Tarangire National Park| Image Travel

The Largest Elephant Population in Tanzania:Tarangire is famous for its massive elephant herds. During the dry season (June to October), thousands of elephants, sometimes in herds of up to 300 individuals, migrate to the park, drawn by the permanent water of the Tarangire River. It's a spectacular sight to see them digging in the riverbeds for water or gathering to drink and cool off.
Iconic Baobab Trees:The park's landscape is defined by the majestic and ancient baobab trees, which are scattered across the savannah. These "Trees of Life" with their thick, gnarled trunks and root-like branches, create a surreal and beautiful backdrop for your safari photos. Some of these trees are estimated to be over a thousand years old.
Walking Safaris: Accompanied by an armed ranger, a walking safari lets you experience the bush up close, focusing on smaller details like animal tracks and insects.

Bird Watchers Paradise: With over 550 bird species recorded, Tarangire is a haven for bird enthusiasts. The diverse habitats, including swamps, woodlands, and the river, attract a vast number of birds. You can spot everything from colorful yellow-collared lovebirds and hornbills to a variety of raptors and unique species like the ashy starling.
Hot air balloon rides:Like in the Serengeti, a hot air balloon ride at dawn offers a stunning, bird's-eye view of the landscape and the waking wildlife, followed by a champagne breakfast.
Diverse Wildlife:While elephants are the stars, Tarangire is home to a wide variety of other animals, including the "Big Five" (though black rhino sightings are rare). The park is one of the best places to see large herds of buffalo, as well as lions, leopards, and cheetahs. It's also known for species that are less common in other parks, such as the fringe-eared oryx and the greater and lesser kudu.

Tarangire National Park Wildlife Experience

Tarangire has some of the highest elephant populations in the country. During peak migration from July to October, around 5,000 of these gentle giants will migrate to Tarangire - you can sometimes see groups of 300 elephants at once. It's not just elephants that migrate across these plains. You'll also find plenty of other mammals including lions, zebras and antelopes. The vast grasslands and Baobab trees create a rugged, 'Out of Africa' feel that's quite distinct amongst Tanzania's national parks.

Tarangire National Park is home to some dry-country antelope, such as the rare fringe-eared oryx and peculiar, long-necked gerenuk. The swampy areas in the south of the park offer some interesting wildlife viewing opportunities including wallowing elephants and buffalo, the Silale Swamp lion pride and sometimes wild dog. Big pythons can sometimes be found in trees when the swamps are drying up.

Best time to visit
The Tarangire National Park

The middle and the end of the dry season that runs from late June to October is the best time to view wild life in Tarangire National Park. Most of the animals move out of the park during the wet season and viewing animals is at that time less rewarding. In June to October (the dry season), the animals gather around the Tarangire River and this is the best time to go to Tarangire National Park. There is little rainfall during this time of the year hence making it the time with the best weather for game viewing. June to October still marks the high / peak tourist season with so many tourists filling the park. on the other hand, the low tourist season comes in March, April and May when the park is experiencing the wet season characterized y heavy rains, hence the worst weather.

How to get there

Tarangire National Park is part of the popular Northern safari circuit and is typically visited together with Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. Most safaris start from the town of Arusha. The best way to get there is to fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), which is 50km/31mi from Arusha. It is also possible to fly into Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam and on to Arusha Airport (ARK) or Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO). There are regular flights from Arusha and Serengeti to Tarangire, but driving is a good option too. It is a comfortable 2-hour* drive from Arusha to the park entrance gate, of which only the last 7km/4mi is not tarred. Moving on, it is an easy drive to Lake Manyara National Park (100km/60mi in about 2 hours*) or the Ngorongoro Crater (180km/110mi in about 4 hours*).

Tarangire National Park Birdlife

Tarangire is sensational for bird avians, with over 500 species of birds. Expect to see and enjoy a variety of birds and some rare species when visiting the park, including northern white-crowned shrike, francolins,red-bellied parrot, ashy starlings, grey-headed kingfishers, ostriches, speckle-fronted weaver, red and yellow barbets among others. Endangered species of birds include rufous-tailed weavers, ashy starlings, and yellow-collared birds.