With Tanzania’s vast amount of national parks, choosing the park to visit might be a bit hard. To help you make a right decision, we have put together our 8 Best National Parks in Tanzania and where you can experience wonderful forms of wildlife as well as virgin nature.
1. Nyerere National Park (Selous Game Reserve)
Formerly known as Selous Game Reserve, Nyerere National Park is the largest National Park in Tanzania and one of the biggest on this planet spanning 30,893 square kilometers. This great Tanzania safari destination was previously known as Selous Game Reserve until 2019 when it was split into two parks, the north and the west were named Nyerere National Park, but the eastern side stayed as the Selous Game Reserve.
Nyerere National Park has a truly massive wilderness, undisturbed ecology and can be considered to be remote, pristine and to be more remote and unspoilt compared to the more visited parks in Tanzania such as Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire National Park.
While on a Tanzania Safari in Nyerere National Park you will get to see lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos and much more without being disturbed by swarms of tourists. Also keep your eye out for different types of antelopes that roam freely, the Coke’s Hartebeest is one of the fastest of their kind and watching them dash off into the sunset is magnificent to witness.
Besides game viewing in Nyerere National Park, visitors can enjoy several more activities including visiting a local Maasai Village, taking a hot air balloon ride and settling down for a unique bush meal.
2. Serengeti National Park
If you want to see the Great Migration on a Tanzania Safari, head to Serengeti National Park.
Between mid-June and November, over a million wildebeest travel through the endless plains of Serengeti along with thousands of zebras and gazelles in hopes of finding a source of water and grass. Seeing this mystical display in person is mind-lowing, but it is a continuous cycle that occurs all throughout the year in different parts of Tanzania as well as Kenya.
Serengeti National Park is one of the most iconic safari destination in Africa located in the north of the country, it partly adjoins the Kenyan border and together with Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. The park covers an area of over 5,700 square miles including vast expanses of grassland plains and tangled riverine forest.
Serengeti National Park is open all year round and regardless of the Great Migration, you will still see other animals including the Big Five – lion, leopards, cape buffaloes, elephants and rhinos. Also, you will have a chance to check out natural landmarks like the Olduvai Gorge – a famous paleoanthropological site that looks like sharply sloped gorged with two offshoots. Here Dr. Leakey and his wife discovered the several fossils to which the area was called Cradle of Mankind.
3. Lake Manyara National Park
Are interested in catching a sight of the rare tree-climbing lions, then head to the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park which lies in a short drive of 1 hour from Arusha.
Lake Manyara National Park is located in north region of Tanzania and lies between Ngorongoro Crater to the northwest and Tarangire National Park to the southeast. At a small
size of 130 square miles the park comprises of awe-inspiring landscapes, 11 distinct ecosystems and one of the highest densities of large mammals in the world.
A part from the famous tree climbing lions, there are over 350 bird species in Lake Manyara National Park. These birds include large numbers of pink flamingoes, other wildlife species found in the park include plenty of leopards, lions and a massive number of baboons.
For travelers interested in doing something special during their Tanzania Safari in Lake Manyara National Park, take a canoe safari on the alkaline lake surrounded by dense marshlands and endless forms of wildlife.
4. Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park is a magical place to start your Tanzania Safari, the park is located northeast of Arusha Town and just 50 kilometers from Kilimanjaro International Airport.
At a size of 53 square miles, Arusha National Park is relatively very small compared to Tarangire or Serengeti National Park. The park supports a large diversity of vegetation
inhabiting large diversity of wildlife. From Mount Meru, the fifth highest mountain in Africa in the west, the Momella Lakes in the North – East and the Ngurdoto Crater in the South-West where you can experience mountainous forest, open savannah and grassland as well as a lush rain forest.
Arusha National Park is a perfect destination for a day trip from the city offering exciting game drives to see various animals including giraffes to bird watching on canoe rides. You will also enjoy magnificent views of the second biggest mountain in Tanzania, Mount Meru.
5. Mount Kilimanjaro National Park
Situated close to the small town of Moshi is Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, best known for being the location where Africa’s highest mountain is.
The park is flocked by millions of travelers from all over the globe with a goal of climbing the dormant 5,895 meter (19,340 feet) mountain. Even those who aren’t brave enough to conquer the climb make the trip up north to experience Mount Kilimanjaro from a far.
Mount Kilimanjaro National Park is also a great destination for travelers interested in seeing various animals, some of the animals to lookout for include cape buffaloes, elephants, tree hyrax, blue monkeys and much more.
6. Tarangire National Park
At size of over 2,600 square kilometers, Tarangire National Park is the 6 th biggest national park in the country popularly known for large herds of elephants and the iconic baobab trees.
The park is named from Tarangire River which runs through the park, the river is a common site to see all kinds of animals including zebras, elephants drinking from the waters of the river during your game drives.
In Tarangire, you will see four of the Big Five – lions, elephants, leopards and buffaloes. The only animals you will not see is the Rhino.
During the dry season, Tarangire River tends to be the only source of water remaining in the area attracting thousands of animals in the region.
7. Katavi National Park
Home to the largest herds of buffaloes on the planet and largely untouched by civilization, Katavi National Park is one of the less frequently visited Tanzania National Parks making it among the best destination for those seeking isolation amongst stunning views. Far from the distant hum of safari vehicles.
Created as a national park in 1974, Katavi National Park is situated in the Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. It is located north of the Rukwa Rift, an extension of the Western Rift Valley.
Katavi National Park is the third largest national park in Tanzania, home to the Katuma River, Lake Chada floodplains, the seasonal Lake Katavi and abundant wildlife including wildebeests, giraffes, elephants, zebras, African buffaloes, leopards and cheetahs among others.
There are only three permanent camps in Katavi National Park which can only accommodate in and around a dozen people a night.
8. Mikumi National Park
Located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range, Mikumi National Park is the fourth largest national park in Tanzania only a few hours’ drive from Dar es Salaam – Tanzania’s largest city.
Mikumi National Park is a perfect destination for a Tanzania Wildlife Safari from Dar es Salaam. It is about four hour drive away and many travelers can make the day trip there when visiting the capital.
Mikumi National Park is a perfect destination to visit if you are looking for sightings of the Big Five – elephants, lion, buffaloes, leopards and rhinos.
Mikumi National Park share borders with Selous Game Reserve and Udzungwa National Park, these three locations make a varied and pleasant safari circuit.
Choosing the perfect national park to visit in Tanzania can be tricky most especially for first time travelers that is why most travelers stick to the classic northern safari circuit which include Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara National Park which are amazing Tanzania wildlife safari destination.
These parks are very popular attracting millions of travelers throughout the year, this might not work for a traveler looking for the off the beaten track. Then head south and you will be blown away.