Serengeti & Ngorongoro

★★★ Serengeti — The Heart of Africa

The Serengeti is the most famous wildlife sanctuary on earth — and for good reason. Spanning 14,763 km² (almost as large as Schleswig-Holstein), it features an apparently endless savanna, home to the largest animal migration on the planet. The name comes from the Maasai: "Siringet" — "the endless land".

What makes the Serengeti unique is the sheer quantity and diversity of wildlife. Permanently living here: over 3,000 lions (the largest population in Africa), 1,000 leopards, 500 cheetahs, huge buffalo herds, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, crocodiles, and more than 500 bird species. Additionally, the millions of wildebeests and zebras of the Great Migration come seasonally.

The Serengeti was declared a national park in 1951 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Together with the Kenyan Masai Mara, it forms Africa's largest contiguous savanna ecosystem.

The Great Migration

The greatest natural spectacle on earth: Over 1.5 million wildebeests, 400,000 zebras, and 300,000 Thomson's gazelles move in an eternal cycle through the Serengeti — driven by rain and fresh grass. The cycle:

• December–March: The herds are in the southern Serengeti (Ndutu Plains). Calving season: Between January and February, about 500,000 wildebeest calves are born. Predators (especially hyenas, cheetahs, lions) are highly active. Spectacular for photographers!
• April–May: Start of the migration north through the Western Corridor (Grumeti River). Crocodiles lie in wait.
• June–July: The herds reach the central and northern part of the Serengeti.
• July–October: THE highlight: The crossing of the Mara River in the northern Serengeti (Kogatende/Lamai). Thousands of wildebeests plunge into the crocodile-infested river — chaos, drama, struggle for survival. Breathtaking.
• November: The herds slowly return south, following the rain.

The Regions of the Serengeti

• Central Serengeti (Seronera): Excellent for predators year-round. Lions, leopards (at the Seronera River), cheetahs in the grass plains. Most lodges and camps.
• Southern Serengeti (Ndutu): Calving season Jan–March. Open grass plains, millions of wildebeests, predator action. Short grass = excellent visibility.
• Western Corridor (Grumeti): April–June. Grumeti River with huge crocodiles. Less visited.
• Northern Serengeti (Kogatende/Lamai): July–October. Mara River crossing. Remote, exclusive, fewer vehicles. The best region for migration experiences.

★★★ Ngorongoro Crater — The Eighth Wonder of the World

The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest intact and unfilled caldera in the world — a gigantic volcanic crater with a 20 km diameter, 600 m deep walls, and a crater floor of 260 km². 2–3 million years ago, the volcano collapsed in on itself, leaving behind this unique natural theater.

About 25,000 large animals live permanently on the crater floor — the highest predator density in Africa. The mix of grassland, swamp, forest, and soda lake (Lake Magadi with flamingos) provides habitat for practically all East African savanna animals. Particularly important: The crater is home to Tanzania's last black rhinos (about 20–30 animals).

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is both a UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site — the only protected area in Tanzania where people (Maasai) are allowed to live and graze their cattle. The Maasai herders at the crater rim with their red shúkas are part of the iconic image of Ngorongoro.

What you see in the crater

• Lions: About 60–70 lions live permanently in the crater. Often right by the road in the morning.
• Rhinos: The major attraction. Usually at Lerai Forest or near Ngoitokitok Swamp. Bring binoculars!
• Elephants: Large bulls with huge tusks (the crater elephants are famous for their ivory).
• Flamingos: Thousands at the soda lake Lake Magadi — a pink carpet.
• Buffalo, zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, jackals, crowned cranes — and with luck, a leopard in Lerai Forest.

Practical Info

The crater fee is high: 295 USD per vehicle (in addition to the entrance fee of 70 USD per person/day). Only 6 hours allowed in the crater (30 min drive down and up each). Starting early (6:00 am) is a must — from 10:00 am, the crater fills with vehicles. Overnight stay at the crater rim in lodges or camps with breathtaking views.

★★★ Tarangire — Land of Elephants and Baobabs

Tarangire is the most underrated park of the Northern Circuit — and for many visitors, the most beautiful surprise. Spanning 2,850 km², it features a dramatic landscape of gentle hills, open savanna, and ancient baobab trees that give the scenery an almost surreal character.

Tarangire is famous for its elephant herds — in the dry season (June–October), up to 3,000 elephants gather at the Tarangire River, the only permanent water source in the region. The density is so high that you see herds of 50–100 animals at once — babies, teenagers, huge matriarchs. An overwhelming spectacle.

Additionally, Tarangire offers: lions (often in trees!), leopards, huge pythons in the baobabs, over 550 bird species (more than any other park in Tanzania), and the rare oryx antelopes and gerenuks (giraffe gazelles).

Highlights

• Elephants by the river: The main attraction. Dramatic in the dry season — the animals dig with their trunks for water in the dry riverbed.
• Baobab landscape: Some baobabs are over 1,000 years old and 25 m tall. The sunsets behind the gnarled silhouettes are legendary.
• Tree-climbing lions: Like at Lake Manyara, the lions in Tarangire climb trees — a phenomenon that occurs in only a few places in the world.
• Termite mounds: The huge, cathedral-like mounds are everywhere — some over 5 m high. Dwarf mongooses and monitors use them as vantage points.

★★ Lake Manyara — Compact and Diverse

Lake Manyara NP, at 330 km², is the smallest park of the Northern Circuit — but one of the most diverse. In a small area, you find dense groundwater forest thicket, open grass plains, hot springs, and the large soda lake, which covers two-thirds of the park and whose shores are covered with hundreds of thousands of flamingos during the rainy season.

The park lies at the foot of the steep escarpment of the East African Rift Valley — the drive down the escarpment to the entrance is already spectacular. Hemingway described the view as "the loveliest I had seen in Africa".

Lake Manyara is famous for its tree-climbing lions — lions dozing in acacia trees, a phenomenon that scientists still cannot fully explain. Also: large baboon troops right at the park entrance, hippos, giraffes, and over 400 bird species.

Practical Info

Lake Manyara is perfect as a half-day on the way to the Serengeti or Ngorongoro. The park is reachable from Arusha in 2 hours. Many safari routes combine Lake Manyara (Day 1) with Ngorongoro (Day 2–3) and Serengeti (Day 4–6).

★★ Olduvai — The Cradle of Humankind

The Olduvai Gorge (correct name: Oldupai, after the sisal plant growing there) is one of the most significant paleoanthropological sites in the world. In this 48 km long and up to 90 m deep trench in the East African Rift Valley, Louis and Mary Leakey found fossils from 1959 that revolutionarily changed our understanding of human evolution.

Discovered here:

• Homo habilis (1.9 million years) — the oldest known toolmaker
• Paranthropus boisei (1.75 million years) — the famous "Nutcracker Man"
• Homo erectus (1.2 million years) — the first emigrant from Africa
• The Laetoli footprints (3.6 million years, 45 km south) — the oldest preserved upright footprints of humanity

The small but excellently curated Olduvai Museum at the edge of the gorge displays replicas of the most important finds (the originals are in the National Museum in Dar es Salaam). A guide leads through the exhibition and to the viewpoint over the gorge. The visit lasts about 1–1.5 hours and is perfectly located on the route between Ngorongoro and Serengeti.