Located just a few hours drive from the town of Arusha, Tarangire is a popular stop for people traveling through the northern safari circuit on their way to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti. The park extends into two game-controlled areas and the wildlife is allowed to move freely throughout.
Before the rains, droves of gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, and giraffes migrate to Tarangire National Park’s scrub plains where the last grazing land still remains. Tarangire offers unparalleled game viewing, and during the dry season, elephants abound. 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.
During the rainy season, the seasonal visitors scatter over a 20,000 sq km (12,500 sq miles) range until they exhaust the green plains and the river calls once more. But Tarangire’s mobs of elephants are easily encountered, wet or dry. The swamps, tinged green year-round, are the focus for 550 bird varieties, the most breeding species in one habitat anywhere in the world.
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 hornbills 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 Rufous-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.
Location: 118 km (75 miles) southwest of Arusha.
Helpful We thoroughly enjoyed working with the people at Moorland safaris. They were warm and welcoming and provide excellent services. We loved it so much and would like to return for another excursion. When we do, we will reach out to Them because they are extremely thorough and helpful.MARTHA M2021-11-13A great and amazing safari Everything was fine. Friendly Guides with a lot of knowledge. They try everything to get you a great trip and help by each Problem. They Guide do anything to give you a save Feeling in every Situation. The food was very good. And all things like food, water, other drinks and sleeping places were enough, always there and very good. I would go with them again.Teresa2021-11-08Classic!! Positive: Professionalism extremely knowledgeable drivers, with very good english, they were always super punctual, and very attentive to details, animals and to us ... honestly, I don't even know what to say. This is such a unique and wonderful experience, and our guides made it even better. So special shout out to Nasr and Simba for making this trip unforgettableReece S2021-10-11We will Miss Tanzania! We absolutely happy with the Service! We chatted with Nasr and he picked us at Airport for free! We spot a Big 5 thanks to our Guide Simba, he was incredible, we will miss Tanzania!!Edgar I2021-10-06Amazing safari with authentic Tanzanian company The tour was absolutely AMAZING and I would do the exact thing again. The driver, tour operator and our cook were amazing. We saw so many animals - UNBELIEVABLE. Our driver, Lukas, spotted really everything and explained everything in nearly perfect English. Our tour operator was calm, helpful, open and easy-going. I can only recommend to enjoy the adventure of a safari with Moorland Safaris, which is btw an authentic, Tanzanian company run by young professionals. Just go for it!!juliafromaustria2021-09-22Amazing experience It has been a amazing trip. Nasr organised everything really well and really cared for the well-being of his customers. The trip was excellent. It has been really fun three days of safari.Janina B2021-09-17Amazing !! The experience was amazing, we got to see so many animals. It was the best experience of my life. In addition, the team is extremely friendly and professional. the advice and lessons of Isaac (the guide) allowed us to grow out of this experience. the team was incredibly kind.iliass_ar2021-08-23Amazing Safari very well organised. Nasir managed everything including transportation and hotels. Our guide Isaac gave us very good explanations about the animals.Rafik S2021-08-22Wonderful Andrew took care of us from the beginning until the end of the day. Very good experience to see the waterfalls. Justin took me at the top by climbing!Rafik S2021-08-21Amazing !!! Thanks !!! The day with Andrew was amazing. His professionalism, his experience, his good vibes and his sense of service allowed us to have an incredible and unforgettable experience. thank you for that ! thank you also to Justin who accompanied us for part of the day, thanks to him the experience was doubly incredible!iliass_ar2021-08-18