit

Overall, wildlife watchers are better off timing their trip to coincide with the drier months (June to October). Aim for June and July if you can, as the incredible wildebeest migration usually tramples the plains at this time. If you’re keen on seeing predators in action, visit in late January or February. This is the hiatus in the annual rains, when the wildebeests calve. More About the Best Time to Visit

Weather & Climate

Conditions in the Serengeti are rarely taxing in the daytime during the Dry season (June to October), when the temperature stays nice and warm. It’s a different story at night, when the mercury can take a deep dive. The heat creeps up a few degrees during the Wet season (November to May), though the odd cold front can introduce a chill. More About the Weather and Climate

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Wildlife & Animals

The Serengeti is considered Tanzania's best park. Big herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and many antelope, such as eland, topi, kongoni and impala are resident at any time of the year. All three big cats are easily seen. Lion are often found on a kill. Cheetah are very common on the southeastern plains, while leopard can typically be found lazing in one of the big trees along the Seronera River.
Abundant Common Occasional Rare None
  • Lion

    Lion

    Common
  • Wild Dog

    Wild Dog

    Rare
  • Buffalo

    Buffalo

    Common
  • Cheetah

    Cheetah

    Common
  • Giraffe

    Giraffe

    Common
  • Elephant

    Elephant

    Common
  • Hippo

    Hippo

    Common
  • Hyena

    Hyena

    Common
  • Leopard

    Leopard

    Occasional
  • Wildebeest

    Wildebeest

    Abundant
  • White Rhino

    White Rhino

    None
  • Black Rhino

    Black Rhino

    Rare
  • Zebra

    Zebra

    Abundant
Size relative to a 6-ft man: animal-size

IUCN Red List Status Vulnerable

  • LC
  • NT
  • VU
  • EN
  • CR
  • EW
  • EX

Least Concern

Current Population Trend:

Serengeti National Parks
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Wildlife highlights

The Serengeti is considered Tanzania's best park. Big herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and many antelope, such as eland, topi, kongoni and impala are resident at any time of the year. All three big cats are easily seen. Lion are often found on a kill. Cheetah are very common on the southeastern plains, while leopard can typically be found lazing in one of the big trees along the Seronera River.

Best time for wildlife viewing

The Serengeti offers amazing wildlife viewing throughout the year. June and July are the best months for seeing the migration and a possible crossing of the Grumeti River. The more famous river crossings of the Mara River can be witnessed around September in the north of the park. February is the best month for the wildebeest calving. The dry months from June to October offer the best general wildlife viewing.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit the Serengeti National Park is in the Dry season (from late June to October). This period offers the best wildlife viewing in general – with the wildebeest migration as its absolute highlight. Wildlife viewing is good throughout the year, but certain areas are better at specific times. The timing of the migration varies every year (the best chance of seeing it is during June and July) while the wildebeest calving is from late January to February.

June - October

Dry Season

  • June and July are the best months to see the wildebeest migration in the western corridor and August to September in the north of the park
  • Animals are easier to spot since they concentrate around waterholes and rivers and the vegetation is less thick
  • Mostly sunny and there is very little rain
  • Few mosquitoes and the chance of contracting malaria is minimal

November - May

Wet Season

  • Late January to February is the time to see the calving – this is an excellent time to see predator action
  • The scenery is lush
  • April and May are low season, so it's usually less crowded and rates might be lower
  • Although wildlife is easier to spot in the Dry season, the Serengeti offers good wildlife viewing throughout the year
  • Migratory birds are present and bird-watching is at its best
  • Except for March, April and May, rains are mostly short afternoon storms and seldom interfere with your trip
  • January-February for the wildebeest calving;

    January-February for the wildebeest calving;

  • Most of the year – July to March

    The Serengeti will be crowded around the Seronera area

  • April and May

    Lower rated may apply

  • June to October

    Little to no rainfall

  • March and April

    Peak of Wet season

Weather & Climate

The climate in Serengeti is usually moderate and pleasant. It never gets very hot, but it is consistently cool to cold at night and in the early mornings. Don’t forget to take warm clothing.   Serengeti's Dry season is from June to October. There are two Wet seasons. The ‘short rains’ are from November to December, and the ‘long rains’ are from March to May. During the Wet season, it rarely rains all day, but afternoon thundershowers can be expected.  

Climate Chart
- – 1,140-2,099m / 3,740-6,886ft
* Averages based on 50 years of monthly climate data, taken from 1km² (0.39mi²) interpolated climate surfaces. © chart & park data: SafariBookings. © climate grid data: WorldClim project. All rights reserved.
Dry season
- June to October

Afternoon temperatures are usually around 25°C/77°F. Most days have a fine, clear sky. It gets cold at night with minimum temperatures around 14°C/57°F.

  • June, July, August & September Occasional cold fronts are possible, with temperatures close to freezing. It’s usually cold early in the morning.
  • October The short rains might start at the end of October if they are early.
Wet season
- November to May

As in the Dry season, temperatures are moderate during the Wet season. Afternoon temperatures are usually around 26°C/79°F, and night temperatures are around 15°C/59°F.

  • November & December 'Short rains' – An unpredictable period of about a month of rains occurs sometime between October and December. The rains will be unlikely to interfere with your safari.
  • January & February There tends to be a dry spell between the short and long rains. The exact timing is unpredictable.

Getting There

Most safaris to the Serengeti start from the town of Arusha. The best option to get there is to fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) which is situated about 46km/29mi from Arusha. It is also possible to fly into Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), just outside of Dar es Salaam, and fly on to Arusha Airport (ARK) or Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO).   There are regular flights from Arusha to several airstrips inside the park. It’s also possible to drive; the trip is about 325km/202mi and will take about eight hours. It is a bumpy ride but it’s scenic and you’ll see some wildlife on the way. As the trip takes you through the Ngorongoro Conservation area, a popular option is to fly one way, and drive the other way taking in an overnight stop to visit the Ngorongoro Crater. Coming from the crater, the distance to the Seronera area in the Serengeti is about 140km/90mi, and the driving time is about three hours.

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