TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK
The 2600 sq Km Tarangire National Park covers an area of open country dotted with the majestic baobab trees, acacias and palm trees. Tarangire is 2 hours' drive from Arusha town and Lake Manyara Park. The orange-hued landscape alternates between scrub, open plains, swamps and rivers, crossed by the Tarangire River.
During the hot dry season, the park is at its prettiest. Everything is coloured brown or orange; the baobabs, the massive elephants that cover themselves in the red earth to protect themselves from the flies and the heat. At this time, the concentration of animals in the park rivals that of the Ngorongoro Crater, as animals from as far away as Kenya travel to the Tarangire River’s cooling permanent waters. As a characteristic of the park as are the baobabs, the local Elephant population, estimated to be at about 5000, is Tarangire's pride and joy. Other animals include wildebeest, zebra, eland, oryx- all under the watchful eye of cheetahs, leopards and lions. The less-visited southern part of the park is covered by swamps, teeming with hippos and birdlife and by savannah plains, in which walking safaris can be arranged.
