SAFARI in TaRANGIRE

Day 1 - Arrival at Kilimanjaro Airport and transfer to Arusha

After you arrive at Kilimanjaro International Airport, there will be a Savannah Explorers guide waiting for you. After meeting the guide, he will transfer you to Arusha where you will be able to rest in the hotel. If you have time you can visit Arusha and the local market.

Day 2 - Tarangire National Park

The safari starts today with our first game drive in Tarangire National Park, one of the most beautiful Tanzanian Parks. This Tanzanian park is famous for the herds of elephants, the African pythons able to climb on the trees, and the baobab trees.

Day 3 and 4 - Serengeti National Park

These are the days of Serengeti National Park! On the way to Serengeti, we will cross the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. During the trip, we will take photos en-route and we will have a picnic lunch. Once we reach the park entry, you have time to climb to the view point near Naabi Gate where you can see the Serengeti endless plain and can take a wonderful photo. The picture opportunities will continue in Serengeti until we reach the lodge or the tent-camp for dinner.

The Serengeti National Park is the most famous park in Tanzania which is known all over the world. It is renowned for its boundless lowlands, the migration of the wildebeests, the pride of lions and the other raiders, such as hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, jackals and crocodiles. The name “Serengeti” means “Endless Plain,” which is evident based on the environment.

 

 

Optional Activity: Maasai Boma visit

Optional Activity: Olduvai Gorge visit.

Optional Activity: Sunrise Balloon Safari in Serengeti.

Day 5 - Ngorongoro Crater

Today we drive to Ngorongoro and descend to the crater where we explore Ngorongoro Crater and the surrounding area. This is one of the most evocative landscapes in the world where we can admire the dormant volcano and the nature that surrounds it. In the park, it will be possible to see the "Big Five:" elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, and rhinos. However, you should pay attention to the 30,000 animals and a great variety of birds in that area.

Day 6 - Karatu - Arusha – Kilimanjaro Airport

This is the last safari day! You are now a bit Tanzanian after the last days with us. Today, you will have time to walk around in the local villages. On the way to the airport, we can stop in the colorful local markets and souvenir shops if you like. You can continue your holiday in Tanzania and fly to the white Zanzibar beaches where you can relax and unwind in the middle of pristine nature.

 

Optional Activity: Iraqw Boma visit.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park covers about 2,600 square kilometers. The name of this park is originated from the Tarangire River that cuts through the center of the Park. This park is found in the northern part of Tanzania and it’s about only 2 hours drive from Arusha town. The main two attractions here are a high number of elephants and great baobab trees. There are many animals to see in this park although the best season for animals viewing is during the dry season. The dry season starts from June to October, so by this time large elephant herds and other animals, do not stay far from the Tarangire River. Elephants need between 100 and 300 liters of water a day to survive and for this reason, you find them digging holes in the sands of the River in order to get water. These holes attract also other animals because they usually wait for the elephants to dig up holes in the riverbeds and bring up groundwater to quench their thirst.

Therefore, this is the big factor why it’s is recommended to visit Tarangire during the dry season. Still, you can see animals in other months apart of dry season months but are not many compared to dry season because from November to May, some of the wildlife leaves the park to Lake Manyara, or east into the Maasai Steppe considering that they can find water to those areas easily by that time. In the meantime, Tarangire National Park also provides great opportunities for birdwatching. Over 500 species are recorded here and the common bird species often spotted are Kori Bustard, the yellow-collared Lovebird, and Hornbills. There are some amazing optional activities such as night game drives and walking safaris that we can recommend you to do while at Tarangire National park.

Wildlife in Tarangire Park

Tarangire National Park is located in the north of Tanzania south of Lake Manyara. It is a protected area that is enriched with grassy plains, colossal baobabs, and huge herds of elephants estimated to be around 300 herds. You can also find big groups of buffalo, pride of lions, leopard, wild dogs, and rare antelope like gerenuk, cheetah, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, spotted hyena, dik-dik, impala, eland, and more than 550 species of birds which can be seen throughout the year. Among all the famous wildlife found in Tarangire, this park is famously known for the big herds of elephants as it is the number one park with the large number of elephants in Tanzania which can easily be seen during game drives.

Birdwatching in Tarangire

Tarangire National Park is the countless birdwatching spot with more than 500 species of both resident and migratory birds. The diversity of birds in the park add an advantage for early morning game drives, when the birds sing during dry and wet seasons. Tarangire is rich in different habitats type that all attracts many bird species including the endemic species in Tanzania; rufous-tailed weaver, ashy starling and yellow-collared lovebird.

When visiting the park the most common birds that are easily spotted are lilac breasted roller, hammerkops, mouse birds, starlings, bee eaters, swifts, plovers, and barbets, bateleur eagle, white-faced whistling duck, boubou, white bellied go away bird, great white pelican and species of lark. Other species that are common in the park are spur fowl, francolins, shrike, weavers and hornbills. Ostrich, the world largest flightless bird and Kori Bustard, the world’s heaviest flying bird can also be spotted in Tarangire National Park.

Tarangire Safari Lodge

Tarangire Safari Lodge is located inside Tarangire National Park 10km from the main gate. The lodge is built on top of a high bluff with a magnificent panoramic view of the park. Rooms are made up of Safari tents that, with thatched roofs and large mesh-screened windows. Each tent has a terrace ideal for relaxing when reading books or spotting some animals, and the rooms are categorized to double tents, twin tents and triple bungalows all with indoor bathrooms and solar-heated showers. Other facilities within this lodge are open dining, lounge and bar, swimming pool, Baobab boutique and power. Activities offered by the lodge are a night game drive and a walking safari with an armed ranger. All these are booked in advance through tour operators.

Cost of Tarangire Safari

Tarangire is one of the best parks to visit and has many tourist attractions including wildlife and accommodation. The cost for visiting Tarangire is not the same since this depends on the package the customer wants especially with accommodation.

Safari vehicle, private safari guide and entrance fees

For the safari vehicle and private safari guide, the prices are fixed unless you share the safari with more people because for many people safari cost will be lower compared to the vehicle used by a few people.

Park entrance fee is always constant unless Tanzania National Park Authority changes it. In Tarangire National Park, the entrance fee is 60 USD per person.

Lodges and Tented Camps

The visitors can be able to save money depending on the type of accommodation they want to use. For the luxury accommodation, visitors will have to spend much on it because these are lodges and camps that are located at beautiful and amazing locations with a nice view also they have very good services that are reasonable to their price. If the visitors have a low budget, they can book with the mid-range lodges, camps, or tents and will eventually enjoy the safari and game drives in Tarangire National Park.

Frequently Asked Questions about Safari in Tarangire

Tarangire National Park is known as a home of baobab trees and the best destination for elephant sightseeing. It is one of the parks receiving a large number of tourists after Serengeti, Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro. Below are some of the frequently asked questions regarding Tarangire National Park?

What is the best month to visit Tarangire?

The best months to visit Tarangire National Park is between the months of June to October. This is the period of the dry season and most animals are easily spotted. In addition, the roads within the park are easily accessible compared to when you travel during the rainy season where the possibility of stuck within the mad is high.

How to get into Tarangire National Park?

Tarangire can be accessed by either road or air transport. Arusha is the common starting point for most travelers. The distance from Arusha to Tarangire is approximately 140km and it takes up to 3 hours’ drive. Apart from that, there are scheduled flight departing every day from Kilimanjaro or Arusha Aiport and the flight time depend on the routes because sometimes the flights are via Serengeti or Lake Manyara airstrip. In addition, there is an option for charter flights which is possible to arrange if clients do not wish to use the scheduled flights.

Is night game drive allowed in Tarangire?

Tarangire is one of the national parks in Tanzania that offers a night game drive. This activity is done after dinner around 2000hrs using an open vehicle, spotlight torches, a professional tour guide and an armed ranger to ensure the safety of the clients against wild animals during the game drive. The advantage of a night of night game drive is clients will be able to spot nocturnal animals and birds such as serval cats, honey badger, bush babies, nightjar and many others. In addition, it offers an opportunity for the clients to spot other mammals feeding or predators hunting. For more information regarding the price and itinerary, please contact us through our email address.

Between Tarangire and Manyara which one would you recommend?

First, this depends on clients’ interests however, in general, I would recommend Tarangire over Manyara because there are more variety of animals in Tarangire compared to Manyara and the game drive takes much longer time compared to Manyara. This is because the size of Tarangire is bigger than the size of Manyara, therefore there are plenty to spot and enjoy compared to Manyara.

What accommodation options do we have in Tarangire?

In Tarangire, there are several accommodation options ranging from Luxury properties like Tarangire Treetops, Kuro Tarangire, Oliver’s camps, etc to Medium range properties like Tarangire Safari Lodge, Burunge Tented Lodge and Tarangire Osupuko, etc. In addition, you can opt either to overnight inside or outside the park in a wildlife management area. All the properties offer very good services and are located in strategic locations to ensure your safari runs smoothly.

What is Tarangire known for?

Tarangire National Park found in the northern part of Tanzania is mostly known for two great attractions. The first one is the high number of elephants and the second one is the great baobab trees. Currently, the elephant population in Tarangire is over 4,000 individuals, a dramatic increase from the 2,500 individuals counted in 2009. The increase of elephants has been achieved due to anti-poaching programs done by the government and other private organizations. If you really want to see many elephants in Tanzania then we recommend you include Tarangire National Park as one of the parks to be not missed during your safari. The good period to encounter big herds of elephants is during the dry season from June to October because by this time there are no other place in Tarangire where animals can drink water. It’s only a Tarangire River that has water by this time. And due to this factor, you witness them digging holes in the sands of the River in order to get water considering that elephants need between 100 and 300 liters of water a day to survive.

Another factor making Tarangire famous is the availability of the great baobab trees. These baobab trees live about two and three thousand years, though some are thought to be as old as four thousand. While on your safari in Tarangire and once you stand around these trees you can be sure that they have spent quite some time on the planet and seen a lot of history. If they could talk, they would surely be interesting storytellers. So we invite you to visit Tarangire and enjoy these attractions. On top of these, In Tarangire, you see other animals apart of elephants such as Lions, Leopard, Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebra, Giraffe, and others. You also find over 500 species recorded such as Kori Bustard, the yellow-collared Lovebird, and Hornbills.

Tarangire: When To Go? (Best Time To Visit)

Tanzania experiences alternating periods of wet and dry which does not only affect safari prices but they affect the parks also. During the wet season in November - December, and March-May, there is the availability of water which means that animals are free to roam far and will not be found in groups which is a bad game viewing. This means during the wet season is not a good time to visit Tarangire.

During the dry season in June – October, there is a rapid depletion of water in the park which forces animals to move closer to the few available sources of water like the Tarangire River and swamps of a river valley.

Can I see the Big Five in Tarangire?

The term “Big Five” refers to Africa’s Black Rhino, Leopard, Lion, Elephant, and Cape Buffalo. Seeing the Big 5 close is a once in a lifetime experience since some of them are difficult to see especially Black Rhino. Tarangire National park is a nice and amazing park for those who are looking to meet some of the Big Five animals. The Park is home to four of the Big Five animals; Leopard, Lion, Elephant, and Cape Buffalo where Black Rhino is considered absent. Lions and buffalo are common here, and it's a rare that a visitor does not see a prowling lion or a grazing buffalo during their game drive. Leopards are also mostly seen but sometimes difficult due to the densely wooded park. The elephant population in this park is a must-see considering that Tarangire is home to a high number of elephants. Since Black Rhino is not available in Tarangire, then we recommend you combine Tarangire park with other parks like Ngorongoro, Mkomazi, and Serengeti National park where Black Rhino can be seen.