Tarangire National Park is a national park in Tanzania’s Manyara Region, it covers an area of approximately 2,850 square kilometers (1,100 square miles).. The name of the park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park. The Tarangire River is the primary source of fresh water for wild animals in the Tarangire Ecosystem during the annual dry season, during the dry season; thousands of animals migrate to the Tarangire National Park from Manyara.
One of the outstanding features of Tarangire is the vast number of enormous baobab trees. These giants also known as the upside-down tree are a strange and beautiful sight in themselves. The park is very famous for its massive number of Elephant, baobab trees and lions climbing trees.
Best time to visit Tarangire
The middle and end of the Dry season, from late June to October, is the best time for wildlife viewing in Tarangire National Park. Most of the animals migrate out of the park during the Wet season, and wildlife viewing is considerably less productive.
Weather and climate in Tarangire
Weather in Tarangire is temperate and enjoyable. Wet seasons consist of: ‘long rains’ (March to May) and the ‘short rains’ (November to December). It usually rains in the afternoon and seldom for the entire day. It rarely gets too hot, but the evenings and mornings tend to get cold. Warm clothes for early morning game drives are recommended.
How to get to Tarangire
There are two major ways you can access Tarangire National Park and that is either by road or air transport.
Flying into Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) is the best option to get to Tarangire. This is located, 46 kilometers (29 Miles) from Arusha. Another possibility is to fly into Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) which is near Dar es Salaam and then arranging for a domestic flight at Arusha Airport (ARK).
The distance from Arusha to Tarangire National Park is approximately 140 km and takes about three hours drive.
A safari to Tarangire can easily be combined with the neighboring national parks as there are good access roads as well as charter flights connection to these destinations. From Tarangire National Park to Lake Manyara National Park it is approximately 110 km and this takes about 2h 50min by road. You can also connect from Tarangire to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area which is located approximately 140 km and this is about 3 hours drive away.