- Type
- National Park, northern Tanzania
- Size
- Around 14,750 km²
- Altitude
- Roughly 920–1,850 m
- Established
- 1951
- Best for
- The Great Migration and big cats
- Status
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Serengeti takes its name from the Maasai word siringet — roughly, the land that runs on forever — and the moment you first see those plains, the name explains itself. This is the great open heart of Tanzania's northern circuit: short-grass savannah stretching unbroken to a horizon that curves with the earth, broken only by lone acacias, weathered granite outcrops known as kopjes, and the dust of moving herds. It is one of the oldest and most studied wildlife ecosystems on the planet, and for many travellers it is the very picture they had in mind when they first imagined an African safari.
What sets the Serengeti apart is not a single set-piece but a system in motion. More than a million wildebeest, together with several hundred thousand zebra and gazelle, move through it in a continuous annual loop, drawn by the rains and the green flush of new grass — and behind them follow the lion, cheetah, spotted hyena and, in places, the painted wild dog. The migration is not an event you book a date for so much as a tide you intercept: where the herds are in March is not where they are in August, and a well-planned trip places you in the right part of the ecosystem for the month you travel.
But it would be a mistake to think the Serengeti is only worth visiting when the herds are at your doorstep. The park holds extraordinary resident wildlife in every season — some of the densest big-cat populations in Africa, elephant and buffalo, giraffe and the full cast of plains game — so that even far from the front of the migration, a day here delivers the kind of game viewing other parks build an entire reputation on.
What you come here for
The Great Migration
The largest overland movement of wildlife on earth — more than a million wildebeest plus zebra and gazelle, circling the ecosystem with the rains. We position you where the herds should be for the month you travel.
The river crossings
From around July to October, the herds reach the Mara River in the northern Serengeti and brave the crocodiles in chaotic, heart-stopping crossings — one of wildlife's great spectacles, and never on schedule. Earlier, around June, the western corridor's Grumeti River sees the first crossings of the year.
The calving season
From roughly late January through March, the southern short-grass plains turn into a vast nursery as hundreds of thousands of wildebeest calves are born within weeks — and the predators arrive in force.
Big-cat country
Among the richest predator densities in Africa: prides of lion on the kopjes, cheetah hunting the open plains, and leopard draped in the riverine trees.
Dawn over the plains
An optional hot-air balloon flight lifts off at first light for a silent drift above the savannah and the herds, ending with a bush breakfast where you land.
The wildlife of Serengeti
Wildebeest
The migration's main player — well over a million animals moving through the ecosystem in a yearly loop, with the great calving pulse on the southern plains around February.
Zebra & gazelle
Several hundred thousand plains zebra and Thomson's gazelle travel with the wildebeest, grazing the grass in a relay that keeps the whole herd moving.
Lion
One of the largest lion populations of any park in Africa, with prides that den among the kopjes and follow the herds; long-studied and reliably seen.
Cheetah
The open short-grass plains, especially in the south, are classic cheetah country — among the best places anywhere to watch a daytime hunt.
Leopard
Secretive but regular along the wooded watercourses, particularly the Seronera Valley in the central Serengeti, where they rest in the sausage trees.
Spotted hyena
Abundant and far more capable hunters than their reputation suggests; clans shadow the migration and are a constant presence around predator kills.
Elephant & buffalo
Resident breeding herds, strongest in the north and the wooded central and western reaches rather than the open southern plains.
African wild dog
Painted wolves range parts of the wider ecosystem, especially the south and east; never guaranteed, but a thrilling sighting when fortune allows.
Ways to experience the park
Game drives
The heart of every Serengeti safari — morning, afternoon and full-day drives with an expert guide who reads the season, the tracks and the sky to find the herds and the predators that follow them.
Hot-air balloon safari
An optional dawn flight drifts in silence over the plains as the light comes up, ending with a bush breakfast where you touch down. A splurge, but a memorable one.
Migration & river crossings
In the northern season your guide positions for the Mara River crossings — this takes patience, as the herds choose their own moment, but the payoff is among the most dramatic sights in nature.
Walking safaris
In permitted areas and on the wilderness fringes of the ecosystem, a guided walk with an armed ranger trades the long view from the vehicle for tracks, dung, birdsong and the small details the plains hide.
Photographic safaris
The open light, the kopjes and the sheer density of subjects make the Serengeti a photographer's park; longer, slower drives can be built around the best light at dawn and dusk.
The best months, and the weather right now
There is no single best time, only the best time for what you want to see. June to October is the classic dry season: thinning grass, easy game viewing and, from around July, the river crossings in the north. Late January to March brings the calving on the southern plains and intense predator action, on greener, quieter terrain. The migration is somewhere in the ecosystem every month of the year — the real question is which chapter you want, and we plan your nights to match.
Indicative pattern for Tanzania's northern circuit. The migration's position depends on the rains; exact timing varies year to year.
Most travellers reach the Serengeti as part of the northern circuit, either by road from the Ngorongoro highlands — a memorable drive past Olduvai Gorge and onto the plains — or by scheduled light aircraft from Arusha and Kilimanjaro to one of the park's several airstrips. Flying saves a long day on the road and is the usual choice for the more distant northern and western reaches; many itineraries drive in and fly out, or vice versa. We arrange the transfers around where your camp needs to be for the season.
Camps and lodges
Accommodation spans the full range, from permanent lodges and classic tented camps in the central Seronera area to seasonal mobile camps that move with the migration so you wake close to the herds in both the calving and crossing seasons. There are family-friendly options, intimate honeymoon-private camps, and remote, low-density properties on the park's wilder northern and western fringes for travellers who want the plains largely to themselves. Jacob matches the style and tier to your budget, the month you travel and the kind of journey you want.
Where Wildtouch puts you in Serengeti
Hand-picked places, from honest-value comfort to the region's finest. Every stay is quoted as part of your safari — never a fixed nightly rate.
Serengeti Explorer by Elewana Collection
Rooms are unusually generous two-room units with private balconies, and the lodge sits high in the Nyarboro Hills on the south-western edge of the Serengeti, giving long views over the plains. Reliable, family-friendly and good value for a full-service lodge.
View this lodge →ClassicSerengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Designed as a cluster of domed, Maasai-inspired stone rondavels strung along a ridge, with an infinity pool and sweeping central-Serengeti views. A consistent, well-run mid-to-upper lodge.
View this lodge →LuxurySayari Camp
One of the closest permanent camps to the Mara River crossings in the far northern Serengeti, perfectly placed for the dramatic wildebeest crossings of the migration. An Asilia camp with a strong eco and conservation ethos.
View this lodge →Ultimate luxuryFour Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
An infinity pool overlooking a natural waterhole where elephants and other game come to drink, plus an on-site Discovery Centre. Full five-star resort facilities (spa, multiple restaurants) deep in the central Serengeti.
View this lodge →Ultimate luxurySingita Sasakwa Lodge
An Edwardian-style manor set high on Sasakwa Hill in the private Grumeti reserve, with cottages that each have their own infinity pool and commanding views over the western-corridor plains. Exclusive private-concession game viewing away from the crowds.
View this lodge →Protecting Serengeti
The Serengeti is far more than a park — it is the core of an ecosystem that spills across protected areas and community land into Kenya's Maasai Mara, and its great migration only works because that whole landscape stays open and connected. The park itself was formally protected in the mid-twentieth century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and decades of research here have shaped how the world understands African savannahs. The pressures are real and ongoing: poaching, particularly snaring along the western corridor, the squeeze of growing human populations and livestock at the boundaries, and long-running debate over road and development proposals that could sever migration routes. Tourism, managed well, is part of the answer — it funds anti-poaching and gives the ecosystem an economic value that justifies keeping it whole. Choosing operators and camps that work with park authorities and neighbouring communities helps keep the engine of the migration running.
Journeys through Serengeti
Parks that pair well with Serengeti
Questions about Serengeti
- Where is the migration in the Serengeti right now?
- The herds follow the rains in an annual loop: the southern short-grass plains for calving from roughly December to March, the central and western corridor through the long rains, and the north for the river crossings from about July to October before turning south again. We position your nights to match the part of the ecosystem the herds should be in when you travel.
- When are the river crossings?
- Most often between July and October, on the Mara River in the northern Serengeti; the western corridor's Grumeti River sees earlier crossings, around June. The exact timing shifts year to year with the rains, and the herds cross when they choose — so crossings reward patience and a couple of nights in the right area rather than a single dash. There are no guarantees, but travelling within that window gives the best chance.
- How many days do you need in the Serengeti?
- Three nights is a comfortable minimum for the park itself — enough for several unhurried drives and a fair chance at the herds and the big cats. Because the migration is spread across a huge area, travellers chasing a particular chapter often stay longer or split nights between two camps. Most northern-circuit trips combine the Serengeti with Ngorongoro and Tarangire.
- Is the Serengeti worth visiting outside the migration?
- Yes. The migration is somewhere in the ecosystem every month, so it is never truly absent — and beyond it, the park holds some of the densest resident lion, cheetah and leopard populations in Africa, along with elephant, giraffe and plains game year-round. The green season also brings lush scenery, superb birding, newborn animals, fewer vehicles and better value.
- What is the difference between the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara?
- They are two parts of the same ecosystem either side of the Kenya–Tanzania border. The Serengeti is far larger and the migration spends most of the year on its plains; the Maasai Mara, to the north, is where the herds arrive for the dramatic crossings around July to October. Travellers sometimes pair the two for the full picture of the migration's loop.
Build Serengeti into your safari
Sketch a route around it with the Wildtouch Safari Designer, then hand your plan to Jacob to make real.