At around 2,850 square kilometres, Tarangire is Tanzania’s sixth largest park, but being located slightly off the main safari circuit, most travellers tend to either skip the park altogether or give it a bare glimpse for a few hours en-route. We feel it deserves a deeper look, and a few nights in the heart of the park will reveal its stunning landscape, and exceptional wildlife. In the height of the dry season, as the lands in the surrounding Maasai Steppe are completely parched, thousands of migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland come into the park in search of water, crowding the shrinking lagoons and swamplands, while herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry Tarangire River bed in search of underground streams.

In the converse green season, as the migratory animals move back out into the Steppe, the park takes on a lush green hue. It’s an absolute paradise for birdwatchers, and calm and quiet allows intrepid travellers a chance to tune into the seasonal rhythms of wild Africa.

Tarangire National Park

OLIVER’S CAMP & LITTLE OLIVER’S CAMP

First established by Paul Oliver in 1992, and now operated by Asilia Africa, Oliver’s is our favorite camp in Tarangire. Located deep in the park, far beyond the crowds, Oliver’s commands an excellent location overlooking the Minyonyo Pools, and close to the action-packed Silale Swamp. With 10 tents at Oliver’s and 5 at Little Oliver’s, this is an intimate camp with excellent hosting and guiding. Oliver’s is also renowned for their walking safaris, which can be combined with their flycamp to explore the more remote southern sector of the park.

Highlights

Accommodation

ELEPHANTS

Tarangire boasts one of the highest concentrations of elephants in the world, and it is definitely one of the best places to view elephants in East Africa. Although present year round, it is during the dry season that the herds congregate in huge numbers, attracted by the perennial Tarangire River and its underground streams.

BAOABAB TREES

The elephants of Tarangire only tell half the story of this beautiful National Park. Ancient and surreal, the baobab trees are amongst the most numerous in Northern Tanzania and are reason enough to visit the park. Some rumored to be at least 2,000 years old are enormous.

BIRDWATCHING

Tarangire is an absolute twitcher’s paradise, with over 500 bird species recorded. During the green season, hundreds of migratory species from North Africa & Europe pass through, and this season coincides with the nesting of resident species.

THE TARANGIRE RIVER & SILALE SWAMPS

The main attraction during the dry season, the Tarangire River and Silale Swamps are some of the only sources of year-round water in the area, and they thump with activity as animals are drawn in.

Tanzania

TARANGIRE TREETOPS

Tarangire Treetops serene location is situated on the border of the Tarangire National Park. The lodge encases a thousand year old baobab tree. Each of their 20 rooms are elevated providing each and every guest a spectacular view of the famous baobab and marula trees.