Destinations Serengeti

Northern Circuit · Tanzania

Serengeti

Where the wild moves freely.

Book This Safari Best Time to Visit

Size

~14,750 km²

Established

1951

Status

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Nearest Gateway

Arusha (5–6 hr drive / 45 min flight)

Altitude

920–1,850 m

Meaning

"Siringet" — endless plains (Maasai)

Overview

Why Serengeti?

The Serengeti is not simply a park — it is a living system. Its short-grass plains, riverine forests and rolling kopjes support one of the last great concentrations of large mammals left on Earth, anchored by the annual movement of roughly 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebra across an unbroken, unfenced ecosystem that spans into Kenya's Maasai Mara.

What sets the Serengeti apart is scale without interruption. There are no fences, no barriers — just open horizon in every direction, which is precisely why the migration and its predators have survived here for millennia while similar ecosystems elsewhere have fragmented.

What Makes It Different

Why You Should Visit Serengeti

The Great Migration, in motion

This is the only place on the planet where you can witness a million-plus animal migration as a continuous, living event rather than a seasonal snapshot.

Highest lion density in Africa

An estimated 3,000+ lions roam the ecosystem — more prides per square kilometre than almost anywhere else on the continent.

Four distinct sub-regions, four different safaris

Seronera (year-round game), the Western Corridor (Grumeti crossings), the Northern Serengeti (Mara crossings) and the Southern Plains (calving season) each deliver a genuinely different experience.

Balloon safaris at dawn

Few parks anywhere offer sunrise hot-air balloon flights directly over migrating herds, followed by a champagne bush breakfast.

Plan Your Timing

Best Time to Visit Serengeti

The Serengeti rewards different months for different reasons — there is no single "best" time, only the best time for what you want to see.

December – March

Calving Season

Over 500,000 calves are born within a few weeks on the southern Ndutu plains, drawing dense predator activity. Green, dramatic, and Dawson's top pick for first-time photographers.

April – May

Long Rains

Quiet and lush, with the lowest rates of the year. Herds move north-west through the central Serengeti. Not ideal for first-timers, excellent value for returning travellers.

June – July

Western Corridor

The migration funnels toward the Grumeti River, where Nile crocodiles wait. Drier roads, thinning crowds.

August – October

Mara River Crossings

The iconic, chaotic river crossings in the north — the single most requested experience we plan.

November

Short Rains

Herds turn back south as the plains green up again, resetting the cycle.

Beyond the Guidebook

Details Most Tour Sites Leave Out

This is the depth we bring to every itinerary — knowledge that shapes when and how we route your safari, not just where.

The migration has no true beginning or end — it is a circular, clockwise movement roughly 1,000 km long, repeating annually for longer than recorded history.

Serengeti kopjes (granite outcrops, some over 500 million years old) are older than the mammals that now use them as lookout points — Pride Rock in The Lion King was inspired by these formations.

Beyond the "Big Five," the plains hold specialist species most itineraries skip: bat-eared foxes, aardwolves, and the striped hyena — all findable with a guide who knows where to look, not just where the crowds are.

Because the ecosystem is unfenced, we can time a single safari to intercept the migration in two different sub-regions within the same week — something few operators plan for correctly.

Signature Experiences

Things to Do in Serengeti

Game drives (day & night) Hot-air balloon safaris Walking safaris with armed rangers Maasai cultural visits Photographic hides at Mara crossing points

What You'll Encounter