Northern Circuit
.. Overview ..
The Northern Circuit is known for Tanzania’s most world famous parks and includes the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Kilimanjaro National Park, Lake Manyara, Tarangire National Park, Arusha National Park, Olduvai Gorge, and Mkomazi National Park.
These parks exist for one general purpose and that is to protect the amazing variety and abundance of wildlife in them, both resident and seasonal – and most of all, the world’s largest annual migration of wildebeest and zebra. Although this part of the world has become increasingly busy as a result of its reputation, it is still possible to escape the crowds and find a quiet corner if you know where to go.
Tanzania Destinations - Northern Circuit
Serengeti National Park is a well-known park because of the annual migration of over two million Wildebeest and approximately 800,000 Zebra. The Serengeti is considered as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa and one of the Ten Natural Travel Wonders of the World.
Among of world’s most iconic wildlife conservation areas,Serengeti National Park, a World Heritage Site, is a "must-see" on every Tanzania safari. The park, which covers 14,763 square kilometres, is called after the Maasai phrase for "endless plains". You may expect to get up close and personal with the "Big Five" (lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards, and Cape buffalo) as well as a variety of other famous and lesser-known animals. Given the extensive topography, weather cycles, and migration patterns of the numerous species, many Serengeti animals are always on the move. This provides for an exciting gaming drive!
The park's scenery is made up of long and short grasslands, open plains in the south, acacia savanna in the centre, hilly, more heavily forested landscapes in the northern section, and vast plains of black clay and woodland in the western corridor, which are dominated by the central mountain ranges. Numerous rivers flow through the park, including the Seronera in the centre, the Grumeti in the western corridor, and the Mara in the north. The plains are scattered with rocky outcrops known as "kopjes." The diversity of the sceneries never ceases to astound you.
Like the bigger creatures, the birds of the Serengeti are as amazing and diverse. There are several varieties of vultures and eagles, ostriches, secretary birds, hornbills, guinea fowl, kori bustards, and several other smaller birds. It's a truly fantastic area for birdwatching, with about 500 species of birds identified, many of which migrate from Europe and Asia in the winter.
Known for its breathtaking landscape and exciting wildlife viewings, Ngorongoro Crater is often referred to as "Africa's Garden of Eden" and the "Eighth Wonder of the World."
Ngorongoro Crater is a rare protected area where people (the Maasai) and wild animals co-exist in harmony. A large permanent concentration of wild animals can be found in the huge and perfect crater. Ngorongoro is technically a “caldera”, the largest sunken ancient caldera in the world. Estimated three million years old, the once-volcanic Ngorongoro is now considered one of “Africa’s eighty wonders”. We think it is truly one of the world’s greatest treasures.
Also known as the “Garden of Eden”, the Crater floor is a natural safe haven for thousands of animals such as wildebeest, more than 5 hundred lion prides, zebra, elephants, hippos, hyenas, Thomson gazelles, African buffalo, ostriches, and many species of birds, not to mention that this is one of the best places to spot an endangered Rhino. A visit to Ngorongoro is a must, and a great place to add on a cultural tour to a Maasai village.
Lake Manyara National Park is an attractive and amazingly diverse park for its size of 330 square kilometers (The lake has 220km and the land 110km). The park is well known for the drama of its terrain, quickly changing from a shallow soda lake covered in flamingos to acacia woodland housing large concentrations of baboons troops, giraffe and elephant herds, and a birding paradise for than 400 bird species to the Great Rift Valley escarpment with its famous tree-climbing lions. The park also boasts an underground water forest.
Lake Manyara is a great stop on the way to the Serengeti, or a wonderful short safari of its own for those on shorter holidays.
Tarangire National Park is part of the larger Tarangire-Manyara Ecosystem covering a total area of about 2850 km2. and it's well known for highest concentration of elephants than any other national park per square kilometer and having a lot of baobab trees.
Tarangire is located in an arid geographical belt that supports growth of a wooded savannah that is dominated by Acacia, Terminalia, Combretum and commiphora species. The most remarkable vegetation types in the area include: riverine woodlands, Acacia tortilis park land, wetlands and seasonal flood plains, acacia-commiphora woodlands, riverine grasslands, combretum-dalbergia woodlands, acacia drepanolobium woodlands, rocky hilltop (kopjes) vegetation, deep gully vegetation and grasslands with scattered Baobab trees.The Park serves as a dry season refuge for a majority of diverse migratory wildlife in the Tarangire-Maasai Steppe ecosystem.
The park has about more than 550 Bird species. Particularly rich bird life occurs in the open Acacia woodlands, in and along the wetland (Silale Swamp), and in the flood plains of the Tarangire River.
This park is sometimes known as "Little Serengeti."
Arusha National Park is among of the smallest parks in Tanzania, covering 542 Square kilometers. It is situated a short distance from the city of Arusha, making it easy to visit on a day or half day adventure. The park has several completely different micro-habitats within its confines, from a soda lake which outfit a large number of flamingo to dense forest habitat for black and white colobus monkeys, a plain (or small Serengeti), a crater, and the hikable Mount Meru.
In the west, the Meru Crater funnels the Jekukumia River. The peak of Mount Meru lies on its rim. Ngurdoto Crater in the southeast is made up of grassland. The shallow Momella Lakes in the northeast are known for their wading birds.
This park is located about 35 km away from Arusha town.
The park lies at the southern edge of the great arc of the Sahel region, between the Sahara to the north and a more humid zone (Sudan) to the south. The 3245 km2 Mkomazi Park is predominantly dry and vegetated mostly by savanna vegetation. The nature is dry open savanna dominated by acacia-commiphora vegetation, which is an ideal habitat for elephant, African buffalo, lion, leopard, lesser kudu, fringe-eared oryx, aardwolf, and gerenuk.
In addition, the park is a refuge for two highly endangered species, the captivating black rhino and the African wild dog, both of which were successfully reintroduced in the 1990s. Just over 390 species of birds have been recorded in Mkomazi, making it an ideal destination for birdwatchers. It was recently in 2007 that Mkomazi was upgraded to a national park.
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