
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park, Serengeti is the oldest national park in Tanzania, world heritage site, biosphere reserve and one among seven wonders in Africa. Serengeti national park is a well-known sanctuary of wildlife in the world with its natural beauty and marvellous scene, it is located in the northern circuit of Tanzania tourism and it is the one that contains the greatest concentration of plains game in Tanzania and Africa as well.
Serengeti national park was established in 1952 and been the first national park that established earlier than any other national parks in Tanzania. Serengeti national park is the home of higher concentration of wildlife such as lion, elephants, cheetah, giraffe as well as birds of different species and also has the greatest spectacle on the earth particularly the great migration of wildebeest and zebra.
Serengeti national park is the second-largest park in Tanzania because it covers the area of 14,763 kilometres square that is equivalent to 5,700 square miles this the largest square area compared to all more than 18 national parks in Tanzania except that of Ruaha national park that covers almost 20,226km2.
Wildebeest migration probably it is an event that is the most famous in Serengeti national park because more than million wildebeest and about 200,000 zebra they migrate from northern hills to south during short rains every October and November and then west to the north after the long rains of April to June. During their migration, Wildebeest travel across a variety of national parks, protected area (P.As) Reserve Areas (RAs)
Sections of Serengeti National Park
The park was divided into four sections which are Seronera valley which is popular southern/central part of the park what Maasai call it “serengit” which means the plain that has no end, this section is characterized by having classic savannah, acacia trees and diversity of wildlife.
The second section is called western corridor that marked by the presence of Grumeti river where the great migration makes its way to this section during late May on the way to June, also in this corridor visitors may find wildebeest threading past leopards, lions and Nile crocodiles. This section also is characterized by having more forest and dense bush.
The third section is found in the north part of the park and is known as Lobo area where it is the side of the park that meets with Maasai Mara reserve that found in Kenya. By the beginning of July, the migration makes its way where most of the animals will remain until September. In this section visitor will find more woodlands and hills, this section is the least visited section.
The last section is southern Serengeti where short grasses plains are found and where the great migration begins, from December to march the number of wildebeest grows and make a herd in the southern part of the park around Lake Ndutu that shared by both Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
Attractions in Serengeti
- Big five: All big five animals such as lion, leopards, elephants, buffalos and rhinos are found at Serengeti national park. They attract people to do game driving and game viewing because most of the people they wish and dream to see these animals which a great history behind their name “big five”
- Wildlife abundance: Apart from the big 5 there are many other mammals both big ones and small ones, they all make a park to receive positive feedback from tourists’ satisfaction. They include hippos, giraffes, impala, gazelle, warthogs, cats and many others.
- People and culture: Local residents around the park plays a big role in attracting tourists because they make easy to organise cultural tours. Different scholars, they like to do some researches based on Maasai tribe especially they customs.
- The Great Migration: Maybe this is the major reason for the prominence of Serengeti national park worldwide, many tourists ask about this a lot. This wonderful natural event attracts many people who are doing both domestic and international tourism
- Birds varieties: A large number of bird species attracts a lot of tourists to visit Serengeti national park for doing birding tourism. Turkey, ostrich, rollers and other hundreds of bird species are found in Serengeti to ensure tourist enjoy the presence of these species
Activities in Serengeti National Park
- Game driving: This is the major reason why a lot of people visit the park. Due to the presence of big five and many other animals in Serengeti national park, visitors pay a visit to see these attraction found in the park and tourists’ expectations are always exceeded hence make the tour unforgettable
- Cultural tours: Walking tours are organised to the Maasai village where visitors get the chance to meet with this kind of ethnic group in Tanzania whom culture is strongly preserved and maintained, daily life activities and lifestyle of these people who live close to the park will be experienced including marriage issues, age-set organisation, food, circumcision and other many customs related to Maasai
- Balloon safaris: In Serengeti balloon safaris are organised to tourist who would like to take this adventurous tour in the park. This kind of activity enables visitors to see a lot of animals and other attractions in an aerial view.
- Hiking: There is always hiking activities to Naabi hill where visitors enjoy this kind of activities because it is the place to make their body fit and take the adventure. Visitors always feel the joy to do hiking on Naabi hill because they get great opportunity to experience Serengeti national park
- Photographic tours: Presence of a beautiful natural environment, flora & fauna makes it suitable for photograph taking and filming. Even if tourists booked only for this kind activity they will be satisfied to the maximum
- Camping: In Serengeti national park there are many campsites which are either ordinary or luxury or classic ones where visitors enjoy all services by booking for camps or paying for the campsite of different rates
- Picnic tours: Different area in the park suit to be picnic sites where visitors always enjoy their bush meals while they are at Serengeti national park
Best Time to Visit Serengeti National Park: Throughout the year is the best time to visit Serengeti because each season has an important event for a tourist to see and experience. During dry season (from May-October) there is high concentration of animals in near-by water sources hence it makes easy for game viewing, but for the great migration of wildebeest the best time to witness it is November to December to May.
Getting to Serengeti National Park
Serengeti national park is accessible both by road transport and air transport. By using road transport as the most popular way of travelling to Serengeti national park, tourists use 4×4 safari jeeps from Kilimanjaro international airport or Arusha regional airport. This will take almost 5-6 hours from Arusha to Naabi hill at the entrance gate since it covers a distance of almost 255 kilometres. Then from Naabi hill to Serengeti national park headquarters takes about an hour Self-drive safaris are not recommended though it is allowed to use private cars
By air; there are both regional flights and international ones. Regional flights include Air Excel, Coastal Aviation or Aviation Air. International ones are such as KLM, Turkish Airlines, Ethiopia Airlines, Nairobi (NBO), British Airways, Emirates and many other that land at dar es salaam has also connections at Kilimanjaro international airport. The best point of entry is Kilimanjaro International Airport that lies between two touristic cities/towns which are Arusha and Moshi, from there travellers will get a chance to take charter flights to Serengeti. Also from Arusha regional airport private air safaris are organized to Serengeti national park, there are several (about seven) airstrips found in Serengeti national park
Accommodations in Serengeti National Park
Guests should not be bothered concerning the place where they can stay because there are many areas where visitors will stay either inside the park or outside. Inside the park there different accommodation facilities such as luxury/ordinary tented lodges, campsite, rest houses and hostel. Also outside the park there are hotels of different rates, camping sites, lodges Such as Serengeti Simba Lodge, Serengeti Soap Lodge, Serengeti Serena Lodge, Lahia Tented Lodge, Kati Kati Tented Camp, Kubu Kubu Tented Camp, Serengeti Explorer Camp, Serengeti AcaciaCamp, Acacia Seronea Luxury Camp, Nimali Serengeti and Nimali Mara Camps.
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