Serengenti National Park: Home to the Great Migration

Serengeti National Park is arguably the finest game park in Africa. The Serengeti is one of the most iconic destinations in the world, so no wonder it’s one of Tanzania’s top attractions. The subject of many nature documentaries, the park is host to the dramatic Great Migration, where millions of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles must cross the Mara River. 

Between June and October, travellers can witness this epic event: the clouds of dust, hooves pummelling the earth, the grunts and splashing of herds crossing the river — some inevitably falling prey to the waiting crocodiles. But that’s not all. On the vast Serengeti plains, you can spot cheetahs scanning from the top of a termite mound, lions beginning their prowl at dusk and herds of browsing elephants moving from tree to tree.

At 14,763 square kilometres in size, the Serengeti is arguably the finest national park in Africa and offers a wealth of wildlife viewing opportunities. Pretty much every large animal in East Africa can be regularly seen in the national park or wider ecosystem. When you include all the contiguous protected areas, of which Ngorongoro is one of the most noteworthy, the total size of the entire Serengeti-Mara ecosystem is a staggering 30,000 square kilometres packed choc-full of truly extraordinary wildlife sightings. Renowned for its predators – especially lions, leopards and cheetahs – and with plenty of elephants favouring the western woodlands of Grumeti, the Serengeti dazzles even the most hardened safari critics.

REGIONS OF SERENGETI

Though most imagine the plains as the Serengeti, this immense reserve is actually divided into three eco-regions.

1. The Serengeti plains:

These are the great treeless expanses of grassland in the south which most think of as typifying the park. Here the wildebeest breed from roughly December to May. You’ll find other hoofed animals here like zebra, gazelle, impala, hartebeest, buffalo and waterbuck.

2. Western Corridor:

This area is mostly known for the Grumeti River and its surrounding forests, where crocodiles, monkeys, hippos and eagles dwell.

3. The Northern Serengeti:

This area is primarily open woodlands and hills. Though not heavily visited, this region is a good environment to spot elephants and giraffes.

The vast Serengeti ecosystem is one of the planet’s oldest, its vegetation and wildlife are little different than they appeared a million years ago.

The area is a prehistoric cradle for mankind as well. Early man inhabited the nearby Olduvai Gorge about 2 million years ago. Signs of early tool making and other artefacts have been found here.