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Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park: An Introduction

Located slightly off the main safari route, Tarangire National Park is a lovely quiet park in Northern Tanzania that is most famous for its elephant migration, birding and quiet authentic safari atmosphere. The majority of travellers to the region either miss out Tarangire altogether or venture into the park for a matter of hours leaving parts of Tarangire virtually untouched. With a game viewing area that is roughly ten times the size of nearby Manyara and a concentration of game that is exceptional from July through to October, this seasonal park is a little gem on the Northern safari circuit.

Tarangire National Park: An overview of where to stay

There are many lodges that surround the border of Tarangire but we have always believed that staying in the park itself is the right choice. Swala and Olivers Camp are the top end choices in the park, with Olivers offering very good value for money considering the quality of accommodation on offer. Tarangire Treetopsis located outside the park but due to all the rooms being raised into ancient baobab trees, this is without any doubt one of Tanzania's most unique properties.

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On Safari in Tarangire: Our View

Tarangire is the surprise package on the Northern circuit. Often overshadowed by the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire has immense concentrations of game in the peak months and a fraction of the visitors that go to any of the other Northern parks. The game viewing here from July through to October is superb and the atmosphere and habitat completely different from the other parks. Tarangire is surprisingly large giving visitors the quietest game viewing environment of all the parks in the region. The South of Tarangire, is especially quiet, and lodges such as Swala and Olivers Camp are the perfect place to explore this remote area, and to really get away from any other travellers. Overall, a superb little park that offers great value compared to its neighbours and a seriously good option for getting away from it all.

Tarangire: When to go

The game viewing from July though to October is exceptional but for the remainder of the year the majority of game migrates out of the park, onto the floor of the Rift Valley and to the grazing grounds of the Masai steppe. As a result, we would advise visitors not to expect high concentrations of game in the off season months, but would still recommend travelling here to those who want to avoid the crowds.

Tarangire Safaris: What game will you see

During the dry months the concentration of animals around the Tarangire river is almost as diverse and reliable as in the Ngorongoro Crater. However the ecosystem here is balanced by a localised migration pattern that is followed by the majority of game that resides in and around the park. As a result, Tarangire is a park which is superb in season but questionable out of its good months. Elephants are the main attraction with up to 3,000 in the park during the peak season months. Peak season also sees good numbers of wildebeest and zebra as well as giraffe, buffalo, Thompson's gazelle, greater and lesser kudu, eland, leopard and cheetah. The real prize in the park are oryx and generuk but viewings are very rare. Tarangire is one of Tanzania's finest birding destinations.

Tarangire: What activities are on offer?

The main activity in Tarangire is daytime game driving however staying outside the park makes walking and night safari a possibility. There are no boat safaris on the rivers here but Olivers Camp offers adventurous fly camping trips and very good walking safari. Both Olivers Camp and Swala have recently started night safari within the park itself. Ask us for more information as the regulations here seem to change every year!

Tarangire Lodges

We have included all the lodges below ordered by our ranking, and by price. Clicking on any of the links will bring up more information; our detailed view of the lodge, video, photos, key facts etc.

Ranking

- Outstanding

- Very good

- Good

- Average

- Poor

Oliver's Camp
Oliver's Camp is a classic tented camp located in the centre of Tarangire. Without any question our favourite lodge in the park, Oliver's is the only lodge to offer walking safaris as well as fly camping trips and night drives. The location also encourages game drives to the remote southern region of the park, an area we absolutely love.

$670pp

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Swala Tented Camp
Swala like Oliver's is also located in the centre of the park, and offers a more luxurious style of accommodation. Owned by Abercrombie and Kent, Swala aims for a more mature clientele and has a large US database. We cannot deny the quality of accommodation here but believe that Tarangire is worthy of a more adventurous style of camp.

$945pp

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Tarangire Treetops
Treetops is one of the most unique properties in Tanzania and one of the finest tree camps in Africa. With all the rooms raised up into old baobab trees, Treetops certainly has the wow factor and has the bonus of being able to offer walking and night safari. However its location outside the park is in our view a negative compared to Olivers inside. But that really is the only negative, Treetops is beautiful and has some of the best rooms Tarangire.

$945pp

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Kikoti Tented Camp
Kikoti is a good value tented camp outside the park itself. Located near to Tarangire Treetops, this lodge shares the same areas as Treetops, and hosts a good population of elephant. A good option for an economical Tarangire visit.

$650pp

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Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Tarangire National Park epitomises the subtle safari experience, and sadly the Sopa Lodge epitomises the opposite. It is vast, ugly and located in an area that should only have small, luxury camps. Wherever possible, we do not use this lodge.

$700pp

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