Northern Circuit · Tanzania
2,850 km² of baobab country two hours from Arusha, where the Tarangire River draws some of the largest elephant herds in northern Tanzania every dry season. Quieter than the Serengeti, more ancient-looking than anywhere else on the circuit, and the natural first stop on a northern Tanzania safari.
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Tarangire National Park takes its name from the Tarangire River, which runs through the park from south to north and is the only permanent water for kilometres around. The park was gazetted in 1970 and covers 2,850 km² of rolling acacia savannah, seasonal swamps and some of the largest baobab trees in East Africa, many of them scarred by generations of elephants stripping their bark. The park runs on a simple rhythm. In the dry season, from June to October, the land outside dries out and wildlife from across the Maasai Steppe moves in toward the river. Elephant herds of a hundred or more are common, alongside buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe and eland, and the lion, leopard and cheetah that follow them. When the rains return in November, the herds disperse again and the park turns green and quiet.
Tarangire is also one of Tanzania's great birding parks, with more than 550 recorded species, including the yellow-collared lovebird and ashy starling, both found only in Tanzania. The northern section along the river is where most visitors spend their time. Further south, around the Silale Swamp and the remote Mkungunero area, you can drive for an hour without seeing another vehicle, and the drier country holds fringe-eared oryx and gerenuk. Because it is only two hours from Arusha, most of our guests begin their safari here before continuing to Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti. If time is short, a Tarangire day trip from Arusha is easy to arrange, but a night in or beside the park lets you be out at dawn, when the elephants come down to drink.
Tarangire rewards time on the river. Most days start early along the Tarangire River and its lookouts, pause for lunch through the heat, and end in the late light when the elephants return to the water. Around the park's edges, the neighbouring wildlife management areas add activities you cannot do on a standard park drive.
When to go
Tarangire is a dry-season park first. The less rain there is, the more wildlife crowds onto the river, so the months when the surrounding country looks parched are the months the park is at its best. The green season has its own rewards, though, and far fewer visitors.
Whatever the season, Tarangire pairs naturally with the Serengeti: elephants here and the river crossings in the north during the dry season, or calving on the southern Serengeti plains in the green season. For rainfall and temperatures by month, see our Tanzania weather guide and let us plan your trip. →
Simple tented camps and lodges outside the main gate, or public campsites inside the park. You drive in for game drives each day, which keeps costs down without cutting your time with the wildlife.
Comfortable permanent tented camps with en-suite bathrooms, many on the escarpment or in the wildlife management areas bordering the park, with wide views over the Tarangire River valley.
Above the crossing points, with private vehicles and a short drive to the river in season.
Start with one of these safaris that include Tarangire, then work with our local expert in Arusha to change the pace, the camps and the length.
