Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is Tanzania’s flagship safari destination and one of the most famous wildlife areas on the planet. Stretching across 14,763 km² of rolling savannah, acacia woodland and granite kopjes, its name comes from the Maasai word siringet — “the place where the land runs on forever”.

At its heart is the Great Migration, the largest land mammal movement on Earth. Well over a million wildebeest, hundreds of thousands of zebra and gazelle follow the rains in a vast annual loop between the Serengeti and Kenya’s Masai Mara, tracked the whole way by lions, cheetahs, leopards and hyenas.

Because the park protects a complete ecosystem, game viewing here is exceptional year-round. Whether you are chasing a river crossing in the north between July and October, watching wildebeest calve on the southern plains in February, or enjoying quiet predator sightings in the Seronera Valley, the Serengeti rewards every kind of safari.

Combined with the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara, it forms Tanzania’s classic Northern Circuit — the itinerary most first-time visitors choose. Tell our local team your dates and we will build the Serengeti trip that fits them best.

The Serengeti is a vast, rolling plain of short-grass savannah, broken by rocky granite outcrops known as kopjes and threaded with riverine woodland along seasonal rivers. The land rises gently from about 920 m in the northwest to roughly 1,850 m in the southeast, and that subtle gradient shapes everything from the vegetation to the movement of the herds.

The southeastern plains are open and almost treeless, built on volcanic ash blown from the Ngorongoro highlands, while the north is greener and more wooded, with the Mara River forming a natural boundary with Kenya’s Masai Mara. To the west, the Grumeti and Mbalageti rivers feed the wildlife-rich Western Corridor.

This mosaic of grassland, woodland, kopje and river gives the Serengeti its extraordinary biodiversity — and gives every safari constantly changing scenery, from endless horizons at dawn to shaded riverbanks where leopards sleep through the heat of the day.

The park is far from uniform. Each region has its own character, and where you spend your time depends on the season and the movements of the herds.

• Central Seronera Valley — the accessible heart of the park and the most reliable area for lions and leopards year-round.
• Southern Plains (Ndutu) — wide, short-grass plains where wildebeest calve between January and March.
• Western Corridor (Grumeti) — riverine woodland and the Grumeti River, busy with herds from May to July.
• Northern Serengeti (Kogatende & Lamai) — the scene of the dramatic Mara River crossings from July to October.
• Eastern Serengeti — quieter, drier plains closer to Ngorongoro, good for cheetah and walking areas.

Every year roughly 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra move in a vast clockwise circuit through the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem, driven entirely by the rains and the green grass that follows them. It is the largest land mammal migration on Earth.

Between January and March the herds gather on the southern plains around Ndutu to give birth — some 8,000 calves a day at the peak. As the plains dry out, they push north and west, crossing the Grumeti River around May and June before reaching the Mara River between July and October, where the famous crossings take place.

By November the short rains pull the herds south again, completing the loop. Because the timing shifts slightly each year, our guides follow the migration through the season and position your itinerary where the herds are expected to be.

The Serengeti has been protected in one form or another since 1921, when a game reserve was first declared. It became a national park in 1951 and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, recognised for the global importance of its ecosystem and the annual migration.

Its scientific fame came from pioneering researchers such as Bernhard and Michael Grzimek, whose work in the 1950s and 60s helped safeguard the wider ecosystem, and from the long-term predator studies of the Serengeti Research Institute that continue today.

The park sits at the heart of the greater Serengeti ecosystem, which also takes in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Maswa Game Reserve and Kenya’s Masai Mara — a connected landscape on which the migration depends.

These plains have been home to people for thousands of years. Today the land around the park is shared with Maasai pastoralists, who have grazed cattle here for centuries, as well as Sonjo and Ikoma communities.

Cultural visits to Maasai bomas offer a genuine glimpse of village life — traditional homesteads, beadwork, singing and the famous adumu jumping dance. Done respectfully and on community terms, these visits help local families benefit directly from tourism.

Combine the wildlife with a stop at Olduvai Gorge, just outside the park, where some of the earliest evidence of human ancestors was discovered — a reminder that this is a landscape of deep human history as well as wild drama.

What makes the Serengeti so productive is an unusually simple food chain. Seasonal rains feed vast grasslands of sweet, mineral-rich grass; the grass feeds the migrating herds; and the herds feed one of the densest concentrations of predators anywhere in Africa.

More than 3,000 lions, around a thousand leopards and several hundred cheetahs share the plains, alongside spotted hyenas, jackals and the endangered African wild dog. The short-grass south and the wooded centre suit different hunters — cheetahs favour the open flats, leopards the riverine trees and kopjes, while lions thrive almost everywhere.

Scavengers finish what the predators leave, and the rivers add hippos, crocodiles and rich bird life, so the whole system stays in balance. This interdependence is why the Serengeti is studied so intensively — and why protecting the complete migration route matters far more than protecting any single park.

Despite sitting on the equator, the Serengeti is surprisingly temperate because of its altitude, mostly between 1,200 and 1,800 m. Daytime temperatures are pleasant year-round, typically 24–29°C, but nights and early mornings can be genuinely cold — bring a warm layer for dawn game drives.

The park has two rainy periods: the long rains (masika) from March to May and the short rains (vuli) in November and December. The dry season from June to October brings clearer skies, thinner vegetation and the best all-round game viewing.

Because altitudes and microclimates vary across the park, the wooded north can feel quite different from the dry southern plains on the same day, so packing in layers is always the sensible choice.

Even a protected wilderness faces pressure. Poaching for ivory and bushmeat, human–wildlife conflict along the park’s boundaries and a fast-growing human population all threaten the Serengeti ecosystem, while changing rainfall patterns linked to climate change add uncertainty to the migration.

Anti-poaching patrols, community conservancies and wildlife corridors that keep the migration route open are central to protecting the park, and a share of park fees is returned to conservation and to neighbouring communities.

Choosing responsible operators — who follow park rules, keep a respectful distance from wildlife and genuinely support local people — is one of the simplest ways a visitor can help keep the Serengeti wild.

Entry to Serengeti National Park is subject to a conservation fee per person, per 24-hour period, plus vehicle fees and, for some travellers, concession or transit fees. Rates are set by the government and reviewed periodically, so we always confirm current amounts when you book.

A few practical points to keep in mind when planning your visit:

• The park is generally open daily from around 6:00 am, with gates closing in the evening.
• Park fees are usually settled within your safari package — we handle permits and payments for you.
• Most visitors stay overnight inside or beside the park, so more than one day of fees usually applies.
• A licensed guide and a 4x4 safari vehicle are required for all game drives.
• Drones need special authorisation and are not permitted for casual use.

The Serengeti is a low-risk destination for most travellers. The main health consideration is malaria, so speak to your travel doctor about antimalarials before you go. A yellow fever vaccination may be required if you are arriving from a country where the disease is present.

On safari the safest place is inside the vehicle. Always listen to your guide, never approach wildlife on foot, and keep a sensible distance at every sighting. Sun protection, insect repellent and plenty of water are essentials.

• Take antimalarials and pack insect repellent for the evenings.
• Drink bottled or purified water only.
• Carry personal medication and a basic first-aid kit.
• Respect wildlife — stay in the vehicle and follow your guide’s instructions.
• Observe park rules on off-road driving, litter and speed limits.