Tarangire National Park

Tarangire is the park that surprises people. It is a short drive from Arusha, yet it feels remote: red earth, grey baobab trees hundreds of years old, and the Tarangire River winding north through the middle of the park towards Lake Burunge.

In the dry months the river and the Silale swamp are the only reliable water for a long way, and animals come in from the Maasai Steppe to drink. That is when Tarangire holds some of the largest elephant herds in northern Tanzania, often with wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, giraffe and eland. Watch the bush for lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx and the long-necked gerenuk, and the trees for leopard.

The park covers around 2,850 square kilometres and close to 500 bird species have been recorded, from the yellow-collared lovebird to the kori bustard and ostrich. Our guides like it as a first or last stop on a northern circuit safari, where a half-day game drive fits neatly around the drive to or from Arusha.