Endless grass plains, granite kopjes and the great wildebeest migration in Tanzania's oldest and best-known national park
The Serengeti is the landscape most people picture when they think of an African safari: short-grass plains running to the horizon, flat-topped acacias, granite outcrops called kopjes where lions rest in the heat, and herds that number in the hundreds of thousands. The park stretches from the Ngorongoro highlands in the south-east to the Kenyan border in the north, where it meets the Maasai Mara, and westwards along the so-called Western Corridor towards Lake Victoria.
What sets it apart is movement. Each year well over a million wildebeest, together with zebras and gazelles, follow the rains in a long loop through the Serengeti ecosystem, calving on the southern plains early in the year and crossing the Grumeti and Mara rivers later on. Big cats, hyenas and crocodiles shadow the herds, but even away from the migration the resident wildlife around Seronera in the centre of the park is excellent all year.
The name is usually traced to the Maasai word siringet, glossed as the place where the land runs on forever, although linguists note it is hard to find in Maasai dictionaries. A first protected area of about 2,286 square kilometres in the south and east was set aside in 1930, national park status followed in 1940, and the boundaries were settled in 1951. In 1959 the eastern highlands were separated to create the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where Maasai pastoralists could continue to live with their livestock, while people were moved out of the park itself.
The same year Bernhard Grzimek and his son Michael released the book and film Serengeti Shall Not Die, based on aerial counts of the migration, which made the park internationally famous. UNESCO inscribed the Serengeti on the World Heritage List in 1981 for its migration and its outstanding biodiversity. Today the park is managed by Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) and receives several hundred thousand visitors a year; official figures put the total at just over 300,000 in 2023.
The Serengeti is bordered by farming and herding communities, among them Maasai, Sukuma and Kurya people, and many guides, rangers and camp staff come from the surrounding districts. Life on the park edge involves real trade-offs between livestock, crops and wildlife, and park revenue supports community projects in neighbouring villages. Visiting a community project or buying crafts directly from local cooperatives is one of the simplest ways for visitors to make sure some of the money from a safari stays nearby.
Most visitors explore on guided game drives in open-roofed 4x4 vehicles, combining the central Seronera area, which has reliable resident wildlife, with whichever region the herds are using at the time. The southern plains and the Ndutu area near the Ngorongoro border are busiest in the calving months, the Western Corridor sees the herds pass through around the middle of the year, and the remote north is the setting for the Mara River crossings. Sunrise balloon flights, bush meals and, in some areas, guided walks add variety.
The park is huge, so plan time rather than distance: TANAPA notes that the drive from Arusha can take seven to eight hours, and many travellers fly in to Seronera or other airstrips instead. Staying two or three nights, ideally in two different areas, gives a far better chance of seeing the migration and the big predators than a single overnight stop.
TANAPA recommends the dry season from June to October for following the migration, and January and February for the calving season on the southern plains. Wildlife is good in the central Serengeti throughout the year. The long rains, roughly March to May, bring green landscapes and fewer visitors, but some tracks become muddy and a few camps close. Nights can be cool on the plains, so pack a warm layer for early game drives.
Checked against the sources on 28 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
The main road from Arusha enters the Serengeti at Naabi Hill Gate after crossing the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, passing close to Olduvai Gorge and its museum on the way. Seronera in the centre of the park has an airstrip, a visitor centre and many lodges and campsites. To the north the park adjoins Kenya's Maasai Mara, although there is no tourist border crossing inside the park, and to the east the remote Loliondo area leads towards Lake Natron.
Tanzania · 10 nights5★ LodgeTanzania · 8 nights5★ LodgeTanzania · 5 nights5★ LodgeThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 28 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
