Serengeti National Park
Home to the greatest wildlife spectacle on earth - the great migration of wildebeest and zebra.
Destination Highlights
Serengeti National Park is one of the best-known wildlife sanctuary in the world, and symbolises the classic African safari. With more than 2 million wildebeest, half a million Thomson’s gazelle, and a quarter of a million zebra, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa.
Serengeti National Park Background Information
The Serengeti is also synonymous with the annual wildebeest and zebra migration that encompasses a vast area of both the Serengeti and the neighbouring Masai Mara National Park. It is the home of the Great Wildebeest Migration for 9 months of the year.
The name 'Serengeti' comes from the Maasai language and means an 'extended place'. The National Park alone covers an area of 13 000 sq km. The Serengeti ecosystem, which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Grumeti Reserve, the Maswa Game Reserve, the Masai Mara Game reserve (in Kenya) and numerous concession areas, is roughly the size of Sicily. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.
What to see and do
The Serengeti is home to the Wildebeest Migration Phenomenon
Serengeti National Park is one of the best-known wildlife sanctuaries in the world, and symbolises the classic African safari. With more than 2 million wildebeest, half a million Thomson's gazelle, and a quarter of a million zebra, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa.
The Serengeti is also synonymous with the wildebeest and zebra migration that encompasses a vast area of both the Serengeti and the neighbouring Masai Mara National Park. Compared with other reserves of its size, the Serengeti has very few lodges, camps, hotels, migration camps, etc. This makes it extra special for those that can afford it as you are unlikely to bump into masses of other visitors.
Normally, the best time to see the animals here is during January and February. Heading north into the Park, the grass becomes noticeably longer, and it is usual to see Grant's and Thomson's gazelles, as well as the occasional small groups of topi and kongoni. Towards Seronera, the park headquarters, the landscape becomes more varied. Hills rise out of plains criss-crossed by small rivers. Umbrella acacia trees appear, elegant and serene, contrasting with the twisted commiphora trees.
Where to find Serengeti National Park
