Serengeti Park Website & Travel

The name Serengeti comes from a local Maasai word that means “endless plains.” The Maasai people have grazed their cattle in the area for about 200 years. Serengeti is the oldest and most visited national park in Tanzania.

Serengeti National Park covers 14,750 square kilometers. Its landscape includes open grasslands, woodlands, and forests near rivers. The park has three main regions:

• Northern Serengeti: The northern serengeti area is the best place to see Maasai giraffes, elephants, and dik-diks. The land has many hills and woodlands. UNESCO has recognized Serengeti as a World Heritage Site.
• Serengeti Plains: This part of the park has wide, open plains with very few trees. From December to May, it is the best area to see wildebeest during their breeding season. Other animals here include hyraxes, pythons, topis, hartebeests, zebras, impalas, and more.
• Western Corridor: The Grumeti River flows through this region. Wildebeest migration happens here between May and July. The river attracts hippos, crocodiles, patas monkeys, and other primates.

Serengeti National Park has the highest number of large predators and grazing animals in the world. The park reaches Lake Victoria, which provides water for animals during the dry season.

Serengeti 4K Video

History of Serengeti

The first European to visit Serengeti was Oscar Baumann from Austria, in 1892. The second was Stewart Edward White, who explored the northern Serengeti in 1913. He returned later and camped there for three months, during which he and his group shot 50 lions.

To protect wildlife from heavy hunting, the British colonial government made part of the area a game reserve in 1921. It covered 3.2 square kilometers. In 1951, the area became a national park.

Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael helped make the park well known through their book and film Serengeti Shall Not Die. This film is one of the first and most important nature conservation documentaries.

In 1959, the British government moved the Maasai people from the park to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. One of the park’s wardens, Myles Turner, played a big role in stopping illegal hunting. He also wrote two books: The Memoirs of an African Game Warden and My Serengeti Years, which tell the story of the park.

In 2010, President Jakaya Kikwete suggested building a road through the northern part of Serengeti to help nearby communities. But conservation groups, including the African Network for Animal Welfare (ANAW), said it would affect the wildebeest migration.

ANAW took the Tanzanian government to court. In 2014, the East African Court of Justice ruled that the plan broke the rules of the East African Community Treaty.

The University of Minnesota also started a science project in Serengeti called Snapchat Serengeti. This lion research project uses camera traps to study how over 30 species live alongside lions.

Serengeti Park Entry Fees

The park charges $83 for adult foreign visitors and $50 for foreign children as park entry fees. You will also need to pay concession fees on top of this if you are sleeping inside the park.

Top Things to Do in Serengeti National Park

Game Drives in Serengeti

Game drives are the most popular activity in any African safari. You get into a tour vehicle and head out into the park to explore. Drive through different parts of Serengeti National Park and look for the animals and birds that live in the wide grasslands.

Keep your eyes open for the Big Five, wildebeests, giraffes, gazelles, zebras, cheetahs, hippos, hyenas, and many bird species as you enjoy the peaceful scenery of the Serengeti.

Guided Nature Walks

As for guided nature walks in Serengeti, Naabi Hill has a walking trail that is perfect if you enter the park from this area. It offers great views of the park.

You can also take guided nature walks in the Grumeti Game Reserve, located in the western part of the Serengeti. These walks are a great chance for bird lovers to spot different species and explore the woodlands and rocky outcrops known as kopjes.

Bird Watching

More than 500 bird species live in the Serengeti. They can be found in the grasslands, woodlands, and Savannah. Bird watchers can enjoy spotting birds such as ostriches, bustards, African fish eagles, shrikes, turacos, sunbirds, weavers, secretary birds, and many types of vultures.

Hot Air Balloon Safari

A hot air balloon ride offers a new way to explore Serengeti National Park. From the sky, you can see animals and landscapes that are hard to spot from the ground. It’s also a great way to view the Great Migration from above and observe how animals move in large groups.

This activity is worth including in your safari experience.

Visit to the Maasai Village

The Serengeti is home not only to animals but also to the Maasai people of Tanzania. Visiting a Maasai village gives you the chance to learn about their culture, values, and way of life, which they have kept over the years. You can also join in their traditional dance and try to jump as high as they do.

Bring your camera, pack your binoculars, and get ready for the adventure.

Top Things to See in Serengeti National Park

The Wildlife of Serengeti

Serengeti National Park has one of the highest numbers of mammals in Africa. This makes its wildlife the main reason many tourists visit.

As you explore the park, you have a good chance of seeing the Big Five: lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros.

You will also find millions of wildebeests, thousands of zebras, gazelles, waterbucks, dik-diks, topis, elands, bushbucks, giraffes, hippos, and many more.

Birds, primates like colobus monkeys, insects like dung beetles and butterflies, and predators like cheetahs, spotted hyenas, and Nile crocodiles are also part of the park’s wildlife.

The Great Wildlife Migration in Serengeti

The Great Wildebeest Migration is one of the world’s most famous wildlife events. Every year, millions of wildebeests, zebras, and other hoofed animals move from one part of the Serengeti to another looking for fresh grass and water.

Predators such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas follow closely behind, waiting for a chance to catch their prey.

In the western Serengeti, the Grumeti River presents a big challenge, as it is home to many Nile crocodiles. Watching the animals cross this river is a sight to remember.

The Grumeti River

Found in the western part of the Serengeti, the Grumeti River is known for the river crossing during the Great Migration.

The river is dangerous because of the many Nile crocodiles, but the animals must cross it to keep moving. Watching them take on this challenge is very exciting.

The Seronera River Valley

Located in the central Serengeti, the Seronera Valley is full of wildlife because of the river that flows through it year-round. The water and greenery attract many herbivores, and in turn, draw predators like lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas.

You are likely to see elephants, giraffes, gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, and different kinds of antelopes here.

The Moru Kopjes

These rocky hills of Moru Kopjes are found in the central Serengeti. They are one of the few places where you can spot the endangered black rhinos. The rocks also provide shade and hiding spots for lions, leopards, and elephants.

The Retina Hippo Pool

Located just north of the Seronera Valley, the Retina Hippo Pool is a popular place to watch hippos. Around 200 hippos live in this pool, and you may see some fights as they compete for space.

Bird-life in Serengeti

With over 500 bird species, the Serengeti is also a great place for birdwatchers. Birds can be found across the park in different environments.

The Maasai People of Serengeti

The Maasai people live in and around the Serengeti. They have preserved their traditional way of life for generations. Visiting a Maasai village helps support cultural tourism and gives you a better understanding of their customs and daily life.

Olduvai Gorge in Ngorongoro

The Olduvai Gorge is located within the Serengeti Plains and is worth a visit. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. Human fossils dating back millions of years were discovered here.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Home to Ngorongoro Crater)

Although located outside the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is nearby and worth visiting. It is famous for the Ngorongoro Crater, which is rich in wildlife and offers great safari experiences.

The Serengeti Annual Migration

This is one of the greatest wildlife events in the world. The Serengeti Wildebeest Migration is the annual movement of millions of wildebeests, thousands of zebras and smaller numbers of impalas, elands, Thomson’s and grant’s gazelles. The animals cover almost 2,000 miles on this migration which starts from the Southern region of the Serengeti National Park.

The great migration takes place in the Serengeti ecosystem which covers parts of North Tanzania and South Kenya in Maasai Mara National Reserve. The animals move on continuously in search of fresh new grass and water. It is a year in, year out process resulting from the seasonal rainfall patterns during which the animals feel the need to move in search of greener pastures.

The park is also home to four animals that are considered globally threatened or endangered.

Animals of Serengeti

Serengeti is one of the best places in Africa to watch wildlife. Every year, wildebeest, zebras, and their predators travel over 1,000 kilometers in search of food and water.

The park has around:

• 1.5 million wildebeest
• 300,000 Thomson’s gazelles
• 200,000 zebras
• 3,000 lions
• 1,000 leopards
• 5,000 elephants
• 53,000 buffalo
• 10,000 topis
• 31 eastern black rhinos
• 3,500 Grant’s gazelles
• 225 cheetahs

Other animals include hartebeests, impalas, warthogs, Maasai giraffes, hippos, waterbucks, greater and lesser kudus, roan antelopes, fringe-eared oryx, elands, klipspringers, dik-diks, jackals, spotted hyenas, olive baboons, black-and-white colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, cape hares, ground pangolins, aardvarks, aardwolves, porcupines, crocodiles, puff adders, and black mambas.
Birding

Serengeti is also a great place for birdwatching. Over 500 bird species have been recorded. Some of these include the silverbird, yellow-throated sandgrouse, rufous-tailed weaver, grey-breasted spurfowl, Fischer’s lovebird, black-headed gonolek, green-backed woodpecker, Verreaux’s eagle, Hildebrandt’s starling, grey-crested helmet-shrike, red-capped robin-chat, Schalow’s turaco, southern ground hornbill, Rüppell’s vulture, and Usambiro barbet.

Best Time to Visit Serengeti

You can visit Serengeti all year round. But the best time for general wildlife viewing is from late June to October, when the migration is most active. From late January to February is the best time to see wildebeest calving. Birdwatchers will enjoy visiting from November to May.

Serengeti Location & Getting There

Serengeti is in northwestern Tanzania. It borders the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya to the north, Maswa Game Reserve to the southwest, Loliondo Game Controlled Area to the northeast, Ngorongoro Conservation Area to the southeast, and Grumeti and Ikorongo Game Reserves to the west.

Map of Serengeti

Serengeti Accommodation – Where to Stay

Although the park is large, it does not have many places to stay.

Some available options include:

• Lake Masek Tented Camp
• Ndutu Under Canvas
• Sanctuary Kusini
• Grumeti Migration Camp
• Mbugani Migration Camp
• Singita Sasakawa Lodge
• Serena Kirawira Tented Camp
• Mbalageti Serengeti
• Melia Serengeti
• Seronera Campsite
• Thorntree Camp
• Kati Kati Tented Camp
• Kenzan Tented Camp
• Kiota Tented Camp
• Kubu Kubu Tented Camp
• Serengeti Pioneers Camp
• Chaka Tented Camp

These range from luxury, mid-range to budget, so visitors can choose according to their needs. When booking, consider the season, especially if you want to see the wildebeest migration.