Serengeti
endless plains, granite kopjes and the migration's year-round loop
About Serengeti
The Serengeti is Tanzania's oldest and best-known national park, a vast spread of short-grass plain, acacia woodland and granite outcrops called kopjes, running north to the Kenyan border where it meets the Maasai Mara. Its name comes from the Maa word siringet, the place where the land runs on forever, and out on the southern plains, with nothing on the horizon but wildebeest, you understand why.
Around one and a half million wildebeest, with hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles, move through the ecosystem in a loop that never really stops. They calve on the southern plains around Ndutu early in the year, drift west towards the Grumeti River in the middle months, and reach the Mara River in the north from about July. Around Seronera, leopards stretch out on sausage-tree branches and lions use the kopjes as lookouts all year, and balloons lift off at dawn.
Calving, from late January to March, brings newborns and intense predator action; July to October is the season for river crossings. The long rains of April and May turn the black-cotton soil to mud. Fly between airstrips to save time, or drive in from Arusha through Ngorongoro. From Kenya, cross overland at Isebania-Sirari or fly via Migori to Kogatende. Tanzania needs its own e-visa, separate from the East Africa Tourist Visa.
Where it is
Safaris through Serengeti
13 days
Featured
13 Days Kenya, Tanzania & Rwanda Safari
Follow the migration from the Mara to the Serengeti, descend into Ngorongoro, then meet gorillas
8 days
8 Days Amboseli & Serengeti Calving Season Safari
Half a million newborn wildebeest, every predator on the plains, and Kilimanjaro on the way
9 days
Featured
9 Days Maasai Mara & Serengeti Migration Safari
Two countries, two riverbanks, one chance to watch the herds take the plunge
14 days
Featured
14 Days Kenya & Tanzania Big Five Safari
Fourteen days and seven great parks, from Samburu's desert rivers to Tarangire's baobabs
12 days
Featured
12 Days Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Zanzibar Honeymoon
Balloon at dawn, lanterns at dusk, then the warm Indian Ocean: twelve days for two
10 days
Featured
10 Days Maasai Mara & Serengeti Seniors Safari
Late starts, short flights, three-night stays and a guide who has thought of everything
11 days
Featured
11 Days Kenya & Tanzania Family Safari
Orphaned elephants, bikes in a gorge, junior ranger badges and a crater full of rhino
12 days
Featured
12 Days Kenya & Tanzania Multi-Generation Safari
Grandparents, parents and kids in one private safari, from rhino country to the crater floor
6 days
6 Days Maasai Mara & Serengeti Fly-in Safari
Six days, four flights, almost no road: the Mara, Serengeti and crater for people short on time
11 days
11 Days Tsavo, Amboseli & Serengeti Safari
Red elephants, lava fields and Serengeti lions on East Africa's wilder southern route
12 days
12 Days Kenya & Tanzania Photography Safari
Private vehicle, specialist guide and every drive timed for the best light
10 days
10 Days Maasai Mara, Serengeti & Zanzibar Solo Safari
Join solo, share the vehicle and the campfire, keep your own room, finish on a Zanzibar beach