Tarangire National Park Guide

Tarangire National Park is a popular touristic stop for visitors travelling through the northern safari circuit in Tanzania. It extends to two game areas where the wildlife is allowed to move freely. 

Named after the Tarangire river flowing across the park, Tarangire National Park spreads over 2,850 square kilometers featuring granitic ridges, river valleys, and swamps. 

The park is a utopia of wildlife, plantation, scenery all harmoniously interacting and intertwining in a never-ending beautiful dance of animals and nature. 

Location 

Tarangire National Park is located in Tanzania's Manyara Region.

How to Get There

By Road

Tarangire National Park is a part of the well known northern safari circuit. It is visited alongside Serengeti and the Ngorongoro crater with Arusha town as the starting point. 

By Air

Kilimanjaro International Airport is the best option to reach Tarangire. You can fly into the airport which is located 46 kilometers (29 Miles) from Arusha. 

Another option is to fly into  Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), near Dar es Salaam. Afterwards, you can arrange a domestic flight at Arusha Airport (ARK).  

For a cheap flight, there is an option to opt to fly in Nairobi and then continue with one of the buses between Arusha and Nairobi. 

Climate 

Tarangire National Park is warm and dry all year round, with an average temperature from 75-85 F (24-30 C) during daytime, and 55-65 F (13-18 C) during the night. 

The area experiences two rainy seasons. The short one takes place during November and December followed by the long season from the middle of March to the end of May. March and April are considered the wettest months in the year which coincides with the low season. The accommodations are lower in price, but park fees are the same. 

The dry season lasts from June to October. It is when the weather is warm and sunny.  

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Tarangire National Park is from June to October, during the dry season. It is a great time to observe the migrating elephants in herds and a diversity of other large mammals as well. 

The vegetation becomes lush and the animals roam around water sources such as rivers, lakes and water holes, giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy the majestic wildlife.  

Flora and Fauna

The flora and fauna are the things of beauty with an ever-expanding bouquet of wild cats, birds, monkeys, apes impala, giraffe, grants, lions, eland, zebra leopards, Gazelle, banded mongoose, vervet monkey and African wild dog amongst other exciting and amazing wildlife inhabiting the spacious terrain that is the Tarangire National Park. housing the oldest known elephant to two twins. 

The park is also a safe haven for any bird enthusiast hosting more than 550 bird species both abundant in the African wildlife and other more rare species of birds such as saddle-billed stork, red-billed hornbill, pied kingfisher and so much more for you to discover.

Animals 

Wildlife in the park is various and depends on the season. Some of the wildlife leaves the park from November to May. They migrate to the north-west to Lake Manyara, or to the east into the Maasai Steppe. When the regions are drier, from June to October, the animals come back to Tarangire’s swamps.  

Residents in the park include herds of elephants, wildebeest and zebra. There is a huge population of other species such as impala, giraffe, eland and buffalo, Thompson's gazelle, Coke's hartebeest, and bohor reedbuck. Black rhino is not usually seen in the park while gerenuk and fringe-eared oryx  can be rarely witnessed. 

Lions, leopards are common predators in Tarangire National Park. Cheetah roams in the south more often. Spotted hyenas are always there whereas wild dogs are rare to be found around. 

Birds

As mentioned previously, the park includes more than 500 bird species. It is quite varied in the environment. Birds in the area include ashy starlings and huge flocks of yellow-collared lovebirds. 

Vegetation

The vegetation in Tarangire consists of dry and open woodlands, including thorny thickets and plenty of baobab trees. Flat swamps can be found in the south of the park, amidst the rolling woodlands.