These 7 National Parks Are Worth Visiting in Tanzania

Tanzania is home to beautiful national parks filled with endless wildlife and painted with picturesque sceneries! It’s one of the top safari destinations in Africa where you can sit back, relax and observe the beauty of nature around you!

Here are the top 7 national parks in Tanzania that are worth visiting:

• Serengeti National Park

Serengeti is one of the top safari destinations in Africa. It is home to The Great Migration of Serengeti, a wonderful natural phenomenon in which millions of herbivores (like wildebeests and zebras) migrate from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara and vice versa. Watching the Great Migration is an exceptional experience. You get to witness the majesty of nature itself!

Highlights:

• The Great Migration of Serengeti

• You can spot the Big 5 here

• You can go on a hot air balloon safari here

However, the park gets crowded during the peak tourist season!

Best time to visit: January to February (best time to view predators) and June to October (best time to view The Great Migration)

Wildlife: The Big 5, hippos, zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs, hyenas, African wild dogs, and over 500 bird species.

• Lake Manyara National Park

Home to about 11 ecosystems, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the most rewarding safari destinations in Tanzania. Lake Manyara National Park is known for its tree-climbing lions! That’s right, you’ll get to see lions climbing trees! They are cats, after all. The hundreds of thousands of flamingoes that line the lake itself are also worth mentioning. This National Park is also the best place to go if you want to watch elephants up close!

Highlights:

• Night safaris 

• Tree-climbing lions

• High elephant population

• A large number of flamingoes

• Easy to spot wildlife because of high concentration

Since this park is also part of the northern safari circuit, it gets crowded during peak season.

Best time to visit: July to October (for viewing wildlife) and November to April (for flamingoes and birdwatching)

Wildlife: Elephants, tree-climbing lions, flamingoes, lions, leopards, hyenas, giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeests, African wild dogs, cheetahs, and over 300 species of birds. 

• Ruaha National Park

Part of the southern Safari circuit, Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania. Ruaha is known for its large population of the critically endangered African wild dogs. In fact, it’s home to the third-largest population of African wild dogs in the world! You can also spot antelopes and striped hyenas that are rarely seen in other parts of Tanzania. Ruaha offers excellent wildlife viewing. 

Highlights:

• Rare species like African wild dogs, striped hyenas and unusual antelopes
• It’s not crowded when compared to other national parks
• Breath-taking scenery
• Large elephant population

Best time to visit: July to October

Wildlife: elephants, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, zebras, wildebeests, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, African wild dogs, greater kudus, lesser kudus, sable antelopes, impalas, and black-backed jackals.

• Tarangire National Park

Set about 2 hours away from Arusha, Tarangire National Park is known for its picturesque scenery and diverse wildlife. Tarangire is home to over 500 wildlife species. Its ancient baobab trees give it a characteristically beautiful landscape.

Highlights:

• Large elephant population
• Night safaris available
• Rewarding birdwatching
• Concentrated wildlife so easy to spot

Tarangire National Park also gets crowded during the peak season.

Best time to visit: June to October (for wildlife) and November to May (for birds)

Wildlife: Elephants, giraffes, hippos, buffaloes, lions, zebras, wildebeests, hyenas, and occasionally, cheetahs, leopards and African wild dogs. 

• Katavi National Park

Katavi is an untouched gem of Tanzania where you get exclusivity and privacy, at the expense of having to travel a long distance to reach this park. However, it’s totally worth it once you arrive! You get to spend exclusive time with nature, away from the crowds.

Highlights:

• Large population of hippos
• Unusual antelope species can be spotted
• 4 of the Big 5 can be spotted (rhinos are the exception)

Best time to visit: June to October

Wildlife: Elephants, giraffes, hippos, zebras, buffaloes, lions, leopards, hyenas and rarely, African wild dogs.

• Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park has a vast diversity of wildlife species. It’s less-frequented so it doesn’t get crowded either. Moreover, Mikumi National Park has excellent accommodation choices, giving you a luxurious holiday experience.

Highlights:

• Excellent wildlife viewing
• Exclusivity
• Great accommodation

Best time to visit: June to October

Wildlife: giraffes, hippos, zebras, lions, spotted hyenas, elephants, wildebeests, and impalas.

• Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe Stream National Park offers wonderful trekking and chimpanzee tracking experiences! It’s not crowded and it’s a great place to observe our closest animal relatives. Lake Tanganyika is one of the highlights of this National Park. You can even swim in the lake!

Highlights:

• Not crowded

• Excellent hiking trail

• Best place to spot and observe chimpanzees

Best time to visit: July to October

Wildlife: Chimpanzees, olive baboons, blue monkeys, red colobus monkeys, leopards, bushbucks, and white-tailed monkeys.

So, what are you waiting for? Visit these wonderful National Parks in Tanzania and have a great time! Explore Tanzania with Flightlink to get the best out of your trip!