Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

Tarangire is a wonderful national park, lying just southeast of Lake Manyara and around the Tarangire river, from which it derived its name. The 2600 square kilometre park attracts one of the highest concentrations of wild life in Tanzania during the dry season (between August & October). During this time, the river provides the only permanent water in the area and forms a 'dry season retreat' for the wildlife in the southern Maasailand.

There are normally fewer tourist here at Tarangire than at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area & Serengeti National Park, which makes the park even more attractive. Tourist activities center on game drives, combined with stunning landscapes views, featuring riverine forests, acacia woodlands, ancient baobab trees and rolling hills, which makes the park really worthwhile visiting. The Tangire National Park is reputed to contain some of the largest elephant herds in Africa. The park is also home to two rare species - the Greater kudu and Fringed-eared Oryx - as well as Ashy starlings.

The Tarangire National Park forms part of a bigger ecosystem of over 20,000 sqaure kilometres, which includes Lake Manyara National Park in the north as well as five other surrounding game controlled areas. The key to the ecosystem is the Tarangire river, and the main animal migration begins from the river at the beginning of the short rains around Octover & November. At the height of the rainy season, the animals, which include wildebeest, Thompson gazelles, zebra and even elephants, will spread out over this 20,000 square kilometre area. When the wet season ends the animals begin start their migration back and spend the dry season July to October concentrated around the Tarangire River.