Serengeti National Park
Somewhere the clearly requires no introduction. This, most famous of National Parks, lies to the north of the country and is most certainly a contender for offering the best wildlife watching anywhere in the world. The Serengeti plays host to the ‘Great Migration’ involving the movement of some 2 million Blue Wildebeest, half a million Thompson’s Gazelles and 250,000 Zebra.
From the classic open, grassy plains in the south to the wooded grasslands and granite outcrops of the north, the Serengeti has a unique range of habitats which offer spectacular year-round game viewing – even when the migration has moved elsewhere in the park. The Serengeti is undoubtedly the best place in the world to see both Lion and Cheetah and is also home to other big game including Elephant, Buffalo, Hippo and Giraffe.
When to go:
When to go to the Serengeti completely depends on what you want from your safari. If your focus is seeing the spectacle of the great migration, then it is key to factor this into your itinerary.
The rains begin in November as scattered showers and thunderstorms from November and in March and April these can become intensified. As a result, March and April are viewed as low season, and this very busy destination can become much quieter and also, much cheaper!
Tracking the Wildebeest Migration:
The thousands of wildebeest and zebra congregate on the southern short grass plains around Ndutu during the intermittent rainy months from late November to March/April. Typically calving occurs around the end of January when the nutritious grass is at its best, followed shortly by the rut. Depending on grass/water supply, the start of the Serengeti annual migration northward begins at the end of March/April – often followed by a plethora of big predators, including Lion, Leopard, Cheetah and Spotted Hyaena.
The herds initially head west to reach the Grumeti River from late May onwards, before continuing further north to the Mara River region in July/August– where a large proportion of the herds cross the border into Kenya’s Maasai Mara. They remain in the northern Serengeti and Masai Mara during the dry season (July to October) where they have access to the permanent waters of the Mara River, and it is during this time that the most dramatic crossings place over the and its tributaries.
Images courtesy of &Beyond