Tarangire National Park

Baobabs, big elephant herds and Tanzanian endemic birds. When to visit Tarangire, what you’ll see, and which of our safaris go there.

In the dry season, the Tarangire River is the only reliable water for miles, and elephants come to it in herds of dozens. It’s one of the best places in East Africa to watch them, set among ancient baobab trees.

For birders, Tarangire is where Tanzania’s endemics begin. Ashy Starling and Yellow-collared Lovebird are common, and Rufous-tailed Weaver and Tanzania Red-billed Hornbill are regular. The swamps in the south add waterbirds and raptors.

It’s close enough to Arusha for a day trip, but we’d always rather give it two.

Getting there

Tarangire’s main gate is about two hours from Arusha on a paved road. It’s easy to combine with Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater, which are both within a few hours.

Where to stay

Lodges and tented camps inside the park put you close to the river at dawn. Lodges just outside the park, or near Karatu, are cheaper and still convenient.

Our guides’ tips

Visit from June to October for the biggest elephant herds.
Explore the southern swamps if you have a full day. They’re much quieter than the northern river circuit.
Watch the sausage trees and baobabs for leopards and pythons.
Tsetse flies can be active in wooded areas, so avoid wearing dark blue and black.

Common questions

What is Tarangire known for?

Large elephant herds, ancient baobab trees, and some of the best birding on the northern circuit.

Is one day enough in Tarangire?

One day covers the river circuit. Two days lets you reach the quieter south.

Are there lions in Tarangire?

Yes, and leopards and cheetahs too, although the elephants are the main attraction.

Safaris that visit Tarangire National Park

10days

10-Day Classic Northern Tanzania Birding Safari

Arusha NP, Lark Plains, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti & Mererani

The classic northern circuit for birders: around 300 species in ten days, from Beesley’s Lark and Fischer’s Lovebird to the Serengeti specials and the Maasai steppe at Mererani.

See the itinerary Enquire

Golden-breasted Starling on a branch, Tanzania

8days

8-Day Birding Safari in Northern Tanzania

Arusha NP, Lark Plains, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Endoro & Mererani

Northern Tanzania’s best birding in eight days: montane forest, Beesley’s Lark, Tarangire’s endemics, the Ngorongoro Crater and the Maasai steppe at Mererani. Around 250 species.

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Elephant herd crossing the Tarangire River

5days

5-Day Classic Northern Tanzania Safari

Tarangire, Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater

Tanzania’s classic safari highlights in five days: Tarangire’s baobabs and elephants, Lake Manyara’s forest and the Ngorongoro Crater.

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10days

10-Day Classic Northern Tanzania Safari

Arusha NP, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro & Serengeti

The classic Tanzania safari: all four northern-circuit parks plus the Ngorongoro Crater, a lodge every night and enough Serengeti days to settle in.

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Zebras on the plains of northern Tanzania

12days

12-Day Great Wildebeest Migration Safari

Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Central & Northern Serengeti

Three nights in the northern Serengeti searching for Mara River crossings, plus Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and the central Serengeti.

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Bar-tailed Trogon perched in Usambara montane forest

39days

39-Day Ultimate Tanzania Birding Expedition

From Lake Victoria, Northern Savannahs to Eastern Arc Forests & Southern Wilderness

Tanzania’s most complete birding trip: 39 days from Lake Victoria and the Serengeti to the Eastern Arc forests, the southern highlands, Ruaha, Nyerere and Pugu Hills.

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19days

19-Day Northern & Northeastern Tanzania Birding & Wildlife Safari

Arusha NP, Tarangire, Ngorongoro, Serengeti, South Pare & Usambara

Nineteen days combining the northern parks and their big game with the endemic birds of the Mbulu, South Pare and Usambara Mountains.

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2days

2-Day Tanzania Wildlife Safari

Tarangire & Ngorongoro Crater

Two days is enough for a real safari if you pick the right parks.

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Bird singing on an acacia branch, northern Tanzania

12days

12-Day Northern Tanzania Birding Safari

Arusha NP, Lark Plains, Tarangire, Lake Manyara, Ngorongoro, Serengeti & Endoro

Twelve days on the northern circuit with time for the specialities: Beesley’s Lark, two days each in Tarangire and the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro highlands and Endoro Forest.

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Secretarybird walking through golden grassland in Tanzania

9days

9-Day Tanzania Birding & Big Game Safari

Arusha NP, Tarangire, Manyara, Serengeti & Ngorongoro

Nine days is the length where you stop choosing between birds and big game.

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Silvery-cheeked Hornbill perched in an acacia

6days

6-Day Northern Tanzania Birding Tour

Arusha NP, Tarangire, Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Crater

This is the classic northern circuit, run for birders.

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10days

10-Day Big Game & Birding Tour

Arusha NP, Lark Plains, Tarangire, Serengeti, Ngorongoro & Manyara

We built this trip for a couple where one of them lives for birds and the other wants lions.

See the itinerary Enquire

Wildlife

Iconic wildlife of Tarangire National Park

The animals, trees and reptiles our guides look for here, with the best season and where to find them. See the full wildlife guide.

Mammal

African elephant

Loxodonta africana

Tarangire’s big herds are the classic sight: families drifting between baobabs to the river in the dry season.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park, Arusha National Park, Rubondo Island National Park, Mount Kilimanjaro

Mammal

Lion

Panthera leo

The Serengeti holds one of the largest lion populations left in Africa. Prides of twenty are not unusual.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park

Mammal

Leopard

Panthera pardus

Secretive and beautiful. The Seronera valley’s sausage trees are the best place in Africa to find one by day.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park

Mammal

Cheetah

Acinonyx jubatus

Built for the short grass plains. Watch one scan from a termite mound in the southern Serengeti.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park

Mammal

Cape buffalo

Syncerus caffer

The Big Five’s heavyweight. Herds of several hundred are a daily sight in Arusha National Park and the crater.

Seen in

Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park

Giraffes on the plains with Mount Meru behind, northern Tanzania

Mammal

Masai giraffe

Giraffa tippelskirchi

Tanzania’s national animal, with jagged star-shaped patches. Common almost everywhere except inside the crater.

Seen in

Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi

Mammal

Plains zebra

Equus quagga

The migration’s other half. Hundreds of thousands of zebra move with the wildebeest across the Serengeti.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi

Wildebeest herds of the Great Migration, Serengeti

Mammal

Blue wildebeest

Connochaetes taurinus

The Great Migration itself: 1.5 million animals circling the Serengeti, calving in the south each February.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park

Mammal

Spotted hyena

Crocuta crocuta

Clever, social and the crater’s top predator by numbers. Listen for the whooping call after dark.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park

Mammal

African wild dog

Lycaon pictus

Africa’s most endangered large carnivore. Ruaha is one of the last strongholds, and sightings there are a privilege.

Seen in

Ruaha National Park, Tarangire National Park

Primate

Olive baboon

Papio anubis

Lake Manyara’s troops are some of the biggest in Africa, and the most entertaining hour of any game drive.

Seen in

Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park, Gombe & Mahale Mountains, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Eyasi

Grant’s gazelles on the open plains of Tanzania

Mammal

Impala

Aepyceros melampus

The graceful antelope you will see most often, and the leopard’s favourite meal.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park, Arusha National Park

Mammal

Greater kudu

Tragelaphus strepsiceros

Spiral horns and a ghostly grey coat. Ruaha is the best park in East Africa for this shy antelope.

Seen in

Ruaha National Park, Tarangire National Park

Baobab country in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania

Tree

Baobab tree

Adansonia digitata

The upside-down tree, some over a thousand years old. Tarangire and Ruaha are the great baobab landscapes of Tanzania.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Eyasi

Tree

Umbrella thorn acacia

Vachellia tortilis

The flat-topped tree of every safari photograph. Giraffes browse it and leopards sleep in it.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Lark Plains, Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi

Mammal

Grant’s gazelle

Nanger granti

The tall, pale gazelle of the open plains, happy a long way from water. Look for the white rump that reaches above the tail.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Lark Plains, Lake Manyara National Park, Lake Natron

Mammal

Lesser kudu

Tragelaphus imberbis

A shy, striped antelope of dense dry bush. Males carry long spiral horns.

Seen in

Lake Natron, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park

Birding

Birds to look for in Tarangire National Park

Specialities, endemics and the birds that make this place different, chosen by our birding guides. Browse all birds.

Resident

Secretarybird

Sagittarius serpentarius

A raptor that hunts on foot, stamping snakes to death in the grass. Unmistakable striding across the plains.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Lark Plains, Lake Natron

Resident

Kori Bustard

Ardeotis kori

The heaviest flying bird in the world, pacing the plains with its neck puffed up in display.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire National Park, Lark Plains, Lake Natron

Endemic

Ashy Starling

Lamprotornis unicolor

Tanzania’s own starling: long-tailed, dusty grey and common around the baobabs of Tarangire.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park

Endemic

Yellow-collared Lovebird

Agapornis personatus

Green, yellow and masked in black, chattering in flocks around the baobabs. A Tanzanian endemic you will hear before you see.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ruaha National Park

Resident

Lilac-breasted Roller

Coracias caudatus

The most photographed bird in Africa, with eight colours and a rolling display flight to match.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Ruaha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park

Resident

Von der Decken’s Hornbill

Tockus deckeni

The small dry-country hornbill with the red and ivory bill, hopping along the road ahead of the vehicle.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lark Plains

Resident

Red-and-yellow Barbet

Trachyphonus erythrocephalus

Spotted like a leopard and loud as a duet. Pairs sing together from termite mounds in the dry bush.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lark Plains

Resident

Golden-breasted Starling

Lamprotornis regius

Arguably the most beautiful starling in the world, a bird of the dry northeast with a tail longer than its body.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Lark Plains

Resident

Saddle-billed Stork

Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis

Nearly 1.5 metres tall with a red, black and yellow bill. Tanzania’s most elegant wading bird.

Seen in

Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Manyara National Park

Resident

Hildebrandt’s Francolin

Pternistis hildebrandti

A handsome, spotted francolin of rocky hillsides and crater slopes, calling harshly at dawn.

Seen in

Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha National Park, Tarangire National Park

Resident

Rosy-patched Bushshrike

Telophorus cruentus

A duet from the top of a thorn bush, with a rose-pink patch down the breast. A dry-country gem.

Seen in

Lark Plains, Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park

Resident

Green-winged Pytilia

Pytilia melba

A small waxbill with a red face, green wings and a barred belly, feeding quietly on the ground in the thorn bush.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Ruaha National Park

Resident

Black-capped Social Weaver

Pseudonigrita cabanisi

Colonies of untidy nests in the thorn trees, and a chattering, sociable bird of the driest bush.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Lark Plains

Resident

Spotted Morning-Thrush

Cichladusa guttata

The first song of the day at most lodges, rich and varied, from a spotted bird that keeps to the shadows.

Seen in

Tarangire National Park, Serengeti National Park, Lake Manyara National Park

Activities

Things to do in Tarangire National Park

How a day here is spent, from game drives to walks and boat trips. All safari activities.

Half day to full day

Game drives

The heart of every safari: a private 4x4 with a pop-up roof, your own guide, and the whole day to follow the wildlife.

Hartlaub’s Turaco in Arusha National Park

Any length, from a morning walk to a 27-day expedition

Birdwatching

More than 1,100 species, dozens of endemics, and guides who find most birds by ear. Our speciality.

Hot-air balloon over the Serengeti plains at sunrise

About four hours including breakfast

Hot-air balloon safari

Drift over the plains at sunrise, then land to a champagne breakfast in the bush.

Spotlit night game drive on safari in Tanzania

About three hours after dinner

Night game drives

Spotlights, genets and bushbabies. See the park after dark, when a different cast of animals comes out.

Village on the plains near the Ngorongoro highlands

One to two hours

Maasai cultural visits

Meet the communities who share the land with the wildlife, on their terms and with the fee going to them.

Guests watching wildlife with binoculars from a Charles Tours safari vehicle

Any safari

Wildlife and bird photography

Vehicles positioned for the light, beanbags on the window, and a guide who understands what you are trying to capture.

Explore other Tanzania destinations

More parks, plains and forests our safaris visit, each with its own wildlife, birds and best season.

Arusha National Park

Montane forest, the Momella Lakes and Hartlaub’s Turaco, just 45 minutes from Arusha.

Flamingos in flight over a Rift Valley soda lake

Lake Natron

The Rift Valley soda lake where East Africa’s Lesser Flamingos breed.

Black-winged Stilt wading in shallow water

Lake Eyasi

Seasonal soda lake with flamingos, waterbirds and quiet dry bush.

Grey-headed Gull on a Rift Valley lake, Tanzania

Lake Victoria

Africa’s largest lake, with papyrus specialists and lakeshore birds.

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) in reeds, Tanzania

Rubondo Island National Park

Quiet island park with forest birds, waterbirds and sitatunga.

Lake Tanganyika

Clear lake, western forest birds and the gateway to Gombe and Mahale.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Montane forest birding on the slopes of Africa’s highest mountain.

Lark Plains

The only place on earth to see the critically endangered Beesley’s Lark.

Lioness resting in an acacia tree, Tanzania

Lake Manyara National Park

Tree-climbing lions, groundwater forest and a soda lake full of waterbirds.

Ngorongoro Crater

A volcanic caldera with black rhino, lions and big grassland birds.

Serengeti National Park

Vast plains, the Great Migration and big cats all year round.

Usambara Mountains

Ancient Eastern Arc forests holding Tanzania’s rarest endemic birds.

Wild chimpanzee in the forest at Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania

Gombe & Mahale Mountains

Track wild chimpanzees in the forests where Jane Goodall began her research.

Ruaha National Park

Tanzania’s largest park: big predators, baobab plains and 570+ bird species.

Sunbird perched in the forest canopy, Udzungwa Mountains

Udzungwa Mountains & Kilombero Floodplains

Rainforest endemics, Sanje Falls and the Kilombero Weaver in southern Tanzania.

Start planning your safari

Let’s plan a safari around your interests. Share your travel dates, number of people, the ages of any children travelling, and the birds or wildlife you hope to see. We’ll get back to you within 24 hours with a personalised itinerary and a detailed quote.

Send an enquiry WhatsApp +255 627 415 415