A fairly short drive from Arusha, the Tarangire National Park offers a fantastic game driving experience all year round. Home to Tanzania’s largest population of elephants, the Tarangire River and its swamps are a prime migration route for many species Tarangire is the best place to see these gentle giants in their natural habitat – from the adorable calves all the way up to the intimidating bulls. It is also an ideal place to see and take photos of the baobab tree (the Tree of Life). The park is also home to 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in a single habitat in the world
If you want a cultural experience, the communities in the area around Tarangire offer great opportunities to see and experience local ways of life and traditions. Visit a Maasai village or journey to see the Kondoa Irangi Rock Paintings while you are in the area.
In all of the excitement to experience the Wildebeest Migration in the Serengeti or spot rhinos in Ngorongoro, some of Tanzania’s other exceptional best gems occasionally get lost in the shuffle; Tarangire is certainly such a gem.
As a source of permanent water, Tarangire attracts an exceptional number of animals during the dry season. Many thousands of animals migrate into the park from the surrounding areas in search of food. The migration includes wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, buffalo, oryx, ostrich, and lions, but the most impressive is the number of elephants. Up to 10,000 elephants gather in the park from July to October. From November, as the rains bring more plentiful food and water to the surrounding areas, elephants begin to disperse onto the plains to the east and southeast of the park.
Tarangire National Park is one of those hidden gems that you would kick yourself for missing as witnessed in this fantastic water colour sent to us by a satisfied customer:
