One cannot imagine why the African Elephants are so popular throughout the globe, unless they get closer to them in real. Located a bit off the main Northern Safari circuit, the African Elephants in Tarangire are a cherry on the cake for all the travellers visiting Tanzania.
Between the much hyped Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, this quiet and serene Elephant Park is an exceptional surprise in the Northern area of Tanzania. The vast Savannah land of East Africa provides a good source of nutritious food for these wandering animals. These largest land mammals migrate here in search of food, shelter and to find mates. The park was converted into a conservation area in 1993 after several episodes of brutal and inhumane poaching of ivory and hunting of these innocent animals.
Talking about the park, the Tarangire is spread over an area of 2, 600 km2 across the Great Rift Valley in the North and West to the Maasai Steppe in the South and East. The beautiful Tarangire River flows in between the ravines and leaves the park upon meeting with Lake Burungi on the West.
While one opts for a safari through the Northern Circuit, he is likely to miss out the Tarangire National Park, either because of time limitations or incapacity of the transport system opted for. During the peak season, you can not only see more than 3, 000 elephants here, but also several wildebeest, zebras, giraffe, gazelles and buffalos along with them. The peak season stretches from July to October. The rest of the year, these African elephants migrate towards the Maasai Steppe along with other games like giraffe, buffalo, eland, Thompson’s Gazelle, Bohor Reedbuck, Coke’s Hartebeest and Kudu. Rarely, you might get even lucky to see the extremely rare Fringe Eared Oryx and the Gerenuk. However, it is still recommended to you, that you visit this park during the off season (except March to April), if you don’t want to get struck amidst the visitor’s crowd. During the off seasons, you can watch the left back incredible black rhinos in the Tarangire National Park. Other than that, don’t forget to look for the large flocks of some of the endemic species of Tanzania- like the yellow collard lovebirds.
At Tarangire National Park, you can go for the day game driving as well as for night time safari adventure. Our Safarihub guides would help you guide throughout the travel. Some camps like the Oliver Camps even offer fly trips through which you can get an unparalleled view of the park from the sky. For a good safari experience in the Northern Circuit and to watch the elephants in Tarangire, you should preferably book either a Land Cruiser or a Land Rover, which has a pop top and from where you can get a clear game view. Besides this, an expert Safari guide who has an experience of more than 5 years and possesses a guide’s license shall make your entire journey beautiful and knowledgeable.
Some good value for money lodges and camps near and within the Tarangire National Park are: Swala Camp, Olivers Camp, Tarangire Treetops and Kwihala Camp.
