Best Time to Visit Serengeti

General & Geography

The Serengeti is an animal-rich savannah area in northern Tanzania and is usually described by experts in the same breath as the Okavango Delta as the best safari area in Africa.

Covering an area of more than 19000 square miles, the reserve extends to the south of Kenya, where it merges directly into the Masai Mara in a common ecosystem.

The vast, almost treeless steppe became well known to a broad public, not least through the German naturalist Professor Dr. Grzimek and his documentary “Serengeti must not die”.

The seemingly endless grassy plains are the scene of one of the greatest natural spectacles on earth when up to two million wildebeests and more than 250,000 zebras and gazelles migrate every year.

This Great Migration in search of nutrient-rich grasslands culminates between December and February with the mass births of young animals mostly in the southern corridor of the Serengeti. A true feast for countless lions, leopards, cheetahs and many other predators!

The Serengeti ecosystem, which offers unforgettable wildlife encounters all year round, includes smaller protected areas such as Mazwa, Grumeti and Ikorongo as well as the neighbouring Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

The world-famous Ngorongoro Crater is part of the Serengeti National Park and is home to the highest predator density on the African continent. According to the latest census, around 3000 lions can be found throughout the Serengeti.

Most safaris along the Northern Circuit in Tanzania start in the city of Arusha, which can be reached via Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) via European hubs such as Amsterdam, Paris or Frankfurt.

Climate in the Serengeti

In the Serengeti a tropical climate prevails, there are only slight temperature fluctuations during the year. In the warmest month of October, an average of 29 °C is measured in the shade during the day, and 25.5 °C in the coolest month of July. At night the temperatures are between 14 °C to 17 °C.

There are no classical four seasons in Tanzania, rather the dry season is distinguished from the two rainy seasons in the north of the country. The great rainy season starts around mid-March and lasts until around the end of May. A smaller, weaker rainy season runs from the beginning of November to mid-December.

Rainfall is the absolute exception, especially between June and October. As the dry season continues, the landscape becomes increasingly barren and the vast plains of the Serengeti are dust-dry in September and October. The animals then gather at the few remaining waterholes.