Serengeti is the largest and oldest of the national parks in Tanzania lying on a high plateau between Lake Victoria in the west and the rift valley escarpment in the east. It is also a

UNESCO World Heritage Site

. Its name is derived from the Maasai word Siringit meaning endless plains. To the north is the Maasai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya, to the east is Ngorongoro Conservation Area the nearby Olduvai Gorge where the fossilized remains of several species of hominid have been unearthed.

The largest concentration of wildlife in the world is to be found in the Serengeti. When the grassland loses its green lush in June/July, more than one million wildebeest, 200,000 zebras and 300,000 Thomson gazelle begin the world’s largest mammalian migration of 800 km. By Sept the bulk of the migration has reached the north west part of the park and the Maasai Mara in Kenya and in November the herds turn back towards the south east of the Serengeti where they remain until the long rains in April

From Dec to March the wildebeest give birth to half a million calves. The timing of the migration varies from year to year and depends on the rains. Approximately 3 million animals and about 500 different bird species live in this national park – the world’s highest animal biomass. The terrain of the park varies from: short and long grass, open plains in the south, the acacia savannah in the central area, the hilly, more densely-wooded northern sector, and the extensive woodland and black clay plains, dominated by a central range of mountains in the western corridor. The plains are dotted with rocky outcrops known as “Kopjes.” Several rivers run through the park, notably: the Seronera River in the central area, the Grumeti river in the western corridor, and the Mara River in the north