Tanzania is an excellent safari destination with about 16 national parks. It’s home to pure African wilderness, landscapes like you’ve never seen before, adventurous activities, and pristine beaches! Moreover, about 38% of Tanzania’s total land is protected. This should give you an idea of how precious the country is for safari enthusiasts!
Here are the 10 best Tanzania safari destinations that you must visit:
Serengeti is a beautiful, breath-taking safari destination with a lot to offer. Its endless plains are home to the Big 5 of Africa. Moreover, Serengeti is known for its Great Migration, which draws in thousands of tourists from all over the world every year.
The Great Migration is a natural migration of millions of wildebeests in a clockwise manner from Serengeti to Masai Mara and then back again. It’s a magnificent natural phenomenon and witnessing it live in front of you is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Serengeti is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Tanzania owing to its breath-taking scenery, diverse wildlife, and pure African wilderness. Watching lions hunt for zebras and other preys is a spectacular experience. However, it can get crowded during the peak tourist season.
Wildlife: Big 5, giraffes, hippos, zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs, hyenas, gazelles, jackals, and elands.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to October. February is also a great time to visit because it’s the calving season of the wildebeests when all their herds are gathered in the park.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area is known for the Ngorongoro Crater, which is a large volcanic caldera. Ngorongoro is another spot where you can spot the Big 5 in Tanzania. It offers breath-taking sceneries and spectacular landscapes.
Wildlife: Big 5, jackals, cheetahs, zebras, wildebeests, hippos, hyenas, and gazelles.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: Year-round.
Tarangire National Park is easily accessible and is known for its large population of elephants. It’s a scenic park with beautiful baobab trees (some of which are hundreds of years old) that provide shelter to tree-climbing lions. You can spot over 500 bird species here.
Wildlife: Tree-climbing lions, wildebeests, zebras, fringe-eared oryx, hyenas, buffaloes, hippos, giraffes and elephants.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to mid-November for wildlife, and Mid-November to May for birdwatching.
Lake Manyara National Park has a huge population of lesser flamingoes and elephants. Often, you can spot so many flamingoes that the lake appears pink because of the reflection of the flamingoes! You can also spot the unusual tree-climbing lions here. Don’t forget to go on the tree-top walkway that takes you through the roof of the Park!
Wildlife: Elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, wildebeests, and impalas.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to October for wildlife, November to May for birdwatching
Ruaha is home to rare wildlife species like African wild dogs, spotted hyenas, sable antelopes, and lesser kudus. It’s a hidden gem in Tanzania. The park also offers exclusivity and gives you an authentic African wilderness experience. You can spot about 450 species of birds here!
Wildlife: Elephants, African wild dogs, hippos, lions, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, leopards, greater kudus, lesser kudus, roan antelopes, sable antelopes, impalas, jackals, hyenas, and cheetahs.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to November
Selous is the largest game reserve in Africa. It’s largely untouched and gives you some exclusive time with nature. It’s huge and beautiful! It’s also very easy to get to because it contains many airstrips. It has a huge population of elephants and you can also spot the critically endangered African wild dogs here.
Wildlife: lions, elephants, buffaloes, hippos, zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, impalas, hyenas, and leopards.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to November
Although Katavi is hard to get to, the journey is definitely worth it. Katavi is a pristine National Park filled with predators. It depicts true African wilderness. It’s also a great place for birdwatching because it’s home to over 400 species of birds!
Wildlife: lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, zebras, hippos, giraffes, sable antelopes, roan antelopes, jackals, wild dogs, spotted hyenas, impalas, and crocodiles.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: Mid-June to the beginning of November
Mikumi National Park has a great wildlife diversity and it’s often called a mini version of Serengeti. It’s home to midget elephants, which are incredibly small elephants. You can also spot elands here! The Mkata flood plain dominates the park.
Wildlife: Lions, elephants, buffaloes, elands, hippos, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, and many reptiles.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: May to October
Gombe Stream National Park is popular for its huge population of chimpanzees! It’s also home to about 200 species of birds. Gombe Stream National Park is where Jane Goodall spent time observing chimpanzees for her research. This is where she first realized that chimpanzees, too, have emotions and are capable of hugging, kissing, and even tickling!
Wildlife: Chimpanzees, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, red colobus monkeys, baboons, and leopards.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to October
Mahale National Park gives you an off-the-track authentic safari experience. It’s away from the main crowds and gives you a wonderful opportunity to spot and observe chimpanzees, our evolutionary ancestors.
The Mahale mountains provide a scenic backdrop. Watching the sunset over Lake Tanganyika is also a tremendous experience.
Wildlife: leopards, chimpanzees, Red Colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, hippos, and antelopes.
Highlights:
Best time to visit: June to October
KENYA, Mombasa: A photograph taken by the Ministry of East African Affairs, Commerce and Tourism (MEAACT), shows a general view of the Mombasa skyline opposite EnglishPoint Marina in Mombasa, 02 June 2015. The 4-acre ocean view EnglishPoint Marina represents an iconic landmark that overlooks the Mombasa skyline in a natural marina basin with a modern design and contemporary feel. The multi-million dollar marina resort features a 26-room hotel, conferencing facility, a roof-top restaurant, a casino, swimming pool, 96 serviced apartments including 8 penthouses seafront restaurant, gym and spa, as well as a boardwalk with retail outlets, water-sports centre and fully-serviced, 88-berth marina. MANDATORY CREDIT: MEAACT PHOTO / STUART PRICE.