Tarangire National Park is famous for its baobabs and massive elephant herds. It’s named after the Tarangire river flowing across the park. It is located 105km from Arusha and, like Lake Manyara National Park, is possible to explore in one day. The Tarangire bush is scattered with baobab trees, this land’s standing stones, and spread amongst them are herds of elephant and buffalo, often in their hundreds. The topography is rich and varied with great grassy swamps, dense woodland, tall grass and the snaking Tarangire River, home to a great variety of wild animals and birdlife. This also makes it perfect territory for predators such as lion, leopard, spotted hyenas among others.
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 through increasingly incised ravines 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.
Tarangire’s wildlife is best viewed during the dry months from July to October when zebra, wildebeest, buffalo and the rarer Fringe-eared Oryx and eland gather at the last remaining water holes or shelter from the fierce sun under squat baobab trees. During these months the park boasts the greatest wildlife concentration outside the Serengeti. Also common in Tarangire national park are pythons, which with patience and keen observance may be spotted coiled in tree branches. Tarangire is a beautiful area that covers the southeast corner of Lake Manyara and is often part of the northern circuit safari.
