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Tarangire National Park

Overview

Facts

Things to do

Best time

Where to stay

Accessbility

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Overview

Welcome to Tarangire! Whether you come here for a day trip or an overnight stay, Tarangire will leave you with heart-warming memories that you have throughout your life.

The name of the park is from a Mbugwe tribe which is a combination of two words ‘TARA’ meaning river and ‘NGIRE’ which means warthog. It is one on the largest National parks in the northern part of Tanzania with a river flowing that covers an area of 2850km²

The Park is very beautiful and well-known due to its concentration of wildlife, especially elephants, and is also one of the best bird destinations in East Africa. It is sometimes referred to as small Serengeti due to its superb cat life.

Tarangire River which runs from north to south is the main water source. The river very important especially during the dry season as it attracts many predators to ensure themselves with a water supply and the majority of prey who comes to drink water. Tarangire has other several water sources that can act as the best wildlife viewing points and bird watching sites.

The concentration of wild animals during the dry season that is from July to October is just exceptional, Tarangire will offer you a tranquil atmospheric game drive to view the animals in their natural habitat there get ready have the most relished Safari experiences.

Weather & Climate

The park is located at an altitude between 900m and 1250meters with annual average rainfall ranging from 650 to 700mm.

The dry season is from June to October
Short rains are from November to February
Long rains are from March to May

Famous for

The paradise of elephants.

Interesting Facts

Interesting facts about Tarangire National Park

Baobab trees, common in Tarangire National Park, can grow to have trunks reaching more than 100 feet in circumference. One of these trees was once found that proved to be 1275 years old, although not in this park
Tarangire National Park is believed to have the largest elephant concentration in the Tanzania.
Tarangire River flows through the park and becomes the only water source for thousands of migrating animals in the dry season.
Leopards and pythons also like to lounge in the branches of the sausage tree and other species in the park.
Termite mounds, home to termites’ but can also be a home to Mongooses when abandoned by the termites.
Beautiful birds like the Yellow-collared lovebirds, the Kori bustard (the heaviest flying species of bird), and the largest bird – the stocking-thighed ostrich, to mention a few.
OLA the white giraffe with a Leucism- a partial loss of pigment was spotted in Tarangire National Park in 2015.

Things to see in Tarangire

River Tarangire: the dry months, the concentration of animals around the Tarangire River is almost very high.

Wildlife

Elephants are the main attraction in Tarangire but you will also get to see a good number of animals such as lesser kudu, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, Thompson’s gazelle, greater and, eland, dwarf Mongoose, spotted hyena, cheetah and leopard, and.

Baobabs: Visitors can see colonies of medieval baobab trees, these incredible trees that are more than 100 years old. Impressive scenery formed by uncountable baobab and acacia trees

Birding Paradise

Tarangire is one of Tanzania’s finest birding destinations, hence you will have a chance to spot as many bird species as possible. Water sources attracts hundreds of birds such as colorful Yellow-collared lovebirds, hornbills, and many more, hence making the park an ideal birding destination for bird watchers.

Beautiful Scenery

Termite mounds: built of mud from underground and held together by termite saliva, they can be seen and they are habitat and viewing points for some animals when abandoned.

Things to do in Tarangire

When comes to things to do in Tarangire, the park has a lot of attractions to explore. You can go on guided walking safaris, game drives, and cultural visits to neighboring villages. Tarangire is also among a very few destinations that give you the opportunity for a night game drive.

Game drive/ Night Drive
Balloon Safari
Birdwatching
Walking Safari
Cultural experience

Best time to visit Tarangire

Tarangire Natioanal Park can be well visited throughout the year as there are a lot of activities to be done. However, during the dry season (June to October) you are likely to encounter a lot of animals around Tarangire river. For the other times, majority of the games are probably out of the park, either onto the floor of the Rift Valley or to the grazing grounds.

High Season/ Dry season

June to October

Low Season/ Rainy season

April and May

Where to stay at Tarangire

Mid-range Accommodation	High-End Accommodation
Sangaiwe Tented Lodge Tarangire Safari Lodge Tarangire Simba Lodge Tarangire Osupuko Lodge	Tarangire Treetops

Accessbility

The Park can be reached by road or flight depending on your safari preferences. Although flights to the park are commonly less used as

Road: the journey to the park can take only about a 2 hours’ drive from Arusha City which is the starting point of all Northern Tanzania Safaris.

Air: We usually advise our clients to minimize unnecessary costs by landing to Kilimanjaro International Airport JRO, then get transfer to Arusha city by a vehicle or use a local plane Manyara airstrip. The only exception to this is when someone has to go to Dar es Salaam first for various reasons.