Best wildlife safari in Tanzania

Best wildlife safari in Tanzania: Tanzania is home to numerous wildlife species which can be seen across the different national park, game reserves, and sanctuaries in the country. There are numerous wildlife species in the different wildlife viewing destinations in Tanzania and these include the big 5 such as elephants, rhinos, lions, buffalos and leopards which are the most difficult wildlife species to hunt on foot.

Best wildlife safari in Tanzania

Best wildlife safari in Tanzania: Tanzania’s various wildlife viewing destinations include Serengeti national park, Ngorongoro conservation area, Tarangire national park, Lake Manyara national park which are referred to as the northern tourist circuit of Tanzania.

Other destinations in Tanzania which are visited for wildlife viewing experiences include Selous game reserve and Ruaha national park. The dry season is recommended for safaris for wildlife viewing in these different wildlife viewing destinations of Tanzania. 

Tanzania is not only known for its amazing safaris and breathtaking scenery but also for its various cultures such as the Maasai who are a nomadic group of people who can be encountered during a safari in Tanzania.

Serengeti national park

With amazing wildlife viewing all year round, Serengeti national park is one of the popular wildlife viewing destinations of Tanzania. This national park is also a UNESCO world heritage site and is the oldest national park of Tanzania covering about 14750 square kilometers.

Serengeti national park is also home to about 3000 lions, 1000 leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffalos, rhinos, wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, hippos, hyenas, dik-dik, gazelles, impalas, hartebeests, topi, and waterbucks among others.

The national park is also known for the wildebeest migration where over 2 million wildebeests move from one location to another in search of greener pastures annually. The movement of these wildebeests varies at different times of the year across the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem.

Different wildlife species can also be seen across the different parts of Serengeti national park which include the western Serengeti, northern Serengeti, central Serengeti or Seronera area and southern Serengeti.

The various activities which are carried out during a wildlife viewing experience in Serengeti national park include game drives, horse riding and nature walks.

Tarangire national park

Another wildlife viewing destination of Tanzania is Tarangire national park famous for its many elephants. This national park also consists of baobab and acacia trees and savannah plains where different wildlife species can be seen.

Tarangire national park is also home to over 600 bird species. The wildlife species of Tarangire national park include lions, elephants, impalas, wildebeests, zebras, buffalos, antelopes, giraffes and many others.

Along the Tarangire river, many wildlife species such as elephants can also be spotted during a safari around Tarangire national park. The national park also has stunning views with a varied landscape.

Tarangire national park is also a short drive away from Arusha where most safaris to the northern part of Tanzania begin.

Lake Manyara national park

Lake Manyara national park is a tree climbing lion paradise which is also located in the northern part of Tanzania and is also an ideal wildlife viewing destination. There are a variety of wildlife species in this national park such as elephants, buffalos, giraffes, hippos, antelopes as well as baboons.

There is also a shallow alkaline lake in this national park where flamingos can be seen during a wildlife safari around Lake Manyara national park. There are also over 300 other bird species in the national park.

During a safari to Lake Manyara national park beautiful views of the rift valley can be seen as well as views of the lake and the savannah plains.

Ngorongoro conservation area

The Ngorongoro conservation area is home to a variety of wildlife such as the big 5 (elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, buffalos) and many other wildlife species like the endangered rhinos, cheetahs, hippos, giraffes, elands, waterbucks, impalas, zebras, hyenas, warthogs among others. There are also different bird species which can be seen at this destination such as flamingos along Lake Magadi shores.

With beautiful scenery, the Ngorongoro crater is another popular safari destination and is also referred to as the world’s largest inactive caldera. The Maasai also coexist with the wildlife of Ngorongoro and can be encountered while on a safari around the destination.

Activities which visitors at the Ngorongoro conservation area engage in include game drives, guided nature walks as well as community visits.

Selous game reserve

Selous game reserve is a protected area in Tanzania which is located in the southern part of Tanzania with diversity in wildlife and vast wilderness made of forests, grassy plains, shrubs, rock outcrops as well as woodlands.

This game reserve is part of the southern tourist circuit of Tanzania and is bigger in size compared to Serengeti national park. Selous game reserve is also the biggest game reserve in Africa and is divided into the northern Selous and southern Selous.

The game reserve which covers about 54600 square kilometers is home to a variety of wildlife species such as buffalos, lions, giraffes, zebras, zebras, hippos, impalas, hartebeests, waterbucks, elands, bushbucks, antelopes, elephants, leopards among others.

Attractions in Selous game reserve include River Rufiji, Lake Tagalala, among others.  Visitors engaging in wildlife viewing experiences in the game reserve include game drives, boat rides, hot air balloon safaris and walking safaris.

Ruaha national park

Ruaha national park is also part of the southern tourist circuit of Tanzania and is a remote national park which covers about 22000 square kilometers and is named after Ruaha river which flows in the national park.

The different wildlife species of Ruaha national park include elephants, antelopes, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, elands, impalas, kudu, among others as well as a variety of bird species.

Ruaha national park consists of woodlands, baobab trees and plains where the different wildlife species can be spotted during a wildlife viewing experience. Activities carried out in this national park include game drives, nature walks, bird watching among others.

To get to the various wildlife viewing destinations of Tanzania, different means of transport are used such as air or flight as well as driving to the different destinations.

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