Tarangire National Park

Established in 1970 and covering about 2,850 square kilometres, Tarangire is built around the river that runs through it — the only permanent water for miles in the dry season, and the reason wildlife pours in from the surrounding ecosystem between June and October. In those months the park hosts one of the highest concentrations of animals in northern Tanzania.

Elephants are the headline: Tarangire is famous for large family herds, sometimes hundreds strong, moving between the ancient baobabs that give the landscape its silhouette. It is also one of the more reliable places in the country to see fringe-eared oryx and gerenuk, and its swamps hold an exceptional range of birds — over 500 species recorded. Vehicle numbers are noticeably lower than the Serengeti or Ngorongoro, making it a quieter but still wildlife-dense start or finish to a northern-circuit safari.