Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania was established in 1952. It is home to the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth - the great migration of wildebeest and zebra. The resident population of lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, and birds is also impressive. There’s a wide variety of accommodation available, from luxury lodges to mobile camps. The park covers 5,700 sq miles, (14,763 sq km), it’s larger than Connecticut, with at most a couple hundred vehicles driving around.

The Park can be divided into 3 sections. The popular southern/central part (Seronera Valley), is what the Maasai called the “serengit”, the land of endless plains. It’s classic savannah, dotted with acacias and filled with wildlife. The western corridor is marked by the Grumeti River, and has more forests and dense bush. The north, Lobo area, meets up with Kenya’s Masai Mara Reserve, is the least visited section.

Two World Heritage Sites and two Biosphere Reserves have been established within the 30,000 km² region. It’s unique ecosystem has inspired writers from Ernest Hemingway to Peter Mattheissen, filmakers like Hugo von Lawick and Alan Root as well as numerous photographers and scientists.

Serengeti National Park Facts

Serengeti National Park, one of Tanzania’s most iconic wildlife sanctuaries, was established in the 1920s and officially designated as a national park in 1951. Spanning approximately 14,750 square kilometers, it is among the largest and most visited national parks in the country, offering breathtaking landscapes and rich biodiversity.
• Ancient Ecosystem: Serengeti is one of the oldest ecosystems on Earth, largely unchanged for millions of years.
• Big Cats: The park is home to three of the most formidable big cats—lions, cheetahs, and leopards—thriving in its vast plains.
• The Great Migration: One of nature’s most spectacular events, the annual wildebeest migration sees more than 1,000,000 wildebeest, 200,000 zebras, and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelles journey across the open plains in search of fresh grazing, with over six million hooves pounding the land.
• Diverse Wildlife: Serengeti supports a remarkable balance of herbivores and carnivores, making it a dynamic ecosystem.
• Birdlife: The park boasts over 500 bird species, including ostriches, secretary birds, kori bustards, crowned cranes, marabou storks, martial eagles, and vibrant lovebirds.