Seasons And Wildlife

The best time to visit Tanzania depends on what wildlife you’d like to spot. The country’s seasons and wildlife numbers are dictated by the rains, so you’ll have a slightly different experience depending on when you choose to visit.
Tanzania’s headline attraction is the Great Migration, which occurs year-round across the Serengeti. Many people flock here between July and September for a chance to witness huge herds of wildebeest and zebra crossing the Mara River — panic ensues as they try to avoid the jaws of crocodiles and other predators waiting to pounce. You’ll see lots of vehicles in the park at this time of year, though.
Tanzania’s ‘green season’, between November and March, is much quieter. While there’s a chance of rain showers, it’s a fantastic time for birdwatching as migratory species arrive in their thousands. You’ll also see Great Migration herds with their newly born calves. The only time we tend to avoid Tanzania is between April and May, when heavy rains can disrupt wildlife viewing.

Month-by-month guide for travelling in Tanzania
Visiting Tanzania in January

There is a chance of rain, the temperature is getting higher and the humidity is building. It's still a good time to go as rates are lower and safari is excellent. At this time of year the migration herds are in the southeast of the Serengeti for calving season, so the Ndutu Plains are busy but it is amazing to see so many animals in one place.

Events & Festivals
  • Green Season (November to March): Tanzania's Green Season offers superb birdwatching opportunities, with migratory birds arriving in their thousands.
Visiting Tanzania in February

Migration is still occurring in Ndutu. The weather is hot and humid with a chance of rain.

Events & Festivals
  • Green Season (November to March): Tanzania's Green Season offers superb birdwatching opportunities, with migratory birds arriving in their thousands.
Visiting Tanzania in March

Migrating herds are starting to leave Ndutu, heading west toward Grumeti. This is truly low season, before the heavy rains but with humidity building. Great rates can be taken advantage of at this time of year.

Events & Festivals
  • Green Season (November to March): Tanzania's Green Season offers superb birdwatching opportunities, with migratory birds arriving in their thousands.
Visiting Tanzania in April - May

This is a period of heavy rain, so we would advise against travelling at this time.

Visiting Tanzania in June

This is the green season, bringing lush grasses and bush that can make spotting game more difficult. However, this is still a wonderful time to travel — particularly for bird watchers as parks are full of migratory birds; especially in the south. Migration should be in the Grumeti area of the Serengeti heading north.

Visiting Tanzania in July

This is the start of the peak season. The Migration is in the north of the Serengeti moving toward Kenya, and elephant start to gather in Tarangire. The land is getting drier and spotting game is becoming easier. Temperatures are in the high 20°Cs to early 30°Cs and the humidity is low.

Events & Festivals
  • The best chance to observe herds of animals in their hundreds as they cross Tanzania's rivers on their epic journey across the continent is as part of the Great Migration in Africa.
Visiting Tanzania in August

Peak season. Migration is still in the north. As the land becomes more parched, the animals' behaviour becomes more predictable. The dense bush in Ruaha is drying out so game spotting here becomes much easier.

Events & Festivals
  • The best chance to observe herds of animals in their hundreds as they cross Tanzania's rivers on their epic journey across the continent is as part of the Great Migration in Africa.
Visiting Tanzania in September

Peak season. The end of the migration is still in the north, with herds on both sides of the Kenya and Tanzania borders and high numbers of elephant in Tarangire. The northern circuit can be very busy, but it is less busy in the south, so for those who want to avoid crowds it's best to visit the southern parks.

Events & Festivals
  • The best chance to observe herds of animals in their hundreds as they cross Tanzania's rivers on their epic journey across the continent is as part of the Great Migration in Africa.
Visiting Tanzania in October

Peak season. The migration is now in Kenya, but the game viewing in central Serengeti is still very good. Southern parks are particularly rewarding at this time of year.

Visiting Tanzania in November

Short rains. This is a great time to take advantage of low season rates and is still a popular time to travel. The rains tend to be overnight, but there is a risk of rain during the day as well. Migrating herds are starting to travel south from Kenya, so crossings can be seen in the north of the Serengeti.

Events & Festivals
  • Green Season (November to March): Tanzania's Green Season offers superb birdwatching opportunities, with migratory birds arriving in their thousands.
Visiting Tanzania in December

There is a chance of rain, but this is generally overnight. Temperatures and humidity start to build. Safari is good, with migrating herds in the north travelling south to Ndutu. The festive season can be very busy and needs to be planned well in advance to ensure availability.

Events & Festivals
  • Green Season (November to March): Tanzania's Green Season offers superb birdwatching opportunities, with migratory birds arriving in their thousands.

What to do in Tanzania: our highlights guide

On Tanzania’s northern plains, in the Serengeti National Park, two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra tread ceaselessly through the grass following the rain, while keenly watched by big cats, wild dogs and crocodiles. The Great Migration and its never-ending drama gives you the chance to observe a host of Africa’s wildlife in a single place.

But this land of vast plains can also offer up Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro in the northeast, and Africa’s largest national park, Nyerere National Park in the south. Watch lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and cape buffalo — collectively the Big Five — within the volcanic landscape of Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

And after the heat of the safari, the powder-sand beaches of Zanzibar and the other Indian Ocean islands are a blissful respite for snorkelling and diving.

Witness the Great Migration of herds on safari in the Serengeti

The stuff of wildlife documentaries, watching the Great Migration is one of my most memorable experiences in Tanzania. This mass movement of wildebeest plays out in Tanzania each year, culminating in the Mara River crossings between July and October.

In their search for fresh grazing, herds that can number thousands of animals risk the crocodile-infested river and the awaiting leopard on the far bank in many hazardous river crossings.

November’s short rains bring new life to the grasslands of the southern Serengeti. They also bring the wildebeest, who can detect rain from more than 50 kilometres away.

The herds converge on the Serengeti’s short grass plains, to give birth to their young in January time.

Keep moving with the herds on a Serengeti mobile safari

The herds’ precise movements are governed by rainfall and the best grazing, and when out on safari there is an element of being in the right place at the right time.

The lodges work closely with the park rangers to assess the animals’ most recent whereabouts. One option for keeping in step with the migration is staying in one of the Serengeti’s mobile safari camps.

As the name suggests, the camps up sticks every couple of months to be as close as possible to the spectacle. The essence of traditional safari, a mobile camp isn’t as luxurious as the permanent ones but you still get a proper bed to flop onto at the end of the day. Many of the camps are set just back from the Mara River, and I’ve found that the proximity to the wildlife is unparalleled.

  • Read our guide to the Great Migration

Beyond the Serengeti in the south of Tanzania lies Nyerere National Park. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as "one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Africa", Nyerere National Park feels like an undiscovered secret. That’s despite it being only 45 minutes by light aircraft from Tanzania’s main city, Dar es Salaam.

The park’s woodlands, grasslands and swamps play host to elephant, hippo, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, lion, and leopard. Nyerere National Park is also the last great refuge of the African wild dog, the wolves of Africa.

The Rufiji River cuts through the national park and draws the wildlife to its banks. You’ve the opportunity to see elephant playing in the water, giraffe coming to the water’s edge, crocodiles sliding into the river and hippo popping their heads out. Over your head, malachite kingfishers take flight from trees near the bank, while bee-eaters line up on branches.

Another safari alternative I’ve enjoyed time and again in Nyerere National Park is fly camping. You pitch your tent away from the lodge, and animals will walk right past if the camp crosses their tracks. I’ve sat by the campfire at dinner only to see an elephant loom out of the darkness. It’s a wild and exposed but exhilarating experience.

Zebra in the Selous Game Reserve

Southeast of the Serengeti, the Big Five roam Ngorongoro. This is the best place in Africa to see the black rhino, which I’ve seen in the early morning returning to the cover of the forest after a night on the shores of the crater’s salt lake, Lake Magadi.

The Ngorongoro Crater in the heart of the area is a volcanic caldera, the result of a volcano erupting and then collapsing in on itself two or three million years ago. Some of Africa’s densest populations of large mammals live within its 600-metre-high walls.

Thousands of zebra, buffalo, wildebeest and Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle feed on the mineral-rich grass. Elephant live in the Lerai Forest in the southwest of the crater, as do lion and leopard. Large numbers of hippo wallow and birds wade in the lake.

Ngorongoro’s very geology makes it a confined area, and that means it’s also busy despite a limit on the number of vehicles. But you can skirt around the most crowded times with early-morning starts.we love travel

Ending your trip to Tanzania with time on the beach lets you wash the dust off and forget all those early morning starts. The Zanzibar Archipelago lies just 30 kilometres off the Tanzanian coast, a string of tropical islands stretching out in aquamarine seas.

Zanzibar Island and Stone Town

There’s much more to Zanzibar than just beach. The largest island, Zanzibar, is fringed with powder sands and swaying palms but inland you’ll find spice farms growing vanilla and nutmeg, and coconut plantations.

Stone Town, a centuries-old hub for the spice trade and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the oldest part of the island. Walk through alleys that lead to the merchants’ residences made with thick stone walls and intricately carved doors that date from the 1600s. At dusk hundreds of dhows, the traditional sailing boat of the Indian Ocean, set sail for the night, their billowing white sails touched by the pink light of sunset.

For a remoter experience and a peaceful contrast to Zanzibar’s bustle, travel just north to Pemba Island.

Another option is Mafia Island Marine Park where from October to May you can watch whale sharks. Local boats will sail you to sand backs that temporarily appear with the shifting shores, from where you can snorkel among the coral.zanzibar trip

If you fancy summiting a whole continent, climbing Africa’s highest peak (and also one of the largest volcanoes in the world) is an adventure that doesn’t take any technical climbing unlike the highest summits of the other continents.

Mount Kilimanjaro, or Kibo, rises from the dusty savannah plains of northern Tanzania, at 5,859 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level. You can conquer the mountain and reach the highest point — Uhuru, meaning “freedom” — on a trek that takes anything from six to eleven days.

As you ascend you pass through moss-covered forest that gives way to alpine desert and then glaciers. The snow-capped peak on a mountain so close to the Equator still takes me by surprise, as it first did the early explorers who thought they were being tricked by a mirage.

And if you’re less inclined to take on this level of activity, particularly with a rapid altitude gain, you don’t have to trek Kilimanjaro to admire its beauty. You can enjoy aerial views from your plane if you’re on safari in northern Tanzania or from the coffee town of Arusha, a jumping-off point for safaris in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro.Barranco

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