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Our National Parks
With twelve National Parks, seven game reserves, many forest reserves and the famous Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania offers more diversity in protected habitat than any other country in Africa.

Within most of Tanzania's National Parks you are not allowed out of the car or outside your campsite on foot. There are some exceptions - notably Mahale Mountains and Gombe Stream National Parks where there are no roads and you walk to see chimpanzees. Arusha and Kilimanjaro National Parks allow hiking and climbs of Mt. Meru and Kilimanjaro. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area does allow pre- arranged walking in certain areas, though walking in the Crater is not allowed. Thus most walking and hiking must be planned in advance and, generally, separately from the National Parks portion of your safari. Serengeti In Maasai language, "Serengeti" means "the wide-open space", spanning the shores of Lake Victoria to the west, Lake Eyasi to the south and the Great Rift Valley to the north and east. It is arguably the most famous of all of Africa's National Parks, known particularly for the wildebeest and zebra migration that occurs from November or December through June or July. About 1.5 million wildebeest and 450,000 zebra undertake a circuit of over 1000 kilometers in a continuous search for water and green pastures. Their calving season takes place in February on the "short grass" plains in the Ndutu / Olduvai area. Serengeti is home to the famous "BIG FIVE" - elephant, a population of about 2000 lion, leopard, cape buffalo, hippo, and some rarely seen rhino. The Park abounds with giraffe, eland, impala, baboons, other antelopes, and over 500 bird species. Good views of lion prides are (almost) guaranteed. Accessible all year round, it is seven hours by car from Arusha, and one half hour by plane. Several charter companies with scheduled flights will take you to Seronera, in the center of the park. Private campsites in the Serengeti are available, which we use for our Luxury Camping Safaris. We select the best areas to book, depending on the time of year. Occasionally we use the Serengeti Serena Lodge or Ndutu Safari Lodge, again, depending on the time of year. Ngorongoro Often called "The Eighth Wonder of the World" the ten-mile in diameter volcanic caldera is the land of the Maasai, their cattle, and the wildlife. It is one of the most spectacular places in East Africa to view - up close and personal - gigantic bull elephants, cape buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, hippo, and rafts of flamingos in the crater's Lake Magadi. It is the only place in Tanzania where you can consistently see the indigenous black rhino - of which only about 200 remain in the wild - 20 of them in the Crater. Ngorongoro is accessible all year round, though during the rainy season (April, May, and November) the tracks can be muddy. There are several private campsites on the rim of the Crater that we use for our Luxury Camping Safaris. On most excursions, however we use the Serena Wildlife Lodge, and sometimes the very up-scale Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. Ngorongoro Crater and nearby Olduvai Gorge are in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area which adjoins the Serengeti National Park and is a key part of the entire Serengeti eco-system. Manyara At the foot of the Rift Valley escarpment, en route to the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, sprawls the lush tropical oasis of Lake Manyara National Park. Once home to a large and healthy elephant population it is where Ian Douglass Hamilton based his camp in the 1970's, and conducted extensive elephant studies published in his now classic book "Among the Elephants". Unfortunately, poaching has reduced these elephant numbers, but plenty of elephant can still be seen there. Until the El Nino rains it was one of the best places to watch hippopotamuses bathe and interact, however most of their pools have been flooded and the hippo have moved. There are plenty of giraffe near the lake and it is always a treat to watch them sail across small grassy meadows and browse the acacia trees while Baboons, vervet, and blue monkeys leap overhead from tree to tree. Depending on the amount of rains the lake itself will vary considerably in size. There are no direct roads, so you must settle with viewing the rafts of pink flamingos from a distance. Here, lion often nap on tree limbs to escape the afternoon sun. Mto-wa-Mbu is a colorful town near Lake Manyara, where you may haggle with local merchants for kangas (sarongs with Swahili sayings worn by local women), tribal brass bracelets, and reasonably authentic Maasai jewelry. Behind the curio market is a very nice fresh produce market where you can see the astounding variety of fruits and vegetables that are locally grown. Lake Manyara National Park is accessible all year round, and is about a 3-hour drive from Arusha. Tarangire Less than an hour drive east of Lake Manyara, and about an hour and a half drive south of Arusha, Tarangire National Park is as famous for its great elephant herds as for numerous "hydra headed" baobab or "upside down" trees, which elephant enjoy snacking on. The Tarangire River runs through the park. Giraffe, eland, the chevron horned kongoni or hartebeest, lesser kudu, wildebeest, and zebra disperse into the rivers nearby swamps and flood plains, dotted with doum palms. In the dry season the wildlife concentrates along the river. Large herds of high jumping impala browse in the parks dense brush. Here, as well as Manyara, lion and leopard often straddle acacia limbs for an afternoon snooze. Tarangire is only a 2 and a half hour drive from Arusha on a recently re-paved tarmac road. The best time to visit is from June to October (dry season). During the dry season we regularly camp at one of the many private campsites for up to 4 nights. During the rains we will often use Tarangire Safari Lodge, a permanent tented camp, for an over-night stop and brief game drives while en route to or from Arusha. Gombe Stream This small park (52 sq km) covers a lush mountainous terrain along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and is synonymous with Chimpanzee research, most notably Jane Goodall's camp research center established in 1960. About 200 chimps live in the area all belonging to 3 family groups. It is the most expensive park in Tanzania but you'll have it all to yourself and can meet Jane's chimps- FiFi, Goblin and Beethoven. You'll quickly note how similar their daily soap operas are to our own. After all, there is only 2% difference between our DNA and theirs. And, like humans, they are strong and jealously guard their territory. Gombe Stream lies 16 km. north of Kigoma on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. This means it's very far from all of the other Parks in Tanzania's Northern Circuit and requires a charter flight to get there and back to avoid about one solid week of driving. It's a two + hour flight from Arusha to Kigoma; from there it's a one hour boat trip. Gombe is a good visit any time of year - but is probably best during the dry portion of the year from June to October. We often stay for 3 nights, providing 2 full days of walking in the forests with the chimps. Ruaha Ruaha national park consists mainly of undulated hills with 1000 meter high granite out-crops. It covers 13,000 square km and was created in 1964. Like the Selous, it is off the beaten path and remains largely untamed. Rarely visited by tourists, you'll have this Paradise to yourselves. From July to December the wildlife- crocodile, hippo and the clawless otter concentrate on the banks and water holes of the Ruaha River. Never too far from the river are prides of lion, which lie in wait for herds of thirsty Reedbuck and Waterbuck. Leopard, Jackal, and the spotted Hyaena and wild dog are always on the prowl. Grassland near the river is habitat for herds of elephant, eland, impala, and the grand corkscrew horned Greater and Lesser Kudu. The area is also habitat for wildcat Porcupine and the shy petite Civet cat. The best time to visit is from June through February. Ruaha is a 2-day drive from the Northern Parks, or a long charter flight. However it is also one of the most beautiful and least visited. Oludavi Gorge Olduvai Gorge - also called the "Cradle of Mankind", where, in 1959, Dr. Mary Leakey found the fossil fragments of Zinjanthropus, a distant human relative, dating back 1.8 million years when the area was a seasonal lake. In 1976 Dr. Mary Leakey invited Peter Jones (founder of Tanganyika Film and Safari) to work with her at Olduvai as an archaeologist and stone toolmaker. His work helped assess the possible uses of the various stone tools. Thanks to Peter's insistence to further excavate Laetoli, he and the Leakey's eventually uncovered the famous Laetoli footprints, which proved that about 3.8 million years ago our ancestors walked up right. Peter remained at Olduvai for eight years managing Leakey's camp, coordinating Laetoli field seasons, and conducting his own archaeological research. Olduvai Gorge is situated in the short grass plains, a little over an hours drive west of Ngorongoro Crater, and is in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. Campsites are available by special permission only and we usually visit Olduvai on a day that we travel between Ngorongoro and Serengeti. Mahale Mountains At an altitude of over 1800 meters Mahale is a succession of rolling montane and bamboo forests. Lush valleys support permanent streams that flow into Lake Tanganyika, the deepest lake in Africa. Mahale is most famous for its well protected and studied Chimpanzee population. Other species such as baboon and Colobus share the treetops with Livingston's Turaco and the crowned hawk eagle. Leopard, cape buffalo, and mountain elephant roam the dense forests. Hikes into the mountains as well as visiting the chimps are what this park is all about. There are no roads for motor vehicles here; safaris are done exclusively on foot. Best time of year is from May to October. From Kigoma it is a 4-9 hour boat trip, or 3+-hour charter flight from Arusha - depending on the type of aircraft used. The airstrip at Mahale is not very good and we have tended to visit Gombe Stream for our chimp safaris. Seleous Game Reserve Named after the turn of the 20th century British hunter, Frederick Selous, this rarely visited park nick-named "the Secret Eden" is far off the beaten path, and well worth the time to get there. Established in 1922 as a preserve for big game trophy hunters, the trackless wilderness still remains largely unexplored. It is the world's largest game reserve and walking safaris are encouraged. Low lying flood plains and wide sand rivers lined with doum palms gives a prehistoric feel to this 5000 square km park. The crocodile infested Rufiji River and its tributaries form a network of large lakes that are ideal for boat safaris. Because of the low human population density populations of elephant (reportedly up to 100, 000 elephant here), buffalo, roan and sable antelope, hippo, and packs of wild dog and the occasional rhinoceros are often seen. The bird watching is spectacular with 350 catalogued species. The best time to visit is from June to February. It's a 7-hour drive from Dar es Salaam, or a 35-minute charter flight. A must see is Stiegler's Gorge, where the Rufiji and the Great Ruaha river meet. Adventurers with steely nerves can cross a cable that spans the gorge. For the angler's, a fishing trip on Lake Tagalala is a must. All camps and lodges are concentrated near Stiegler's Gorge, where boat trips are available. Lodges and camps are closed due to rains from April to June