Tarangire

About Tarangire

Tarangire National Park lies a couple of hours south-west of Arusha, a landscape of rolling acacia woodland, open swamp and huge, swollen-trunked baobabs, some of them centuries old. Through it winds the Tarangire River, which keeps flowing long after the surrounding country has turned to dust, and that one fact shapes everything about the park.

From about July to October, animals walk in from far beyond the boundary to drink, and Tarangire holds some of the largest gatherings of elephants in Tanzania, with families digging in the dry riverbed for water and dust-bathing under the baobabs. Buffalo, zebras, wildebeest and giraffes crowd the river, followed by lions. Look for fringe-eared oryx and lesser kudu in the drier corners, and for yellow-collared lovebirds and ground hornbills among the park's many birds. In the community lands bordering the park, you can join guided walks and night drives.

The dry season from June to October is the time for big herds; from November to May the park is green, quiet and full of migrant birds, though many animals disperse. Tarangire is the natural first stop on a northern Tanzania circuit, before Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti, and a short drive from Arusha if you come overland from Nairobi via the Namanga border. A Tanzanian e-visa is required.