ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK
Location: 40-minute drive from Arusha
Size: 542 square kilometers
What to do: game drives, walking safaris, canoeing
What you might see: buffalo, warthogs, flamingos (sometimes numbering in the thousands), waterbuck, giraffes, dik-dik, blue monkeys
Known for: great views of Mt. Meru and, when the sky is clear, Mt. Kilimanjaro; also the only place in Tanzania to find black-and-white colobus monkeys
Good time to go: year-round
LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK
Location: just outside of Mto wa Mbu
Size: 330 square kilometers (200 of which is lake when water levels are high)
What to do: game drives, canoeing, forest walks
What you might see: blue monkeys, buffaloes, wildebeest, zebras, elephants, mongoose
Known for: tree-climbing lions
Good time to go: July to October for viewing large animals; November to June for bird watching
SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK
Location: along Tanzania’s northern border with Kenya
Size: 14,763 square kilometers
What to do: game drives, hot air balloon rides
What you might see: lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, rhinos, hyena, zebra, wildebeest, 500 bird species
Known for: the annual wildebeest migration
Good time to go: December through July to follow the migration; June through October to see predators
TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
Location: about 75 miles southwest of Arusha
Size: 2,850 square kilometers
What to do: game drives, walking safaris, cultural tours
What you might see: elephants, wildebeest, zebra, impala, gazelle, eland, lions, leopards, tree-climbing pythons
Known for: huge herds of elephants—sometimes numbering into the hundreds
Good time to go: year-round; June to September is best for seeing large numbers of animals
NGORONGORO CRATER
Location: between Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks
Size: about 20 kilometers wide; 260 square kilometers
What to do: game drives, walking safaris, cultural tours
What you might see: elephants, lions, wildebeest, ostriches, impala, gazelle, cheetah
Known for: one of the few places to spot black rhinos
Good time to go: year-round
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