Tarangire

Tarangire National Park follows the course of the Tarangire River through open woodland studded with ancient baobabs. In the dry months from June to October the river is the only permanent water for miles, and it draws elephant herds in numbers matched almost nowhere else in Tanzania.

The park is comparatively quiet, and it rewards an unhurried pace. Alongside the elephants, expect buffalo, zebra, wildebeest and eland, with lion resident throughout and leopard occasionally seen in the riverine trees. It is usually the first stop on the northern circuit, an easy drive from Arusha.