Serengeti National Park

• Address: Serengeti, Tanzania
• Phone: +255 27 250 3471
• Area: 14,750 km²
• Foundation date: 1951.

The Serengeti National Park ( Tanzania ) is one of the largest reserves in the world. It is located on the territory of the Great African Rift, its area is 14 763 km ² . The very word "serengeti" is translated from the Masai language as "boundless plains".

What is interesting about the park?

"The Serengeti Park" began with a small zakaznik with an area of ​​only 3.2 square meters. km in 1921. Later, in 1929, it was somewhat expanded. In 1940 the reserve was recognized as a protected territory (however, "protection" was carried out mainly on paper in connection with certain material difficulties). Ten years later, after another increase in the area, it received the status of the National Park, and in 1981 it was recognized as a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site.

The Kenya Masai Mara Reserve is essentially the continuation of the Serengeti reserve. Its ecosystem is considered to be one of the oldest on our planet. The wildlife of the Serengeti, according to scientists, today looks exactly the same as it looked a million years ago, preserved from the time of the Pleistocene. No other nature reserve in Africa can compare to the Serengeti in terms of the number of species that live here: there are 35 plain species in the reserve! Not surprisingly, it is the Serengeti that attracts tens of thousands of tourists to Tanzania every year. The park is considered the best place to observe the life of lions, cheetahs and leopards, as well as giraffes.

The reserve is more popular with the president of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Bernhard Grzymek, who studied animal migration in the Serengeti and wrote several books about him that have brought the park worldwide fame. Serengeti is not only a nature reserve, but also an ethnographic reserve: one of its tasks is to preserve the traditional way of life and culture of the Masai. For these purposes, the Ngorongoro reserve is separated from the Serengeti.

"The Cradle of Mankind"

In the Olduvai gorge, which is called the "Cradle of Mankind", located in the territory of the reserve, large excavations were carried out during the period from the 30s to the 60s of the last century, as a result of which bones of homo habitus, remains of Australopithecus, ancient tools, bones animals. All these exhibits could be seen in an anthropological museum located in the gorge. But today this part of the park is closed to tourists due to the resumption of excavations - scientists quite rightly believe that access of tourists can cause serious damage to the research.

Flora and fauna of the reserve

The Serengeti National Park has unique climatic conditions and diverse landscapes: in the north there are wooded hills covered mainly with acacia, in the south - high-grass meadows, in the west - real hard-to-reach forests (here grow the same acacias, ebony and ficuses); and in the center of the park is the savannah.

The animal world of the Serengeti is striking in its diversity. The reserve is home to representatives of the Big Five - lions, leopards, elephants, rhinoceroses and buffaloes, and besides them - giraffes, goats, zebras, several species of antelopes and gazelles, hyenas and jackals, cheetahs, big-eared foxes, mongooses, porcupines, ducks , warthogs. In short, the Serengeti animals represent almost the entire animal kingdom of Africa. Only wildebeest, zebras and gazelles on its territory live more than 2 million, and there are more than 3 million individuals in all large animals. Here there are primates: monkeys-hussars, baboons, green monkeys, colobus.

The Serengeti lions inhabit the savannah in the central part of the Serengeti, in the Seronera Valley. Lions divide the territory with leopards; due to the large number of giraffes, antelopes, warthogs that graze on the local rich pastures, it is not necessary to starve predators.

In the rivers and lakes of the Serengeti, you can see hippos, as well as more than 350 species of reptiles, including crocodiles. Nile crocodiles live in the river Grumeti in the west of the reserve; they are distinguished by surprisingly large sizes - they are much larger than their "fellow" living in other places. Also, the Serengeti Park in Tanzania has become a home and a "parking lot" for a large number of birds of different species. Here you can see birds-secretaries, ostriches and waterfowl. Salt Lake Ndutu in the south of the reserve is home to a large number of flamingos. The number of species of feathered dwellers exceeds 500! Not surprisingly, the reserve is considered a paradise for ornithologists.

Excursions in the park

Serengeti can be called a safari park: it travels in cars and buses, and during the trip you can not only from afar, but also close to observe the animals in their natural habitat. Giraffes, for example, come closer with curiosity, lions simply do not react to passing cars - it is quite possible that you will have to travel around the family of the "king of beasts" lying down on the road. But the curiosity of baboons can be somewhat obtrusive and unpleasant: they sometimes jump into the buses and open car bodies - especially if they see food.

You can go on a safari over the Serengeti in a hot air balloon to watch the Great Migration, when about 200 thousand zebras, one million wildebeest and other ungulates move in search of fresh grass. When the arid period in the northern part of the reserve comes, their path lies to the southern high-grass plains, where monsoon rains pass at this time, and with the beginning of the rainy season they go back. The rainy months are March, April, May, October and November. If you want to watch wildebeest antelopes, it's best to come to the Serengeti from December to July, and if you are more interested in lions and other predators, then from June to October. Attracting tourists is also an examination of musical rocks, Masai rock art and trips to the volcano Aldo Lengai.

To the tourist on a note

If you decide to visit Africa and visit the Serengeti Park, you can fly there by an internal transfer from Kilimanjaro International Airport. You can also come from Arusha by car - the road in this case will take about 5 hours.

Based on the size of the reserve, it is clear that it will not be possible to inspect it in one day, and it is simply silly to spend a lot of time on the road each time. Here, all the infrastructure necessary for tourists, including hotels, or rather camps for rest and lodges, has been created. The best are: 5 * Serengeti Serena Louge, Serengeti Pioneer Camp by Elewana, Kirawira Serena Camp, Singita Sasakwa Lodge, and Serengeti Tented Camp - Ikoma Bush Camp, Lobo Wildlife Lodge, Mbalageti Serengeti, Lemala Ewanjan, Serengeti Acacia Camps, Kananga Special Tented Camp, Kenzan Luxury Mobile Camp.