Africa, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania

January 18, 2011 | By Donna Evans

Serengeti National Park

The largest and oldest National Park in Tanzania is the Serengeti National Park. The word Serengeti comes from the Masai word for “endless plain”. 

This park of 14,763 square meters is famous for the great Wildebeest Migration. Over one and a half million of these animals along with over 250,000 zebra trample the land of the Western Corridor during the months of May-July. The land is swampy with black clay soil and in July and August they move through on their way to the Northern Corridor of hills and woodland that stretch to the Kenyan border. They complete their circuit in October in the south where the grassy plains are sprinkled with granite formations.

The Serengeti boasts the largest lion population in Africa due to the abundance of prey. Game here consists of wildebeest, zebra, gazelle, impala, topi, and buffalo. During the wet season, there are large numbers of these and other animals. There are also approximately 500 species of birds living in this World Heritage location. The photo opportunities are phenomenal!