Tanzania Travel | The Northern Safari Circuit

Tanzania’s northern circuit is one of Africa’s ultimate safari routes. At its core, there is the immense Serengeti National park, the lynchpin of a migratory ecosystem that supports the world’s greatest concentration of large mammals; an estimated 2.5 million wildebeest, zebra, gazelle and other carnivores.

Then there is the scenic wonder of Ngorongoro Crater, not only the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera, but also a splendid wildlife sanctuary in its own right. Lake Magadi, in the heart of the Crater, is tinged pink but thousands of flamingos, while its marshy perimeter forms something of a retirement home for bull elephant ‘tuskers’. Ngorongoro also hosts the world’s densest population of lion and spotted hyena, as well as an important refuge for black rhino.

Three other national parks complete the northern circuit – each possessing ecological elements that compliment their more famous neighbors. Arusha National park, in the shadow of Mount Meru, supports a cover of lush montane forest teeming with birds and monkeys. Tarangire National Park forms a hub of a vast migratory ecosystem whose residents – including some 4,000 elephants – crowd along the perennial Tarangire River in the dry season of July to November. Lake Manyara National Park, meanwhile, is a birdwatcher’s paradise famed for its population of tree-climbing lions.