Serengeti National Park

Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park, the Serengeti is famed for its annual migration, when some six million hooves pound the open plains, as more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Serengeti offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa, great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of eland, topi, kongoni, impala and Grant’s gazelle.

The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Tanzania’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Seronera River, while a high density of cheetahs prowls the southeastern plains. Almost uniquely, all three African jackal species occur here, alongside the spotted hyena and a host of more elusive small predators, ranging from the insectivorous ardwolf to the beautiful several cat.

The Serengeti offers more than just its iconic large mammals. Colorful agama lizards and rock hyraxes dart across the isolated granite kopjes scattered throughout the park. The Serengeti is home to over 100 species of dung beetles and more than 500 bird species, from the towering ostrich and unique secretary bird in the open grasslands to the majestic black eagles soaring above the Lobo Hills.

Equally captivating is the vast sense of freedom that the Serengeti Plains provide, stretching endlessly from sun-drenched savannahs to a shimmering golden horizon. After the rains, this golden landscape transforms into a lush green carpet dotted with wildflowers. Additionally, the park features wooded hills, impressive termite mounds, rivers lined with fig trees, and acacia woodlands tinted orange by dust, creating a rich and varied tapestry of natural beauty.