The well-established ‘Northern Circuit' safari of northern Tanzania offers some of the world’s most diverse safari experiences, consisting of National Parks, game reserves, conservation areas and private concessions. Among these are the world-famous and iconic Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, and of course their less well-known neighbours, Tarangire National Park and Lake Manyara National Park.
This national park lies about 45km east of Arusha town. It is therefore the closest national park to the safari capital of Tanzania. This park is home to Mt Meru, Tanzania’s “other mountain” standing at 4565m, Ngurdoto Crater and the Momella Lakes. Despite its relatively small size, this park has a lot to offer such as Colobus monkeys, flamingos, elephants, giraffes, buffalos, plus a variety of bird and plant species.
The Serengeti is the mother of all parks. Despite its fame and a reputation to the contrary, the park remains remarkably remote and undisturbed once you get off the main safari routes. A good quality safari here can be an incomparable wildlife experience. Northern Tanzania the main area for safari in Tanzania, using the town of Arusha as a hub from which to visit the greatest game parks in Africa. Arusha and the smaller town of Moshi are used as bases from which to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
The dramatic landscape of the Ngorongoro Highlands is the perfect complement to the flatness of the Serengeti. Populated by Maasai tribes, this area of grasslands, volcanoes and forests makes utterly superb hiking terrain ...
This pretty little park, tucked into the base of the Rift Valley escarpment, is often used simply as a gentle introduction for safaris heading North, but Manyara can become a real live safari experience if you stop to camp here overnight ...
Incorrectly considered the poor relation, Tarangire does have less spectacular landscape and does make you work harder for your game, but it also retains a real sense of wilderness reminiscent of more remote parks like Ruaha and Katavi. It can provide a real high during the dry season.
We recommend the following 6 day itinerary if you truly want to see the best of Tanzania's safari. But also check our short and long traditional safari itineraries to give you an idea of what is possible with the time you have available.
