Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest park in Tanzania. It covers an area of about 2,850 square kilometers. The park gets its name from the Tarangire river which crosses the park and is a major source of water for the animals especially during the dry season.

One striking feature in the park are the old Baobab tree and countless termite mounds. Though smaller than Ruaha, the park receives almost the same number of visitors because it is closer to the Serengeti, Ngoro Ngoro crater and the Masai Mara in Kenya.

Tarangire has one of the largest population of elephants in Africa and is home to tree climbing lions. Apart from lions and elephants, expect to encounter impala, giraffe, zebras and wildebeest. Tarangire National Park is a birders paradise with over 550 species.

During the dry season, the park receives thousands of birds and animals from other nearby parks – especially the Manyara National Park. At the height of this migration, the number of elephant can rival any anywhere in the world.

The Great Rift Valley

The East African rift valley passes through Tanzania leaving behind amazing features like lakes, rivers, hot springs, geysers and volcanoes. Some of the lakes found on the floor of Tanzania’s part of the rift valley are Lake Tanganyika, Lake Natron, Lake Manyara, Lake Eyasi, Lake Victoria and Lake Makati. Most of these lakes are shallow and are blessed with amazing biodiversity.