Tarangire, Tanzania’s sixth largest national park covers an untamed 2850 sq. Kms. Uncrowded and unspoiled, it possesses a wild beauty and contains most of the animal species expected to be seen on a safari with the exception of Rhinos, which were wiped out by poaching in the 1980’s. The park has a range of different habitats, from grasslands and woods to the north to low hills, scrub and swampland down south. Cutting through these habitats is an evergreen corridor, the Tarangire River, the park’s main watering source for wildlife during the dry season. The park was named after this river that crosses it and empties its waters into Lake Burunge to the west. The park’s landscape and vegetation is of its own uniqueness with lightly wooded hills, dense bush and high grasses that can be found nowhere else in the northern circuit.

The park is famous for its large herds of elephants (up to 300 in a herd have been recorded) and baobabs, weird, ungainly and impressive trees that are several thousand years old and provide excellent silhouettes against the sky for sunset photos. Lions, leopards, cheetahs and its tree climbing pythons also attract a number of visitors throughout the season. Other large animals found in the park include wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, Grant’s gazelle, hartebeest and eland among others. It is also the only park in Tanzania where rare antelopes such as the fringe-eared Oryx and peculiar long-necked Gerenuk are regularly observed.