Tarangire National Park has the highest population of elephants more than any other park in Tanzania. The park is also spotted with baobab and acacia trees, makes it a beautiful and distinctive location to visit.
The Tarangire National Park Map
Tarangire National Park Location
The Tarangire National Park is located about 118 kilometers from Arusha town. This park is a popular stop for people traveling through the northern safari circuit on their way to Ngorongoro Conservation area and the Serengeti National Park. The park share its ecosystem with two game controlled areas where wildlife are allowed to move freely throughout.
The Tarangire River cross this park and act as the only source of water during dry season. In the dry season wildlife tends to congregate along the banks of the Tarangire River grazing. Most of the game drives are pursued along the river banks. Families of the pachyderms play around the ancient trunks of baobab trees and strip acacia bark from the thorn trees for their afternoon meal. Breathtaking views of the Maasai Steppe and the mountains in the south make a stopover at Tarangire a memorable experience.
Herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It’s the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem – a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.
On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s largest bird; and small parties of ground horn bills blustering like turkeys.
More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colorful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber Rufus-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry Savannah of north-central Tanzania.
Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting.
Tarangire’s pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.
Activities in Tarangire National Park
White in Tarangire you can participate in game drives and guided Walking safaris.
Day trips to Maasai and Barabaig villages, oldoinyo lengai trek as well as to the hundreds of ancient rock paintings in the vicinity of Kolo on the Dodoma Road.
