Serengeti National Park

The name comes from the Maasai word siringet, “the place where the land runs on forever”, and on the southern short-grass plains it really does. Gazetted in 1951 and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, the Serengeti forms one ecosystem with Kenya’s Maasai Mara to the north.

Four regions, four experiences

Central Serengeti (Seronera)

The Seronera River valley holds water all year, which keeps resident lion prides, leopards in the sausage trees and cheetah on the open plains. It is the heart of most first safaris and is good in every month.

Southern Serengeti and Ndutu

From roughly December to March the wildebeest herds graze the mineral-rich short grass around Ndutu and the southern plains. Most calves are born within a few weeks, usually in February, which draws predators in large numbers.

Western Corridor (Grumeti)

The corridor stretches towards Lake Victoria. Around May to July the herds move through here and cross the Grumeti River, home to some very large Nile crocodiles.

Northern Serengeti (Kogatende and Lobo)

From about July to October the herds reach the Mara River. River crossings are the most dramatic moments of the migration, and the north is quieter than the centre for most of the year.

Getting there

By road from Arusha the drive takes most of a day, passing through the Ngorongoro highlands, so most itineraries combine the Serengeti with the Ngorongoro Crater. Scheduled light aircraft fly from Arusha to several Serengeti airstrips in about an hour.