The Serengeti is one of the most famous parks in Africa and is synonymous with wildlife and classic African scenery. It is Tanzania’s oldest park and a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is home to the spectacular wildebeest migration and offers top-class wildlife viewing throughout the year.
Every year, over 2 million wildebeest, zebra and gazelle migrate from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. If you're there at the right time, you can spot herds of wildebeest and zebra stretching to the horizon.
The Serengeti offers some of the best wildlife viewing in Africa. All the major safari animals occur in great numbers. Cheetah and four of the Big 5 are easily seen, but rhino sightings are rare, and only black rhino are present. Aside from the big cats, many other predators can be spotted including spotted hyena (especially in the morning), jackal and bat-eared fox.
Mystery Gorilla Safaris Says
The Serengeti is in the top 3 safari destinations in Africa, arguably the best of them all. Its sure scale, lack of infrastructure, diverse landscape and wide open savannah make it the quintessential safari destination.
It is the home of the Great Wildebeest Migration for 9 months of the year. The migration moves around the Serengeti and it is important to understand where they are likely to be when you plan your visit. See our detailed description of the Great Annual Migration to get an understanding of the wildebeest migration.
Compared with other reserves of its size, the Serengeti has very few lodges, camps, hotels, migration camps, etc. This makes it extra special for those that can afford it as you are unlikely to bump into masses of other visitors.
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| Skopjes |
Serengeti’s scenery is renowned for its grassland plains in the southeast. The northern part is more hilly and rocky. To the west, valleys, rivers and forest can be found. Several areas in the Serengeti are dotted with ‘koppies’, granite outcrops rising up from the plains. It’s an immense landscape and quite stunning – big sky country that feels like untamed wilderness.
Serengeti National Park Game Viewing and Activities
Although outnumbered 8 to 1, the zebra join in the migration, maintaining their family units of about a dozen members, each with a dominant stallion. Lion, cheetah, hyena and African wild dog follow the wildebeest and zebra, making sure that only the fittest survive. In November, when the grazing is finished in the north, this army of animals surges back to the now green pastures of the south, where they calve and mate before starting the entire cycle again.
Normally, the best time to see the animals here is during January and February. Heading north into the Park, the grass becomes noticeably longer, and it is usual to see Grant's and Thomson's gazelles, as well as the occasional small groups of topi and kongoni.
Towards Seronera, the park headquarters, the landscape becomes more varied. Hills rise out of plains criss-crossed by small rivers. Umbrella acacia trees appear, elegant and serene, contrasting with the twisted commiphora trees.
The name 'Serengeti' comes from the Maasai language and means an 'extended place'. The National Park alone covers an area of 13 000 sq km. The Serengeti ecosystem, which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Grumeti Reserve, the Maswa Game Reserve, the Masai Mara Game reserve (in Kenya) and numerous concession areas, is roughly the size of Sicily;Italy. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.
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| Tree climbing lions |
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| Lion kill in serengeti |
Wildlife viewing in Serengeti National Park is good throughout the year, but certain areas are better at specific times. The Dry season (from late June to October) offers the best wildlife viewing in general – with the wildebeest migration as its absolute highlight. The timing of the migration varies every year (the best chance of seeing it is during June and July) while the wildebeest calving is from late January to February.
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| sunset in serengeti |
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| waterbuck |
ℬℬ Best Time January-February for the wildebeest calving; June-September for general wildlife viewing with a chance of seeing the wildebeest crossing of the Grumeti River (June-July) or the Mara River (September)
¤High Season Most of the year – July to March (The Serengeti will be crowded around the Seronera area)
¢Low Season April and May (Lower rated may apply)
☉Best Weather June to October (Little to no rainfall)
⛆Worst Weather March and April (Peak of Wet season)
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| thompson gazelle |
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| heartbeasts |
June to October –Dry Season
⊕June and July are the best months to see the wildebeest migration in the western corridor and August to September in the north of the park
⊕Animals are easier to spot since they concentrate around waterholes and rivers and the vegetation is less thick
⊕It is mostly sunny and there is very little rain
⊕There are very few mosquitoes and the chance of contracting malaria is minimal
⊝The park gets quite crowded around the Seronera area
⊝Mornings and nights get cold – warm clothing is recommended for early morning game drives from June to August
⊕Animals are easier to spot since they concentrate around waterholes and rivers and the vegetation is less thick
⊕It is mostly sunny and there is very little rain
⊕There are very few mosquitoes and the chance of contracting malaria is minimal
⊝The park gets quite crowded around the Seronera area
⊝Mornings and nights get cold – warm clothing is recommended for early morning game drives from June to August
November to May –Wet Season
⊕Late January to February is the time to see the calving in the southern Serengeti – this is an excellent time to see predator action
⊕The scenery is lush
⊕April and May are low season, so it's usually less crowded and rates might be lower
⊕Although wildlife is easier to spot in the Dry season, the Serengeti offers good wildlife viewing throughout the year
⊕Migratory birds are present and bird-watching is at its best
⊕Except for March, April and May, rains are mostly short afternoon storms and seldom interfere with your trip
⊝March to May is the peak of the Wet season
⊕The scenery is lush
⊕April and May are low season, so it's usually less crowded and rates might be lower
⊕Although wildlife is easier to spot in the Dry season, the Serengeti offers good wildlife viewing throughout the year
⊕Migratory birds are present and bird-watching is at its best
⊕Except for March, April and May, rains are mostly short afternoon storms and seldom interfere with your trip
⊝March to May is the peak of the Wet season
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| rock paintings |
How to Get There
Most safaris to the Serengeti start from the town of Arusha. The best option to get there is to fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) which is situated about 46km/29mi from Arusha. It is also possible to fly into Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), just outside of Dar es Salaam, and use a domestic flight to get to Arusha Airport (ARK) or Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO).
The most convenient way to get from Arusha to the Serengeti is by taking a small plane to one of the various airstrips in the park. The drive from Arusha to the Serengeti is about 325km/202mi and will take about eight hours. It is a bumpy ride and, for a large part, over dirt roads – but the trip offers beautiful scenery. You’ll surely see some wildlife on the way or may even do a game drive en route.
As the trip takes you through the Ngorongoro Conservation area, a popular option is to fly one way, and drive the other way taking in an overnight stop to visit the Ngorongoro Crater. Coming from the crater, the distance to the Seronera area in the Serengeti is about 140km/90mi, and the driving time is about three hours.
Airlines & Ticket Prices
Please check Skyscanner, or for multiple-destination flights check Expedia, to see which airlines can take you to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Arusha Airport (ARK), and what tickets would cost.
Domestic Flights
Domestic and charter flights between parks are usually booked by Mystery Gorilla safaris as part of the tour package. Domestic flights can be booked with several local carriers:
Coastal Aviation flies to Serengeti
Safari Air Link flies to Serengeti
Auric Air flies to Serengeti
Air Tanzania flies to Kilimanjaro Airport
Precision Air flies to Serengeti, Arusha and Kilimanjaro Airport
Regional Air flies to Serengeti, Arusha and Kilimanjaro Airport
ZanAir flies to Arusha
Serengeti National Park Seasons and Climate
The climate in Serengeti is usually moderate and pleasant. The average temperatures are quite uniform throughout the year. It never gets very hot, but it is consistently cool to cold at night and in the early mornings. It is advisable to take warm clothing for early morning game drives. The altitude in the Serengeti varies widely from 1,140 to 2,099m (3,740 to 6,886ft). Temperatures drop by about 6.5°C for every 1,000m you climb (or 3.5°F per 1,000ft), so even within the park, there are wide climatic variations.
Serengeti's Dry season is from June to October. There are two Wet seasons. The ‘short rains’ are from November to December, and the ‘long rains’ are from March to May. During the Wet season, it rarely rains all day, but afternoon thundershowers can be expected.
Dry season – June to October
- June, July, August, September & October – Afternoon temperatures are usually around 25°C/77°F. Most days have a fine, clear sky. It is possible for the short rains to begin in October, should they start early. It gets cold at night with minimum temperatures around 14°C/57°F. Occasional cold fronts are possible, with temperatures close to freezing. It’s usually cold early in the morning.
Wet season –November to May
As in the Dry season, temperatures are moderate during the Wet season. Afternoon temperatures are usually around 26°C/79°F, and night temperatures are around 15°C/59°F.
- November & December – 'Short rains' – An unpredictable period of about a month of rains occurs sometime between October and December. The rains will be unlikely to interfere with your safari. Daytime temperatures are usually around 27°C/80°F while night and early morning are around 15°C/59°F.
- January & February – There tends to be a dry spell between the short and long rains. The exact timing is unpredictable.
- March, April & May – 'Long rains' – These are the wettest months. It tends to rain most days, although seldom for the whole day. It is often cloudy. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 26°C/79°F and 16°C/61°F respectively. In April and May, cold fronts might bring colder peak temperatures.
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