The vast and sensational Serengeti, covering 14,763 sq km of endlessly rolling savannah plains, is Tanzania's first-established largest and most famous park wherein tens of thousands of hoofed animals roam in a constant and unremitting search for the fresh grasslands upon which their survival depends.
Finally, the Serengeti, whose Maasai name - Siringeti translates as the endless plains, offers unparalleled ornithological opportunities and an unrivalled natural arena wherein the glory and harmony of nature can be appreciated as nowhere else on earth.
The Serengeti Ecosystem
Life in the Serengeti is a complex and dynamic ecological system in which all the animals and plants interact both with each other and with their environment. No organism is static or exists in isolation and all are dependant on the rains.
The park is made up of several different vegetation zones: in the dry south are the short and long grassland plains, where an average of only 50cm of rain falls per year.
In the center lies an area of acacia savannah whilst the western corridor marks a region of wooded highlands and back cotton soil curving in a great swathe to the edge of Lake Victoria.
To the north is wooded grassland , which concentrates along the watercourses and tributaries of the Grumeti and mara rivers.
The Climate
There are two distinct seasons: the dry season between June and October and the wet season, which starts in November and lasts irregularly until May.
The People
Approximately one hundred years ago, the warlike Maasai first arrived in the Serengeti, bringing their cattle to graze on the rich grasslands. Prior to this the region was uninhabited and visited only by the hunter-gatherer Ndorobo and Ikoma tribes. The Maasai were followed, in 1913, by the Europeans, who were so quick to assess its game-hunting potential that, by 1921, the Serengeti’s teeming herds had almost entirely decimated. This necessitated the establishment, firstly of Reserve and finally, in 1951, a National Park.As a result the Serengeti is an area where human habitation is prohibited.
When To Visit
The Serengeti National Park can be visited at any time of year but the wildlife concentrations are greatest between December and June and comparatively low during the dry season between July and October.
Serengeti National Park Accomnmodation
Serengeti Serena Lodge | Serengeti Sopa Lodge | Seronera Wildlife Lodge | Lobo Wildlife Lodge | Olakira Camp | Sayari Camp | Grumeti River Camp | Kleins Camp | Serengeti Migration Camp | Kirawira Camp | Kusini Camp | Nduara Loliondo Camp | Mbuzi Mawe Tented Camp | Sabora Plains Tented Camp | Sasakwa Hill Lodge | Faru Faru River Lodge |Serengeti Under Canvas |
