Tarangire National Park
★★★ 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.
💡 Tipp
Tarangire is often only planned as a "pass-through" to the Serengeti — a mistake! Plan at least one full overnight stay. The game drives in the early morning and late afternoon are particularly rewarding here, and the camps by the river are among the most atmospheric in Tanzania.
