Tarangire National Park Tanzania is known for its large population of elephants. You can spot herds containing up to 300 elephants here. Also famous for its hundred-year-old baobab trees that cover the park. Here you will get an insight of the Tarangire Park including When is the best time to visit Tarangire National Park.
Tarangire National Park Tanzania portal is a non-commercial with all information from wildlife, attractions, and Tarangire activities, to safari accommodation, when to go, how to get there, Tarangire Safaris & Tours, Cost of Tarangire Safari, and a travel blog.
Ranking as the 6th largest National Park in Tanzania and covering an area of 2,600 square kilometers, The Tarangire National Park is most popular for its large elephant herds and mini-wildlife migration that takes place during the dry season which sees about 250,000 animals enter the park.
slightly off the popular northern Tanzania Safari Circuit, the park lies between the meadows of Masai Steppe to the southeast and the lakes of the Great Rift Valley to the north and west. Within the northern part of Tarangire is the permanent River Tarangire also known as the lifeline of the park particularly in the dry season when most of the region is totally dry. This flows northwards until it exits the park in the northwestern corner to pour into Lake Burundi. There are a number of wide swamps which dry into green plains during the dry season in the south.
During your Safari in Tarangire, You are highly recommended to stay for a couple of days, especially in the south of the park which offers a less crowded safari experience and gives you the opportunity to enjoy an authentic African feel of Tanzania’s countryside.
A safari trip to the Tarangire is less busy than visitors will find in the Serengeti. This doesn’t take away from the quality of this park however as the big five can easily be found along with large numbers of other wildlife, migration sightings, beautiful acacia trees as well as red termite mounds.
Another unique feature of Tarangire NP is the baobab trees, also referred to as the Tree of Life. These trees are ‘gigantic’ in nature and can store between 300 liters and 1000 liters of water in their trunk.
This tree is a significant source of food for various animals which normally feed on its edible seed. On the other hand, elephants sharpen their huge tusks on the bark of these trees.
Visitors will be amazed by the variety and numbers of animals they will encounter including the big five including the African bush elephant, the lion, rhinoceros, leopard, African buffalo, and numerous giraffes, impala, ostriches, baboons, big cats, wild dogs, and cheetahs.
One of the key attractions that have made the Tarangire National Park Tanzania become internationally popular is its largest elephant population which in fact is considered to be the highest in the whole of Tanzania.
Visitors will see numerous large elephant herds of about 300 individuals per herd digging the dry riverbed of the Tarangire River in search of underground streams of water to quench their thirst.
Over 500 species of birds can be found here including the ashy starling, red and yellow barbet, tawny eagle, red-bellied parrot, the yellow-collared lovebird, and the speckle-fronted weaver.
The most spectacular trees to be found include the Baobab which has a long life span and can survive up to six hundred years.
The park also has a mix of granite ridges, river valleys, and swamps. The vegetation here is a mix of Acacia woodlands, Combretum woodlands, and seasonally flooded grasslands.
There are multiple activities and things to do in Tanzania that can be added to your safari including walking safaris. Here are some other activities which visitors can consider during their visit to Tarangire NP:
From Arusha, Tarangire is located at a distance of about 120 kilometers which is in the southeast of Manyara NP. Being one of the most seasonal parks in northern Tanzania, Tarangire has a lot of migratory movement within the greater Tarangire ecosystem.
Between June and October which is the dry season, there are unimaginable herds of animals that are attracted to the Tarangire River. The elephant numbers at this time are amazing. Endeavor to make this park part of your safari in northern Tanzania. The dry months of June to October bring about large gatherings of elephants. After the game migrates from the Masaai Mara, it gathers around the river.
The middle and the end of the dry season which runs from late June to October is the best time to view wildlife in Tarangire National Park. Most of the animals move out of the park during the wet season and viewing animals is at that time less rewarding.
From June to October (the dry season), the animals gather around the Tarangire River and this is the best time to visit Tarangire National Park. There is little rainfall during this time of the year hence making it the time with the best weather for game viewing.
June to October still marks the high / peak tourist season with so many tourists filling the park. on the other hand, the low tourist season comes in March, April and May when the park is experiencing the wet season characterized y heavy rains, hence the worst weather which makes it the less best time to visit Tarangire National Park
In Summary, Tarangire National Park experiences two main seasons which are: the wet and dry seasons as highlighted below
There are two major ways you can access Tarangire National Park and that is either by road or air transport.
