Located almost 118 km from Arusha, this park is serves as the start point of Northern Tanzania Wildlife Safari. It is famous by having the highest population of elephants compared to any Tanzania National Park. The elephant is not the only distinctive feature of this park, its sparse vegetation is decorated by acacia trees and baobab trees(referred as upside down trees). The baobab trees is one be best feature which can be used to refer this park and distinguish it from the other.
Visiting this park will give you a chance to see herds of up to 300 elephants scratch the dry river bed (during dry season) for underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland crowd the shrinking lagoons. It’s the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem – a smorgasbord for predators – and the one place in Tanzania where dry-country antelope such as the stately fringe-eared oryx and peculiar long-necked gerenuk are regularly observed.
On drier ground you find the Kori bustard, the heaviest flying bird; the stocking-thighed ostrich, the world’s largest bird; and small parties of ground hornbills blustering like turkeys.
More ardent bird-lovers might keep an eye open for screeching flocks of the dazzlingly colourful yellow-collared lovebird, and the somewhat drabber rufous-tailed weaver and ashy starling – all endemic to the dry savannah of north-central Tanzania.
Disused termite mounds are often frequented by colonies of the endearing dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud, clockwork-like duetting.
Tarangire’s pythons climb trees, as do its lions and leopards, lounging in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree disguises the twitch of a tail.
The Park at Glance
Location: Northern Tanzania
What to Do?: Game Drive and Walking Safari
Best Time to visit: All year around