NORTHERN TANZANIA
Northern Zone of Tanzania is the Tanzania greatest destination, home of the classic safari experience and it is the most popular Tanzania destination
Jas Expeditions is ideally positioned to arrange your safari here. The northern circuit parks have long formed the heart of our business. With years of experience in planning and leading customized safari expeditions throughout Tanzania, we at Jas Expeditions are passionate about what we do. Whether it is our custom designed safaris, our scheduled departure safaris, or our private guided safaris, we are committed to providing unforgettable experiences for our guests. We offer a wide range of itineraries to suit anyone’s expectations, including luxury lodge safaris, private guides for small groups, camping safaris for the more adventurous and migration safaris to the Serengeti and Masai Mara.
The northern circuit is the home of the classic safari experience from the endless short-grass plain of Serengeti to the dense river lying forest of Tarangire to the blended ecosystem of Ngorongoro an abundance of wildlife the perfectly capture the safari experience.
Its name means “endless plains” in the local Maasai language. Serengeti may be the world’s best-known wildlife sanctuary, and it is one of the top destinations for Jas Expeditions as well.The Serengeti National Park has probably been the subject of more books, television documentaries, pictures, photos and digital images on African wildlife animals, than any other African national park. Hosting the annual wildebeest migration across its grassy plains – arguably the world’s greatest wildlife animal’s spectacle. At the peak of migration in May and June, central Serengeti is filled with over one million wildebeest, plus thousands of Zebras and other plains animals.
Lions sun themselves on kopjes while cheetahs stalk through tall grass. Birdlife abounds, with white backed vultures soaring overhead, secretary birds standing by the road side and colorful Fischer’s lovebirds in the grasslands.
Perhaps uniquely among the East African parks, the Serengeti has no low season. I t is a “must see” and highly rewarding at any time of the year. This Park is without a doubt a defining image of East Africa and more specifically Tanzania. Let Jas Expeditions advise you on the best parts of the park to focus on during your visit.
The Ngorongoro conservation area covers 2286sq km and encompasses the volcanic area around Ngorongoro crater including the still active Oldonyo Lengai, and the famous Oldvai Gorge. The Ngorongoro conservation area is quite simply the most spectacular tourist destination in Africa unequaled in its magnificence, its wildlife and its atmosphere. Added to the beautiful scenery, the archaeological wealth and the wildlife, is a proud people – the Maasai – a pastroral tribe.
Ngorongoro crater is hard to beat for its beautiful scenery, its animal densities and its wildlife – watching opportunities. The crater – actually a caldera or collapsed volcano – has been declared a Unesco World Heritage site and the open grasslands on the crater floor host an astounding amount of wildlife. Highlights include the black rhinoceros and a large number of lions. Only giraffes and impalas seen not to find the crater to their liking. The surrounding Ngorongoro highlands offer many hiking routes to combine with your crater safari.
Tarangire National Park is probably the least visited of the northern Tanzania game parks, and retains real air of undiscovered Africa, particularly in the south of the park. Much of the park is grassland together with swamplands and flood plains, which feed the Tarangire River.
Tarangire in Northern Tanzania is a park that remains calm and quiet and is a good park for a day visit. It is a superb little park that offers great value compared to its high rated neighbors such as the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro. The breathtaking scenic beauty that is displayed with the acacia woodland, open bush and groves of palm trees are superb to enjoy. Most amazingly you would find some of the trees aged to be more than 100 years. Due to its proximity to some of the high rated parks in Tanzanian it never lags behind in game viewing. Enjoying the African games in a quite atmosphere is an experience of difference. Another attraction of Tarangire is elephants that follow age-old migration routes through the park in enormous numbers. In season it is common to see several hundreds of elephants in a single day.
Tarangire can be visited year around, but August through October is best months for elephants and other wildlife.
Binoculars are a must in Manyara, partly for birds, and partly to allow you to keep track of all the wildlife activity in the lake from the terrace of your lodge or from vantage points around the shoreline. Manyara can be visited at any time of year, but wildlife is most abundant during the dry months from June to October.
And their memories.But there is so much more to Kili than her summit. The ascent of the slopes is a virtual climatic world tour, from the tropics to the Arctic.
Even before you cross the national park boundary (at the 2,700m contour), the cultivated footslopes give way to lush montane forest, inhabited by elusive elephant, leopard, buffalo, the endangered Abbot’s duiker, and other small antelope and primates. Higher still lies the moorland zone, where a cover of giant heather is studded with otherworldly giant lobelias.
Above 4,000m, a surreal alpine desert supports little life other than a few hardy mosses and lichen. Then, finally, the last vestigial vegetation gives way to a winter wonderland of ice and snow – and the magnificent beauty of the roof of the continent.
- About Kilimanjaro National Park
- Size: 1668 sq km 641 sq miles).
- Location: Northern Tanzania, near the town of Moshi.