Tarangire National Park Day Trip

Day Trip — Tarangire National Park

Depart Moshi or Arusha early in the morning for the approximately 2.5-hour drive to Tarangire National Park. The park announces itself with the silhouettes of giant baobab trees against the morning sky — ancient, bulbous giants that can live for over a millennium. Enter the park and begin your full-day game drive, heading first toward the Tarangire River, the park's lifeblood. In the dry season (June—October), this river becomes a magnet for wildlife on an almost biblical scale — herds of elephants numbering in the hundreds gather to drink and bathe, spraying themselves with the rust-colored water. Lion prides lounge in the shade of acacias, giraffe drift elegantly between the baobabs, and large herds of buffalo, zebra, and wildebeest graze the plains. Stop for a picnic lunch at a scenic viewpoint, then continue your afternoon drive to different sectors of the park, searching for leopard, cheetah, and the park's rich birdlife. Exit the park in the late afternoon and return to Moshi or Arusha by early evening.