5 unmissable national parks in Tanzania

Last updated September 29th, 2023.

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Spend a week in each of Tanzania’s national parks and you’ll be away from home for almost half a year. There are no less than 22 national parks in Tanzania, plus a further 32 game reserves. From a traveller’s point of view, the distinction is minimal. Together the country’s national parks and game reserves occupy 38% of land. But their sheer size is only just the start. Protecting a vast array of landscapes, and the world’s favourite safari species, a list of unmissable national parks in Tanzania could easily include all 54 protected areas. Yet with limited time (and budget), safari goers are going to have to choose between them. This guide should help you decide.

The top national parks and game reserves in Tanzania

1. Serengeti National Park, northwest Tanzania

If you have time to explore just one of Tanzania’s unmissable national parks, make it the Serengeti. Synonymous with safaris since the earliest years, it first gained legal protection in 1940.

Covering a vast area of Tanzania’s northwest, the Serengeti stretches into Kenya’s Maasai Mara Nature Reserve without pause.

To its south, it blends with Maswa Game Reserve. Here the rolling grassland becomes intermixed with thickets and kopje (rocky hills). They provide ample habitat for leopard and lion, which both exist in high densities in the reserve.

The Serengeti’s east joins one of Tanzania’s newer protected areas, Ikorongo Game Reserve. Established in 1993, its riverine landscape draws in animals as diverse as elephant, rhino, wild dogs, and lion.

Also established in 1993 is Grumeti Game Reserve. It was created as a corridor for the wildebeest and zebra herds passing across this border with the Serengeti.

Those herds are a reason the Serengeti is one of Africa’s best known national parks. Coming together in their millions, they form the Great Wildebeest Migration, arguably the world’s finest wildlife spectacle.

But fleeting in some areas, it’s important to know exactly when and where to see the Great Wildebeest Migration.

As a result of the migration, the Serengeti forms an integral part of Tanzania’s Northern Circuit, and can get busy. Despite its 15,000 square kilometres, game drives tend to focus on specific areas. So don’t expect to be the only 4×4 on the plains. Northern Tanzania is far busier than the south, meaning that for a greater feeling of exclusivity, you’re best bet is the country’s southern circuit instead.

Another reason for the Serengeti’s popularity is the presence of the Big Five. On the plus side, it means the tourist infrastructure is second to none, from dawn hot air balloon rides to game drives.

While seeking out its lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo, don’t skip its smaller species. I could watch chameleons for hours, while the birding is also epic at the correct times of year.

It’s also worth noting rhinos are incredibly rare, and unlikely to be seen on safaris of 2-3 days duration.

2. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, northern Tanzania

Enclosed by (admittedly passable) walls, northern Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area contains one of the highest densities of wildlife in Africa.

The focus here is on the plain within these natural walls of rock. They once formed the rim of a giant volcano. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (along with the Serengeti), the Ngorongoro is another key destination on Tanzania’s Northern Circuit.

Its smaller size – 8,200 square kilometres – means the crater is even more crowded than the Serengeti. Understandably, the most popular lodges rest on the rim of the crater, where there are exquisite panoramic views.

Up close on the crater bottom, the Ngorongoro is a haven for grass-cropping species including zebra, wildebeest, gazelle, and eland. The zebra and wildebeest follow elephant in departing the crater at certain times of year.

Cheetah and leopard are never particularly easy to find, although there is a strong lion population.

Away from its animal attractions, Ngorongoro Conservation Area also includes Olduvai (or Oldupai) Gorge. A massively important archaeological site, it was here that Mary and Louis Leakey discovered human habitation dating back two million years.

Olduvai Gorge Museum contains many of their most important discoveries.

3. Nyerere National Park, southeast Tanzania

Once known as Selous Game Reserve, Nyerere was upgraded to a national park in 2019. Its therefore a new national park in Tanzania with plenty of pedigree to back it up.

The largest national park in Tanzania, Nyerere covers an area of almost 31,000 square kilometres. That’s a similar size to Belgium, and more than two times larger than the already immense Serengeti. It will take you 10-12 hours to drive from one side of it to the other.

Located in southeast Tanzania, it’s the impressive diversity of landscapes and species which makes Nyerere one of the unmissable national parks in Tanzania. There’s grassland savannah – inhabited by Cape wild dogs, but also a riverine landscape of lakes and swamps too.

In addition to the Big Five, the park’s miombo woodland provides shelter for tens of species. Predators are especially well numbered, with lion, cheetah, and leopard all making use of the cover to hunt.

Historically (while still Selous), the park was primarily used as private hunting concessions. It means tourism to Nyerere is still in its infancy, and largely limited to northern parts of the park. It’s Rufiji River zone has most of the park’s accommodation and the best Nyerere game drives.

Here the animals are more used to the presence of humans and vehicles, and are less skittish as a result. The upside is exploring a wilderness free of the queues of safari vehicles which sometimes line Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. In fact, it’s rare for those on a boat safari or game drive to see any other vehicle.

Nyerere has capacity for around 300 visitors a night, compared to the 3,000 beds which max out the Serengeti at peak times of year. Nyerere is therefore a more exclusive experience in which to admire its 40,000 hippos and 440 bird species including migratory visitors from Europe and Asia.

The best time to visit Nyerere National Park for birding is November to March, when it is admittedly hot and sticky. For big game, head there in the cooler months of July to October.

4. Gombe Stream National Park, western Tanzania

Welcoming just a few thousand visitors each year, Gombe Stream National Park is nonetheless an unmissable national park in Tanzania.

That’s because it’s one of few places in the whole of east Africa where chimps are the star performers.

Situated in the far west of Tanzania, on Lake Tanganyika, Gombe Stream National Park primarily protects lakeside forested hills. Just 35 square kilometres in size, it’s where primatologist Jane Goodall carried out her research on chimpanzee behaviour.

Part of the reason so few visitors take in Gombe’s wonders is because of its border location. But it’s also due to the fact it can only be reached by boat.

The park’s chimps share their valley home with several other primate species. These include relatively common olive baboons, alongside rarer red colobus, vervet and blue monkeys. Leopards prey on the primates as well as bushpigs, while 200 bird species have been recorded.

Whether you think encountering a prowling leopard while on a guided trek in search of chimps is a good idea or not is entirely down to personal preference.

5. Kilimanjaro National Park, northern Tanzania

Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, lies in Tanzanian territory through the whimsy of Britain’s Queen Victoria. She’s reputed to have gifted the world’s tallest freestanding mountain to her cousin, Wilhelm II – emperor of German east Africa.

You might think the chance to summit this mighty peak is the park’s main attraction. However, only around a third of park visitors (almost all foreign tourists) do that.

Perhaps that’s because it takes anywhere between five and nine days to reach the summit of Uhuru Peak at 5,895 m and descend again. The five day six night Maranga Route is just one of several paths to the top.

If you have your heart set on summiting the highest peak in Africa, aim for at least six nights. Doing so increases your chance of success from 50% to 80%. The extra days and nights give you more time to acclimatise to the altitude and shorter distances to walk each day.

Don’t be tempted to cut corners or costs, it’s never worth it in the long run.

What do the remaining two-thirds of visitors to Kilimanjaro National Park do? Day hikes in the montane forest at its base are a popular excursion. Besides fantastic views, guides detail some of the mountain’s unique plant life.

It’s more than likely you’ll see monkeys such as black and white colobus thrashing around in the trees. You probably won’t want to encounter the buffalo that also call the park home as they are incredibly territorial.

But catching sight of elephant between the Namwai and Tarakia rivers would give the trek extra special meaning for many.

Unmissable national parks in Tanzania

There’s a reason there are so many unmissable national parks in Tanzania. Here is a country where spectacular landscapes combine with epic wildlife encounters. These include a good number of national parks with the Big Five, alongside the delights of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Tanganyika.