Tarangire National Park covers an undulating area of 2,600km2, between the plains of the Maasai Steppe to the south-east, and the lakes of the Great Rift Valley to the north and west. The northern part of Tarangire is dominated by the perennial Tarangire River, which flows north and west until it leaves the north-western corner of the park to flow into Lake Burungi. In the south are a series of vast swamps which dry into verdant plains during the dry season.

Entering the park you will realize without doubt, the most impressive feature of Tarangire is the park’s elephant migration, when huge herds push through to Tarangire’s river system and swamps during the dry season. Due to the astonishing abundance of elephant in the park, this truly is a spectacular scene with over 500 species recorded to date, the park is truly a birdwatcher’s paradise.

Tree-climbing lions are fairly common, Cheetah, however, are relatively rare. Other carnivores that roam the rolling acacia and baobab woodlands, riverine forests and dense grass, include hyena, jackal and wild dog, though wild dog are scarce and favour other areas within the Maasai Steppe.

In addition to the enormous amounts of elephant, the park is chock-full of wildebeest, zebra, eland, impala, greater and lesser kudu, dik-dik, Coke’s hartebeest, Thomson’s gazelle, giraffe, buffalo, reedbuck, waterbuck, warthog, hippopotamus, mongoose and rock hyrax! There are even a couple of unusual antelope species – the fringe-eared oryx and the gerenuk. Black rhino are very seldom seen here, but it is believed that a few individuals dwell in the more remote regions of the park.