Tarangire National Park is eponymously named by the river that carves through it. Tarangire is located about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Arusha and is roughly 2900 km2 (1100 square miles). The landscape is gently rolling, with a scattering of baobab trees and abandoned termite mounds. There is ample wildlife in Tarangire year-round with a particular abundance of elephants as the national park is now used as a refuge for these once overhunted and poached animals. There are now estimated to be over 3500 elephants, which makes Tarangire particularly attractive to elephant lovers.

There are two main seasons at Tarangire National Park – the wet and dry seasons. The dry season runs from around mid-June to mid-October and is the recommended time of year to visit for those wishing to see the big animals. During the dry season, particularly towards the end of the dry season, nearly all of the water sources have dried up forcing animals to congregate around the remaining available rivers, marshes, and swamps. This is the best time to see a pride of lions, herds of buffalo, and dazzles of zebra all within the park limits and the concentration of animals is on par with that of Ngorongoro Crater. The rainy season gets into full swing around March. Although the concentration of animals in the park is lower than during the dry season, the rains turn the park a vibrant green and there is a more peaceful, tranquil feel to the area as fewer visitors come during the rainy season. There are still many elephants around and the chances of seeing buffalo, zebra, giraffes, lions, warthogs, and hyenas are still very good.

A staggering number of animals can be found in Tarangire National Park and the concentration of animals varies according to the season. Just some of the animals that can be spotted here include: buffalo, cheetah, dik-dik, dwarf mongoose, elephants, fringe-eared oryx (antelope), gazelles, giraffes, hartebeest, hyenas, impala, jackals, leopards, lions, long-necked gerenuk (antelope), ostrich, pythons, Vervet monkey, warthogs, waterbucks, wildebeest, and zebra.

Call Kingse Guides now for more details about personal safaris and game drives.