In northern Tanzania, south of Lake Manyara, is Tarangire National Park. It is one of Tanzania‘s lesser-known parks, but a rewarding one, with big baobabs, grassy plains and a lot of wildlife. Because it sees a fraction of the visitors of the Serengeti, game drives here are quiet and intimate.
A lion and a lioness in Tarangire
Tarangire is best known for its elephants, which gather in large herds, especially in the dry season. You will also see lion, buffalo, giraffe, cheetah, waterbuck, impala, eland, olive baboon and vervet monkey, with leopard in the wooded areas and, in places, the endangered African wild dog.
A long-tailed fiscal
The birding is excellent, with more than 500 species recorded, among them the ashy starling, African hoopoe, long-tailed fiscal, red-bellied parrot and tawny eagle. The park is thick with baobab and acacia.
Wilderness of Tarangire National Park
Activities include game drives, walking safaris, guided tracking, night drives and hot-air balloon flights.
The best time to visit
The dry season, late June to October, is the best time. Water is scarce elsewhere, so animals concentrate along the Tarangire River and the waterholes, and viewing is easy. In the wet season, November to May, much of the game disperses out of the park, so sightings are harder.
Where to stay
Here are five of the best camps and lodges in and around the park.
Sanctuary Swala Camp
Swala sits in a remote corner of the park under big acacias, looking over the plains, with no other camps nearby. Elephants are often around the camp.
Sanctuary Swala Camp
It has twelve canvas tents furnished with local materials, each with indoor and outdoor showers and a private deck over a waterhole. The main areas, including the library, stand on stilts around an old baobab, and there is a pool. Activities include day and night game drives, walking safaris, hot-air balloon rides and bush picnics.
Tarangire Treetops
Treetops is in a private reserve bordering the park and the Maasai Steppe, on the east side, with views toward Kilimanjaro, Lake Manyara and the Rift Valley wall.
Tarangire Treetops
Its raised treehouses look into the surrounding baobabs, each individually decorated with modern fittings and a large private balcony. The main area is built around a very old baobab and holds a restaurant, bar, pool and shop. Beyond game drives, there are Maasai village visits, boma dinners, bush walks and sundowners.
Oliver’s Camp
Oliver’s is in the quiet south of the park, near the wildlife-rich Silale swamp.
Oliver’s Camp
It has ten en-suite safari tents built from local materials, with outdoor showers and private verandas over the Minyonyo floodplain. Activities include walking safaris, fly-camping, tracking, night drives and hot-air balloon rides.
Tarangire Simba Lodge
Simba Lodge is near the Sangaiwe Gate, in a wildlife-rich spot with views over Lake Burunge, which borders the park and a Wildlife Management Area.
Tarangire Simba Lodge
It has sixteen thatched canvas tents on wooden platforms, each en-suite with a private veranda and furniture handcrafted from African hardwood, looking over the bush and the lake. The common area has a bar, lounge and dining room, plus a separate platform for game viewing and dining, and there is a pool with a large sun deck. Activities include game drives, birding and wildlife watching from the lodge grounds.
Roika Tarangire Tented Lodge
Roika sits off the park’s south-west gate among acacia woodland and shrub, close to the Tarangire River and about 5 km from the main entrance. Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater are within driving distance.
Roika Tarangire Tented Lodge
It has twenty-one en-suite tents, each themed differently, with handcrafted furniture and, in a novel touch, animal-shaped bathtubs. The tents are on raised platforms under thatch, with private balconies. There is a large pool, a game room, a bar, a Maasai boma and a shop, plus a nearby campsite. Activities include nature walks, bush meals, night drives, barbecues, Maasai dance and fishing on the riverbed.
Any of these makes a comfortable base for a Tarangire safari, and the park is well worth adding to a northern Tanzania trip.
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