This is a blog we created for Nimali - a collection of three luxury lodges in Tanzania's Tarangire National Park and the Serengeti offering guests "Safaris for the Senses". Enjoy the read!

It's famous around the world for the Great Wildebeest Migration that takes place every year in the Serengeti, but there's an awful lot more to Tanzania's northern circuit than just wildebeest and zebra battling to cross rivers filled with crocodiles! In this blog we look at some of the hotspots and places you can easily combine with your Nimali safari...

 From the incredible birdlife of Tarangire to the dramatic Ngorongoro Crater and the glistening waters of Lake Manyara, Tanzania's legendary northern circuit is every traveller's dream come true.

The Mara-Serengeti ecosystem

With its endless horizons and vast expanses, the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem is one of the most important and biodiverse in Africa. It's made up of Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve and our own Serengeti National Park - home of Nimali Serengeti and Nimali Mara. There are no fences between these two iconic reserves allowing for the free movement of millions of wildebeest and zebra on their cyclical journey that follows the rains in search of fresh grazing. 

The Serengeti is located in northern Tanzania and has been partially protected since 1921. It became the country's first national park in 1951 and represents the largest portion of the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, stretching across 14,750 square kilometres. Named after the Maasai word siringet, which means "endless plains", the Serengeti is actually topographically more diverse than the flat and treeless grasslands that dominate its southern region. 

The north of the park is where you'll find riverine forests and dense woodlands as well as dramatic granite outcrops or kopjes and the western corridor is marked by the Serengeti's primary river - the Grumeti - with the Mara River in the northern region close to the border with Kenya.

The Serengeti is home to a veritable cornucopia of life, with large numbers of predators like lion and leopard, as well as cheetah, hyena and jackal. You'll see huge herds of elephant and buffalo, and rhino if you are really lucky, along with a wide variety of plains game like zebra and wildebeest as well as endangered Maasai giraffe, eland and other antelope, as well as more than 540 bird species.

Tantalising Tarangire

Tarangire National Park is located just south of Lake Manyara, a few hours drive south from Arusha and within easy driving distance of both Lake Manyara National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater. Nimali Tarangire is located on the eastern boundary of the national park on its own reserve, with direct access to the park. 

It's a renowned birding destination with more than 550 species recorded across the park's diverse range of habitats which range from the perennially green Silale Swamps to rolling hills dotted with giant baobab trees and verdant savannahs that attract huge herds of elephant, buffalo, antelope and other plains game.

During the green season between November and April each year, you can see a huge range of summer migrant bird species in Tarangire, attracted by the abundance of insect life. The dry season is best for game viewing, especially around the Tarangire River which is the only source of water at this time of year, as the swamplands dry out and become lush grasslands filled with much-needed grazing.

Magical Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater

At just 325 square kilometres in size, Lake Manyara National Park may be small compared to its more famous neighbours - Tarangire and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area - but great things come in small packages! 

With 11 different ecosystems and an incredible concentration of wildlife, the stars of Lake Manyara's show are its curious tree-climbing lions who escape the heat of the day and the biting insects by selecting perches high in the branches of tall trees - something lions are not really renowned for due to their less than stellar climbing abilities and clumsy, heavy bodies.

Add in the spectacle of thousands of pink flamingos on the reserve's eponymous soda lake and you begin to understand why a visit to Lake Manyara really is a must.

Wedged between Lake Manyara and the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to one of Tanzania's most sought-after destinations - the Ngorongoro Crater. This is the world's largest intact volcanic caldera and one of its most recognised natural phenomena. 

With steeply sloping sides the crater is a natural amphitheatre that's also home to an incredible array of wildlife from elephants, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard to cheetah and painted wolves (African wild dogs). 

Nimali offers day trips to both Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater to guests staying at Nimali Tarangire.

Get in touch to find out more and we hope to welcome you to Nimali very soon!