Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s crown jewel and a UNESCO World Heritage Site spanning 14,750 km², delivers the planet’s greatest wildlife spectacle—the annual Great Migration of over 1.5 million wildebeest. Stretching from the Ngorongoro highlands to Kenya’s Maasai Mara, this endless plain (“Serengeti” in Maasai) features classic acacia-dotted grasslands, riverine forests along the Grumeti and Mara rivers, and rocky kopjes rising like islands. Vegetation shifts from short-grass plains in the south—perfect for grazing—to tall savannah and thorny scrub in the west, with sausage trees and fig groves lining waterways that sustain life year-round.
Weather follows a classic East African rhythm: the June–October dry season brings golden landscapes, 25–30°C (77–86°F) days, and chilly 14°C (57°F) nights, concentrating herds at rivers. Short rains (November–December) spark fresh grass and calving, while the long wet season (March–May) cloaks the plains in emerald with 20–28°C (68–82°F) temperatures and dramatic thunderstorms. January–February offers prime migration viewing on the southern plains with minimal rain.
Geologically, the Serengeti lies on the stable Craton plateau edged by the active East African Rift, where ancient volcanic activity from the Ngorongoro highlands deposited nutrient-rich ash. Granite kopjes—billion-year-old outcrops—dot the horizon, providing lookout posts for lions and leopards. Seasonal rivers carve dramatic gorges, and soda lakes like Magadi attract flamingos, while underground aquifers feed oases during droughts.
Home to the Big Five, the park hosts 3,000 lions, dense leopard populations in riverine thickets, and cheetahs sprinting across open plains. Resident elephants, buffalo, giraffes, and rhinos roam alongside hyenas, jackals, and over 70 large mammal species. The Great Migration—wildebeest, zebra, and gazelle—cycles clockwise, with dramatic river crossings June–July and calving on southern plains January–March.
Over 500 bird species thrive here, from resident ostriches, secretary birds, and kori bustards striding the grasslands to lilac-breasted rollers and grey-crowned cranes in acacia groves. Raptors like martial eagles and vultures circle kopjes. Migratory species arrive November–April, including European storks, Abdim’s storks, and steppe eagles, joining resident flocks at seasonal pans for a birding bonanza unmatched in Africa.
