Tarangire National Park
Welcome to Tarangire
Tarangire National Park, nestled just a short drive from Arusha, Tanzania, boasts one of the highest concentrations of elephants in the country. Its iconic landscape, adorned with baobab and acacia trees, creates a picturesque backdrop for unforgettable wildlife encounters.
As part of the northern safari circuit, Tarangire serves as a popular stopover for travelers en route to Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. The park's expansive terrain extends into two game‑controlled areas, allowing wildlife to roam freely and providing visitors with unparalleled opportunities for game viewing.
When to visit Tarangire National Park
Depending on what you want to experience during your time in Tarangire National Park, it's helpful to know what to expect in different seasons: bird watching in the low season (November to April) or the thrill of the dry season with exceptional wildlife viewing.
The weather is generally warm and dry, with clear skies and minimal rainfall—ideal for comfortable game drives and crisp photographic conditions.
During these months, animals congregate around the Tarangire River, the park's only permanent water source, making wildlife viewing especially rewarding. Expect large elephant herds, alongside wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, and buffalo.
Attractions and activities in Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park has one of the highest elephant population densities in Tanzania. Its sparse vegetation, dotted with baobab and acacia trees, makes it a beautiful and distinctive place to visit.
Tarangire's wildlife diversity
Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It’s the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem – a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.
Bird Watching
More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.
On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys.
The Tarangire River
As the main source of water for the national park, the Tarangire River is a source of attraction due to the many wildlife species that would gather to drink water. The river is seasonal and varies overtime with high flows during the wet season and the flow is lower and slower during the dry season
Game drives
Through game drives, you get to experience diverse landscapes of Tarangire National Park, from open savannah to dense forests. You get to spot wildlife such as elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, etc. A game drive provides a unique opportunity to explore the park's flora and fauna up close.
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