Tarangire National Park is found in Tanzania which is located in the eastern region of Africa continent along geographical co-ordinates of 3o50’S 36o0’E. Tarangire National Park lies in northern Tanzania and it is bordered by lake Burungi and lake Manyara National Park in the north, the southern region of the park is found in the Dodoma region while the rest of the park is found in the Manyara region. Tarangaire National Park was created in 1970 and covers a stretch of about 2850sqkm or 1100sqmi which makes it come out as number 6th in terms of size of all national parks in Tanzania, Tarangire National Park is under the authority and conservancy of Tanzania National Park Authority.

Tarangire National Park lies in the in the tropical savannah area hence it experiences a tropical savanna climate which is characterized by short wet seasons in which Tarangire receives about 900mm or 35in-1400mm or 85in of rainfall which comes in the 2 seasons from October-December and between March- May and long dry spells. The dry season is experienced in the months of January- late February or early March and June- September. The average minimum temperatures here are between 14-16oC or 57-61oF while the maximum average temperatures are between 26-29oC or 79-81oC.

Tarangire National Park is habituated by a wide range of wildlife bio-diversity which includes various mammal species like wildebeests, giraffes, African bush elephants, lions, leopards, cheetah, African wild dogs, banded mongoose, caracal, zebras, elands, gazelles, cape buffaloes and about 550 bird species.

Attractions in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

Attraction in national park include the following:

African bush elephants; African elephants are the largest land mammals in the world with a male elephant weighing in at 4,700-6,048kg or 10,362-13,334Ib and a shoulder height of 3.2-4.0m or 10.5-13.1ft while their female counterparts weigh in at 2,160-3,232kg or 4,762-7,125Ib and a shoulder height of 2.2-2.6m or 7.2-8.5ft. These land giants have 24 teeth in their mouths and usually lose their teeth 4-6 times in their life time which lies between 60-70 years. What sets these land giants apart from the rest of crowd is their elongated tusks which are in fact their second set of incisors. This means that the tusks are very strong as they are used to up root trees and also as weapons they use while fighting. The tusks weigh between 23-45 kg or 55-99Ib with a length of 1.5-2.4m or 5-8 ft. elephants usually live in groups called families which comprise of 10 or more closely related females with their calves and each of these families is led by an older female called a matriarch. Elephants have the ability to distinguish and communicate with each other using low frequency infrasonic calls.  With a body mass that is compared to nothing else on land, African elephants have to feed on an average of 450 kg or 992Ib of foliage to sustain their huge bodies and also drink to over 50 liters of water per day. In fact, these elephants have the ability to smell water to up to 20 km or 12miles away. Elephants have an exposed skin so in order to control over heating of their body, they flap their big ears so as to carry away the heat or bathe in water ponds. It is believed that when an elephant flaps its ears, it can lose about 10oF of heat hence always staying cool even in the hottest temperatures. They also employ their elongated trunk to carry water and pour it over their ears to try and cool themselves. These land giants have very thin hairs around body parts such as eyes and noses and these are mainly for ensuring that germs and other bacteria don’t find it easy to enter the elephant’s body through these parts. The elephant trunk is a master piece of creation as it is equipped with 40000 muscles which is way more than an entire human body has at only 639 muscles. This makes the trunks a very strong and agile part of the elephant that can do many things. The elephant trunk is also used for breathing, snorkeling and also as an extended arm for holding, lifting or pushing anything they want to carry.  A female elephant reaches sexual maturity at the age of 10-12 years and can reproduce after every 3-6 years throughout its lifetime. All elephants have a very poor metabolism and that’s why they eat a lot of food but ¾ of it will come out of the elephants undigested as dung. Due to the poor metabolic system, elephant calves have been recorded doing something bizarre and that is eating dung that has been passed out by their mothers but this is all because elephant calves can’t process raw grass hence, they have to resort to eating pre-processed food that has been passed out as dung. They have a gestation period of up to 22 months being the longest in all land mammals. Just like humans and apes, elephants are also highly intelligent species with a brain that weighs about 5kg or 11Ib which about 4 times heavier than that of human making it the heaviest brain of any land mammal. With such a brain, these land giants are believed to exhibit character traits like grief, learning, sense of humor, compassion, self-awareness, a very strong and vivid memory, play and use of tools and possibly a language.

Cape buffalo; The cape buffalo is also referred to as the African buffalo and they are a very common sight throughout this park. It is usually mistaken to be a close relative to domesticated cattle but its rather related to actually other bigger bovines. Buffaloes have a coarse black coat unlike their close relatives the forest buffaloes which have a reddish coat. As the male buffaloes grow older, the bases of their horns grows closer and it can even unite forming a feature called a “boss” which is very had to penetrate even with a gun bullet of less 16mm. you can differentiate a male buffalo from a female one by observing the structure of their horns, the male buffalo horns grow while curving outwards while the ones of the female grow while curving inside. The African buffalo is a big animal with a shoulder height of 1.0-1.7m or 3.3-5.6ft. it has a body length of 1.7-3.4m or 5.6-11.2ft and its tail has a length of 70-110cm or 28-43in. An adult male African buffalo can weigh as much as between 500-1000kg but the females usually weigh less than this. Cape buffaloes are usually found in the great plains of African savanna like Murchison falls park. Buffaloes usually stay in large herds that consist anywhere from 5-100 individuals and this is primarily for protection purposes from their predators. Although buffaloes have a very poor eye sight, this is compensated by possessing an acute sense of smell coupled with a keen sense of hearing, in fact, the buffaloes can stop whatever they are doing and stand still for many minutes or sometimes even hours just to listen even to the tiniest of sounds that may be made by any predator that may be stalking them. when buffaloes are attacked, they male buffaloes form defensive wall by being at the flanks of the herd while the females and calves are within the inner part of the herd.  the male buffaloes can even sometimes turn and chase the attacking predators They have a gestation period of 11.5 months and a life span of over 25 years in their natural habitats.

Leopards; Leopards are some of the big cat family predators that roam the plains of Tarangire National Park and they are at the top of the food chain together. Leopards are usually taken to be the same with cheetahs but they are completely different as cheetahs have tear marks on their faces small round spots while leopards have no this distinctive mark on their faces and have larger rosettes on their body. The skin color of leopards’ ranges from pale yellow to golden or yellowish brown with rosettes and this enables these super predators to camouflage so that they can stalk their prey without ever being noticed. Male leopards are muscular with short limbs and a broad head, the males have an average shoulder height of 60-70cm or 24-28in and weigh in at 37-90kg while the females have an average shoulder height of57-64cm or 22-25in and weigh in between26-60kg. the cheetah has a very long tail that’s white tipped with a length of 60-100cm or 24-39in and this enables the leopards make quick sharp turns at high speed while on a chase. Leopards can sometimes have black color and this is caused by melanism which is a recessive gene in these animals and when a leopard is having this phenomenon, it turns from being called a leopard to a black panther. Leopards are usually solitary animals and they have a gestation period of 90-105 days and can live in their natural habitat for 12-17 years.

Caracal; Caracals are members of the cat family, they are normally small to medium sized predators with a reddish tan coat, the caracals have short faces with tufted ears. The tufts on the caracal’s ears are believed to be used in enhancing the caracal’s earing but other scholars believe that the caracal uses these tufts to communicate with others. The caracals have a shoulder height of 10-20cm or 40-50in and can weigh between 8-18kg or 18-40ib. These cats are generally solitary animals living alone or in pairs. The caracals are super predators with an amazing single leap which can stretch to 12ft or 3.7m hence having the stamina to catch a bird such as a guinea fowl or a pigeon in flight and this led to the coining of a saying “putting a cat among pigeons”. These agile hunters don’t only prey on birds alone but also other small mammals like young impalas, rodents. The caracal attains sexual maturity at one year old and have a gestation period of 2-3 months after which the cat will give birth to 1-6 kittens which will be looked after by the mother for about 8-9 months. The caracal can live for about 16 years in captivity.

Wildebeest; The wildebeests are members of the antelope group and belong to the connochaetes genus. In east Africa they are 2 closely related wildebeests and that is the blue wildebeest and the black wildebeest but the blue wildebeest is the most common one in the Tarangire National Park. These two species can be identified basing on few things like their coat colors and also on the nature of their horns, the blue wildebeest horns protrude to the side then curve downward before curving upwards as they come to an end, the horns of black wildebeests on the other hand curve forward first then downwards and finally upwards as they come to their tips. The blue wildebeests also bigger than the black wildebeests, the male blue wildebeests weigh about 250kg with a standing height of 150cm, female blue wildebeest stand at 135cm at the shoulders and weigh around 180kg while the male black wildebeests stand between 112-120cm at shoulder height and weigh 180kg and their female counterparts stand in at 108cm at the shoulders with a body weight of 155kg. These wildebeests are famous for their annual migration that takes place from June- august. This migration involves these animals to trek great distances over a 100s of kilometers as they cross from the southern Serengeti plains into the southern parts of the Maasai Mara reserve in southern in Kenya. This migration is majorly done following the rainfall season patterns in the east African region. During these migrations, the wildebeest organize themselves in large herds and trek in this group to areas of new pastures. These animals also show a high level of swarm intelligence as they perform similar function without anyone or anything dictating it to them for example, they can all decide to cross the river from the same spot regardless of whether it is infested with many predators like crocodiles or not.

Lions; These can be easily sighted in Tarangire National Park on a good day. Lions are part of the big cate family and are muscular, deep chested with rounded heads. Most of the African lion males can distinguished from their females by the presence of a mane around the necks and heads of male African lions which is clearly absent in females but there quite many cases in Africa where the males also don’t have a mane or have a very short and thin one. The male lions are usually bigger than the females but their sizes vary according to location. In east Africa, adult female lions have a body length of 160-184cm or 63-72in weighing in at 119.5kg or 263Ib on average while the adult males have a body length of 184-208cm or 72-82in weighing in at 174.9kg or 386Ib on average. Lions are social animals who live in groups called prides. A pride is always led by a dominant male and their highly territorial animals controlling vast expanses that are strategic with a lot of prey and water. Male dominant lions are responsible for protecting the pride and they will fight off other male invaders, in case the dominant male is defeated by the invading lions, the victor lions will kill off all the cubs that are off springs to the defeated dominant male as a way of ending its blood lineage.  Lions are carnivores and are at the top of the food chain feeding on almost all browsers and grazers within their domain due to their ability to hunt as a pride and carry out well coordinated and planned attacks which enables them to take down prey that can even be between 2-4 times bigger than them such as zebras, elephants and buffaloes. Lions usually hunt at night because of their well-developed sense of sight especially at night where their vision is almost 6 times better than that of humans due to the presence of white patches around their eyes which enable them to absorb even the smallest amount of light available during the cover of darkness. Hunting among lions is an affair carried out by female lions mostly and juvenile males and when a kill has been made by the lionesses in a pride, it’s always the dominant male lion who will eat first up to his fill then the rest of the pride will feed on what has remained after the he has finished eating. They have a gestation period of 97 days and a life span of about 10-14 years.

Banded mongoose; The banded mongoose are small animals that have a large head, small ears and short strong limbs. The mongoose has a coat that is coloured in grayish brown to black. Their fur on the back is arranged in many horizontal stripes of grayish brown to black. The mongoose has a long tail that is almost as long as the rest of the body measuring 15-30cm. They have a body length of 30-45cm and can weigh between 1.5-2.5kg. The banded mongoose are social animals living groups of about 10-40 individuals who will live and sleep together in the same den. These mongoose change dens very often about after 2-3 days. Mongoose generally feed on small insects, myriapods, millipedes, small birds, frogs, lizards, small crickets, snakes, ants and termites. Unlike other animals where birth is limited to only the dominant females, amongst banded mongoose all females mate and are allowed to give birth. The mongoose has a gestation period of about 60-70days. The female mongoose give birth to about 4 pups and will be kept in the dens for their first few days and will be looked after by nonbreeding males or breeding females to ensure that all the pups get a fair share of food.[

African wild dog; An African wild dog is also called the painted hunting dog or painted wolf or African hunting dog. The African wild dog belongs to the canids group and it is the largest member of this group in Africa has been named as part of Africa’s big 7 game due to their super predatory instincts. African wild dogs are animals that are highly social animals and they live in groups. The wild dogs are the heaviest of the African canids group animals, they have a coat that has bristle hairs with no underfur, their coat is predominantly black with small yellow and white patches. The African dogs have a black muzzle that turns brown on the cheeks, they have a white color pattern on their fore region of the legs. The tail is white at the tip, black in the middle and brown at the base. These African dogs have a shoulder height of 60-75cm or 24-30in, a body length of 71-112cm or 28-44in and a tail that measures 29-41cm or 11-16in. these dogs have an average body weight of 20-25kg or 44-55ib but these dogs exhibit sexual dimorphism were the females are slightly smaller than their male counter parts 3-7%. The African dogs are highly social animals that live and hunt in packs that ranges from 4-30 individuals. Both male and female wild dog have separate social dominance hierarchies. The male hierarchy is usually led by the oldest male but it may also be overthrown by younger males. Unlike in other mammal species where the males leave the natal group after attaining sexual maturity, amongst the wild dogs, it’s the other way round as the females are the ones which leave the natal group after attaining sexual maturity and will at times chase away the other females they find in the new groups they have joined. The wild dogs are carnivores and entirely feed on flesh. These dogs are formidable super athletes which can run a marathon as they have the stamina to chase their prey at a constant speed of about 66 km per hour or 41miles/hour for over 10-60minutes which always tires out the prey hence being caught after a chase for about 2km. The wild dogs exhibit a rare character after catching their prey, where they might not kill it before eating it but rather start eating it while it’s still alive until the prey succumbs to its injuries inflicted by these dogs. These dogs surprisingly have a higher kill rate success compared to formidable hunters such as lions and leopards. These dogs can hunt from small antelopes to larger ones like wildebeests. Small prey takes wild dogs a short time to kill normally 3-5 minutes as they use a strategy of blocking their escape routes before ambushing them, large prey is hunted by these dogs by creating panic to the group or herd of prey they then isolate one individual prey and chase it until it gets tired. Wild dogs have a gestation period of about 69-73days after which they can give birth to a litter of 6-12 puppies. Since they give birth to so many puppies which makes feeding them by the group difficult, it’s only the dominant females in a group that have to give birth hence when other females in a group give birth, the dominant female is likely to kill their puppies. The puppies will join the hunting party when aged 8-10 weeks old.

Masai giraffe; Masai giraffe can be distinguished from other giraffe sub species from their star-like stamped patches which are irregular and become darker especially in males as they age. The Masai giraffe is generally brown in colour with several shades of colour which can range from dried oak to orange and cream. The lower parts of their limbs are sticky like or very skinny but the upper parts of these limbs are study so as to support their massive weight. The giraffes have a unique walking pattern where as they have the ability to move both the front and hind limbs of one side of the body at once and then counter balance it by moving their long neck in the opposite direction. The adult male giraffe has an average height of 4.3-5.7m or 14.1-18.7ft and weighs in at 1192kg or 2628ib while an adult female weighs in at 828kg or 1825ib hence showing sexual dimorphism amongst giraffes. The giraffe also has a long tongue that is measured at an average of 45cm or 18in and it has a purplish black color which is believed to protect it from sunburns. The massai giraffes have the longest tail among all land mammals which measures up to 3.3ft long. Due to their big body mass giraffes also have a massive heart that weighs up to 5ibs so as to pump 60 litres of blood needed to move around the giraffe’s body in just one minute.  Giraffes also have the ability to sleep while standing and even when they lie down, they will put their long neck on their hip so as to avoid getting unconscious. The Masai giraffe are completely herbivores and spend their biggest part of the day about 16-20 hours feeding so as to satisfy their big appetites. The giraffe has a gestation period of 14-15 months and the birth period is between 1-6 hours after which a single calf is born and the mother will give birth while standing hence the calf will have to be ready for a rough landing when it comes out. The calves are born almost ready to walk because it takes a calf between 20 minutes – 1 hour to start walking. Masai giraffes have a life span of up to 25 years in their natural habitat.

Grants gazelle; Grants gazelles have a beige orange color on their backs and a white belly, they also have lyre shaped horns that are stout at the base and have clear rings on the horns. These horns have a length of41-81cm or 18-32in. The grant gazelles live in short grassed plains so as to have clear visibility of predators which stalk them for prey. The female grant gazelle weighs 35-50kg or 77-110ib while the male gazelle weighs 50-80kg or 110-180ib with an average standing height of 75-95cm or 30-37in. Unlike most of the subspecies that graze towards or around water sources, the grant gazelles graze going further away from the water sources that are usually roamed by predators. The gazelles have adapted to live without water for long days and they get most of their water from the pasture they graze on. The gazelles are territorial animals and males herd territories with many females mainly for mating. Mature gazelles will settle conflicts with superiority displays hence physical interactions are quite rare among these animals. Grant gazelles reach sexual maturity at 18 months of age. The male gazelles will test by smelling on the urine of the female to ascertain whether she in oestrus and when the female is ready to mate, it lifts her tail signaling the male to mount her. These animals have a gestation period of 198days after which, a single fawn is usually born. The fawn is usually born while its still very weak and can’t move but it will be able to so in a few days’ time and it will follow the mother to the herd where it starts fraternizing with other fawns. The fawn is weaned after 6 months but might stay with the mother until it reaches adolescence.

Boabab tree; Tarangire National Park has the famous baobab tree. The baobab tree is scientifically refered to as adonsonia digitata tree but it is also commonly referred to as the bottle tree, the upside-down tree or the monkey breed tree. This tree is famous for its odd-looking nature where it has a very large trunk of 9-10mwhich can house about 40 fully grown people when it fully mature with a relatively short height of 5-20m. The baobab tree is named an upside-down tree because its branches look like roots pointing into the sky when all their leaves have fallen off and many oral African local theories have been put forward in a bid to explain this rather unique phenomena and these include one from tribes along the Zambezi river in which the local people believe that long time ago as the world was still young, the baobab tree were standing upright just like any other tree but the baobab tree grew bigger and bossed or bullied all the other trees around them, this in turn angered the gods who also decided to uproot the baobab tree and replanted it upside down hence gaining the upside down look from then up to today. The baobab tree has whitish flowers which open at night and their fruits can grow to about 1ft long. The fruits of the baobab tree are edible and can be sucked or soaked in water for flavoring and these fruits can also still be boiled to make a beverage like product which can be added on hot water for a quite interesting coffee taste. The baobab tree has an astonishingly long-life span and are believed to live for over 3000 years. One of the oldest baobab tree is believed to be 6000 years which makes it older than most of the Egyptian pyramids like the sphinx. The baobab tree has an amazing survival rate and it has the ability to survival destructive forces such as fires or stripping of its bark can not kill this tree as it will just grow new bark and continue growing. The baobab tree has many uses and some of them include using its bark to make strings of musical instrument, ropes, water proof hats, baskets, mats and some local societies believe that when the leaves of the baobab tree are boiled and then the water is drunk, they can improve one’s fertility.

Birds species in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

Tarangire national park is home to over 500 bird species and the most common of these include

Green white pelican; The great white pelican is one of the biggest pelicans of the dalmatian group. This pelican has a body length of 140-180cm and a wing span of 226-360cm and a wing chord measuring between 60-73cm and a tail of 16-21cm. this pelican has a huge pink bill that measures 28.9-47.1cm with gular porch attached to it that has a pale yellow pink colour , the male great pelican weighs between 9-15kg while the females weigh between 5.9-9kg hence exhibiting sexual dimorphism. The great white pelican is predominantly a white color on the plumage but also has black primary and secondary feathers. Its forehead is swollen with a pinkish bare skin surrounding the dark eyes. The great whit pelican has pink flesh to orange colored legs that are well adopted for aquatic life as they are webbed. Both females and male great white pelican have similar colors but the females are smaller than the males. The great white pelicans live in large flocks. In flight, these pelicans fly in a V- shape with their heads resting being perfectly aligned with the rest of the body. The pelicans are fishers and put their enormous to go use by driving it into water a gallop in water together with fish, when they retreat the bill, the close it and the water is squeezed out but retaining the fish inside which they swallow full. They have also been documented eating other birds’ chicks in case food is scarce. These birds lay between 2-6 eggs which incubate for a period of about 29-36 days and their chicks mature after 65-75days. These birds have a lifespan of over 51years

Northern pied babbler; This is a medium sized bird that measures 22-25cm in body length and weigh about 67-80g. the male northern pied babbler has a brown plumage on the upperparts while the lower parts are white. The northern pied babbler makes a voice call in chorus teeya-teeya-teeya or skare-skare-skare-skare-skare or longer. It’s believed that these birds feed on invertebrates, seeds and fruits but the data is inconclusive. These birds live on the edges of evergreen forests and also in secondary growth forested land.

Bare faced go-away bird; This bird species has a body length of 48cm. an adult bare faced go away bird has its fore head to behind the eyes, chin and upper throat with virtually no feathers but have a dark brown color. This bird has a similar voice call to c.Leopoldii bird which makes a loud double “kow-kow” that can be related to a sheep bleating.

Donald smith’s nightjar

Northern white crowned shrike; The northern white crowned shrike is a passerine bird that has a body length of about 19-23cm. its crown and rump is white while its back and wings are brown but its tail is black. Both sexes are similr but the juveniles have a brown crown and the sides of their heads are white. These birds make high piutched squakes and chatters that comprise of sounds like che-che and or kee-kee.

Pink breasted tit; This bird has a body length of 15-16cm and weighs about 23-26g. the pink breasted tit has peculiar similarities with the larks but for the pink breasted tit has a small and slender bill, long tail and distinctively plain plumage. These birds make squeaky 6-8 notes that accelerate and decelerates in pitch. These birds eat termites and other insects

Rufous tailed weaver; The rufous tailed weaver is large and mottled with a body length of 21cm and a body weight of 60-70g. this bird has rufous outer tail with a pale iris while its head mantle and back are dark brown. The rufous tailed weaver makes a voice call that is made up of extended nasal skirls and slurs. It feeds on insects, seeds and locusts

Yellow collared lovebird; The yellow colored lovebird is also called the masked loved bird or eye ringed lovebird. This is a small green parrot that has a body length of 14.5ft or 5.5in. this bird has a green back and wings with a black head and bright red beak. The eye ringed love bird has a white ring around its eye and it has a yellow collar that extends to the nape of the neck. The bird is quite less aggressive than the perch faced lovebird hence it can easily be kept by humans as pets. The yellow colored lovebird has faced mutations in some parts of the world to form mutated genes products such as blue, colbalt and olive color mutations

Ostriches; The ostrich is the biggest bird on the planet and in Tanzania it can be found in Tarangire National Park. Ostrich feathers are usually black with white primaries and a tail. Their heads have thin hairs which makes them seem bare when observed from a distance. The ostriches’ heads are small in relation to their enormous body size the legs of ostriches are long and strong capable of producing a stride of 3-5mand can reach a top speed of 70km/hr making them the fastest running birds on ground. These birds have a wing span of about 2m or 6ft7in and a wing chord of 90cm or 35in. Ostriches have a body weight of 63-145kg or 139-320ib. Mature male ostriches can have a body height of 2.1-2,8m or 6ft11in-9ft2in while the female ostriches have average height that ranges between 1.7-2.0m or 5ft7in-6ft7in. The chicks of ostriches have the ability to grow by 25cm or9.8in per month during their 1st year of growth. Ostriches have long legs and neck to give them that outstanding body height of 2.8m or 9ft. Ostriches live in herds of between 5-20 birds, the male ostriches compete for mating rites by building ground nesting, dancing and display of their feathers, the females will only allow to mate with the alpha male. The main female ostrich lays between 6-11 eggs will other females in the herd lay about 6 eggs and these are the biggest eggs in the world with an average diameter of about 15cm and an average weight of 1-1.5kg per egg. The female and males take turns to incubate the eggs which do hatch after about 40 days of incubation. ostriches have a life span of about 40-45 years.

Activities in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

With its wide range of bio-diversity the Tarangire National Park is famous for game drives, birding and nature walks. For any activity to be carried out in Tarangire National Park a park fee of 53.1$ for foreign nonresidents adults and 17.7$ for foreign nonresidents children below 16years of age has to be paid to the park offices.

Game drives; With a variety of mammals such as wildebeests, giraffes, 3000afriican bush elephants, lions, leopards, cheetah, African wild dogs, banded mongoose, caracal, zebras, elands, gazelles, cape buffaloes, Tarangire National Park is an epitome of afrcan safari game drives. These game drives take place in areas like along the banks of river Tarangire which drains this national park hence many of these wild game come to the river to have drink making it a prime spot for game viewing.

Birding; With 500 bird species roaming the skies of Tarangire National Park, this is the prime spot for birders to come and indulge in their favorite hobby which is bird watching. While in Tarangire National Park, look out for bird species like masked lovebirds, ostriches, bare faced go away birds, great white pelicans, northern white crowned shrike, pink breasted tit and many others.

Cultural encounters; Being part of the northern sector of Tanzania, masai communites live on the peripheral of this park hence giving a chance to get to know these people and their rich culture. From their unique cultural wear, the shukas to the body art modifications, to their brave warriors with their mohawk hair-cut. While out in there in the masai communities,  you will be put in the mix of Maasai cultural activities like cow herding, milking, blood tapping, and a thrilling encounter of a truly rhythmic and high jumping Maasai dance and when the Maasai dance beats and rhythms get to your inner sense of fun, please feel free to join in and groove to the Maasai African music.

How to get to Tarangire National Park Tanzania

Use the Directions button to get there. “Tarangire National Park Tanzania”

Getting there

Accessing Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

Road transport

You can access Tarangire National Park from Arusha town and this will lead you on a 170km or 2- hour drive from Arusha to the gate of Tarangire National Park.

Air Transport

International flights to Tanzania can arrive to Kilimanjaro international airport which is about 46km or 26miles outside Arusha town or Julius Nyerere international airport located outside Dar es salaam city. From Kilimanjaro international airport you can take a domestic flight to Tarangire National Park via Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro crater conservation area but there are also direct flights from Arusha to Tarangire National Park but these have to be booked in advance.

When to visit Tarangire National Park in Tanzania.

Tarangire national park can be visited throughout the year but the most thrilling time to visit this tropical jewel of wildlife is during the dry months of June- August and December-March when most of the animals are concentrated near water reserves like river Tarangire and Silale swamp which have the remining water reserves.

Accommodation/ hotels/safari lodges in Tarangire National Park in Tanzania

Tarangire simba lodge; 1 and ½ -hour’s drive to tarangire national park. 20 guestrooms. All 20 rooms have private bathrooms with both cold and warm running water and also have private balconies. Restaurant, Well stocked bar, Swimming pool-outdoor, Free wi-fii, Lounge area

Manyara country lodge; Located 9km from lake babati. Numerous guest rooms. All guestrooms have a private bathrooms with all toiletries and a private balcony on each room. Restaurant, Lounge area, Kids play ground, Well stocked bar, Swimming pool, Outdoor terrace, Airport shuttle

Mbali mbali river camp; Lies 1.6km away from matete picnic site. Numerous luxury tents that have single double and family occupancy. All tents have private bathrooms with both hot and cold running water. Restaurant, Well stocked bar, Lounge area, Swimming pool, Sun loungers or beach chairs, Smoking areas gift shops, Pets not allowed

Eco science luxury lodge; Located at the north eastern border of tarangire 20km away from makuyuni village. Numerous rooms and tents built following the inspiration of masaai architecture. All rooms and tents have private bathrooms and also private terrace. Restaurant, Lounge area, Free wi-fii, Well stocked bar, Laundry services, Gift shops

Good life hotel; Located 9km from lake babati. Numerous rooms that have double occupancy. All rooms have a private bathroom and flat screen tvs and air conditions. Restaurant, Lounge area, Free wi-fii, Bar

Baobab tented camp; Located in kwa Kuchinia 49km from matete picnic site. Numerous rooms ranging from single to double to family occupancy. Numerous rooms that have private bathroom. Restaurant, Lounge area, Free wi-fii, bar

Kichuguu camp; Located in madege, Have standard tents offering double to quadruple occupancy. All rooms have a private bathroom with both cold and hot running water. Restaurant, Lounge area, Bar, Lundry services, House keeping, Outdoor fire place, Barbeque facilities

Roika tarangire camp; Located 5km from matete picnic. Numerous rooms of single double triple and a family occupancy and a terrace. All rooms have a private bathroom with both cold and hot running water. Restaurant, Lounge area, Free wi-fii, Well stocked bar, Swimmimng pool

Tanzania Safari Holiday Tours, Tanzania Wildlife Safari Vacation, Wildlife Safari in Tanzania-Tanzania Safari tours

Tanzania safari: Interested in wildlife safari to Tanzania? The Tanzania safari hub is noted to have amazing wildlife in Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Arusha and Lake Manyara wildlife safari parks. Tanzania safaris take you is the largest country in East African community, 13^th and 31^st on the African continent and global scale respectively covering 947,303km² featuring a coastline of 800km².

We arrange the best Tanzania safari tours at the affordable Tanzania safari prices. We cusomise, your tour based on your Tanzania safari budget as witnessed by many of our Tanzania safari Tripadvisor satisfied clients. Enjoy a cheap Tanzania safari to Serengeti National Park, Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha National Park, Gombe National Park, Katavi National Park, Lake Manyara NP, Mahale Mountains NP, Mikumi National Park, Mkomazi National Park, Ruaha National Park, Ruaha National Park, Saadani National Park, Selous Game Reserve, Selous Game Reserve as well as to all popular Tanzania Wildlife safari national game reserves.

The geography of Tanzania is indeed amazing. The country features two extreme points on the African Continent including Africa’s highest point / altitude on Kilimanjaro Mountain 5,895m and the Africa’s lowest point in Lake Tanganyika 352m below sea level.