Serengeti National Park
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Serengeti National Park Highlights
The name 'Serengeti' comes from the Maasai language and means an 'extended place'. The National Park alone covers an area of 12,950 square kilometres. The Serengeti ecosystem, which includes the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Grumeti Reserve, the Maswa Game Reserve, the Masai Mara Game reserve (in Kenya) and numerous concession areas, is roughly the size of Sicily. It lies between the shores of Lake Victoria in the west, Lake Eyasi in the south, and the Great Rift Valley to the east.
Serengeti National Park is one of the best-known wildlife sanctuaries in the world, and symbolises the classic African safari. With more than 2 million wildebeest, half a million Thomson's gazelle, and a quarter of a million zebra, it has the greatest concentration of plains game in Africa. The Serengeti is also synonymous with the annual wildebeest and zebra migration.
What Sun Safaris Says
The Serengeti is in the top 3 safari destinations in Africa, arguably the best of them all. Its sure scale, lack of infrastructure, diverse landscape and wide open savannah make it the quintessential safari destination. It is the home of the Great Annual Wildebeest Migration for 9 months of the year.
The migration moves around the Serengeti and it is important to understand where they are likely to be when you plan your visit. Due to the size of the reserve you don't really want to be staying in the northern Serengeti when the wildebeest migration is in the southern Serengeti.
Compared with other reserves of its size, the Serengeti has very few lodges, camps, hotels, migration camps, etc. This makes it extra special for those that can afford it as you are unlikely to bump into masses of other visitors. For example, we often send visitors to the northern Serengeti rather than the Masai Mara (Kenya) during August to October when the migration spans the Serengeti and Masai Mara. Even though the Mara River crossing is more spectacular in the Masai Mara, some guest prefer to avoid masses of tourists and the "white buses" of the Masai Mara.
See our detailed description of the Great Annual Migration to get an understanding of the wildebeest migration.
Serengeti National Park Game Viewing and Activites
Although outnumbered eight to one, the zebra join in the migration, maintaining their family units of about a dozen members, each with a dominant stallion. Lion, cheetah, hyena and hunting dog follow the wildebeest and zebra, making sure that only the fittest survive. In November, when the grazing is finished in the North, this army of animals surges back to the now green pastures of the south, where they calve and mate before starting the entire cycle again.
Normally, the best time to see the animals here is during January and February. Heading north into the Park, the grass becomes noticeably longer, and it is usual to see Grant's and Thomson's gazelles, as well as the occasional small groups of topi and kongoni. Out of the vast sea of grass also rise great granite outcrops, known as 'kopjes', which have their own range of vegetation and wildlife. Towards Seronera, the Park headquarters, the landscape becomes more varied. Hills rise out of plains criss-crossed by small rivers. Umbrella acacia trees appear, elegant and serene, contrasting with the twisted commiphora trees.
Safari Lodges within the Serengeti
Comfortable
Kusini Camp
Kusini Camp is located in the south central Serengeti. The wildebeest migration is normally in the southern Serengeti between December and May.
Serengeti Serena Safari Lodge
Serena Safari Lodge is a large lodge located in the central Serengeti. It is well located for the migration between December and May.
Serengeti Migration Camp
Serengeti Migration Camp is located in the Northern Serengeti. The best time to visit the camp is between July and November when the wildebeest migration passes through the area.
Ndutu Lodge
Ndutu Lodge is located close to the Ndutu Plains and is perfectly located for the wildebeest migration between November and May.
Mbalageti Lodge
Mbalageti Lodge offers views over the western Serengeti. The annual migration normally passes through this area between May and June.
Luxury
Grumeti Tented Camp
Grumeti Serengeti Tented Camp is situated in the private and remote Western Corridor of the Serengeti.
Dunia Camp
Dunia Camp is located in the central Serengeti nearby the Seronera plains. The migration passes this area between October and May
Olakira Camp
Olakira Camp is a seasonal mobile tented camp following the migration in the southern and central Serengeti
Sayari Camp
Sayari is located in the remote far northern Serengeti, excellent for the migration between July and October.
Premier
Serengeti Under Canvas
One of the best mobile camps in the Serengeti, moving with the migration.
Sasakwa Lodge
An exclusive lodge in the private Grumeti Reserve in the western Serengeti. The migration passes through the Grumeti Reserve between May and June.
Faru Faru Lodge
Faru Faru is a luxury lodge overlooking the Grumeti River. The migration normally passes through this area of the Serengeti between May to June.
Sabora Tented Camp
Sabora Tented Camp is a premier tented camp in the private Grumeti Reserve, ideal for the migration between May and June. The camp is located in the open savannah plains of the Grumeti.
Kleins Camp
Klein's Camp is located in the northern Serengeti, ideal for the migration between July and November.
