Nearly fifteen thousand
square kilometres of open country.
Serengeti comes from siringet, a Maasai word for the place where the land runs on forever, and the name is not decoration. The park covers close to fifteen thousand square kilometres of short-grass plain, acacia woodland and granite kopjes across the Mara and Simiyu regions of northern Tanzania, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. It is also the engine room of the migration. The herds spend most of the year inside these boundaries rather than passing through, moving with the rain rather than the calendar.
Regions of northern Tanzania
Ideal length of stay
Driest months, easiest viewing
What the park is known for
Why visit the Serengeti
Well over a million wildebeest, with zebra and gazelle alongside them, spend most of the year inside the park rather than passing through it.
Some of the highest concentrations of lion, leopard and cheetah in Africa, and open ground that actually makes them findable.
Elephant, buffalo, lion and leopard are seen regularly. Black rhino are present but scarce, mostly around the Moru kopjes.
Resident game stays put when the herds move on, so a trip outside the migration months is still a serious wildlife trip.
Sunrise flights lift off from the central Seronera area and set down for breakfast out on the plains.
The Maasai Mara sits directly across the border, so the Serengeti pairs naturally with a Kenyan leg on one trip.
What there is to do
Game drives
Morning and late afternoon drives out of Seronera, Ndutu or the northern Kogatende area, depending on where the herds have got to.
Hot air balloon safari
A sunrise lift-off over the plains, followed by breakfast set out on the grass wherever you come down.
Mara River crossings
Between roughly July and September the herds mass on the riverbank in the north and cross where the crocodiles are waiting.
Walking safaris
Guided walks with an armed ranger in designated areas. It changes the scale of the place entirely once you are out of the vehicle.
Sundowners
Drinks on a kopje as the light goes, with the plains running out flat in every direction.
When to go
The park is worth visiting in any month. What changes is what you see and what it costs.
Dry season
Water is scarce, so animals gather at whatever is left. The grass is short and visibility is at its best.
River crossings
The herds reach the Mara River in the northern Serengeti and cross in numbers.
Calving season
The herds spread across the southern short-grass plains, with calves dropping in their thousands each day through February.
Long rains
Green country, far fewer vehicles and lower lodge rates, at the cost of some muddy roads.
Build a Serengeti itinerary
We run scheduled group departures and private routes into the Serengeti, plus combined circuits that cross the border into the Maasai Mara.