The wildebeest crossing of the Mara River in the Serengeti National Park is one of the most spectacular wildlife events on the planet. This natural phenomenon occurs as part of the Great Migration, an annual migration of millions of wildebeest, zebras, and other herbivores in search of food and water. Here’s some information about this incredible event:

Timing: The timing of the wildebeest river crossings can vary from year to year, but they typically take place between July and October. The exact timing can depend on weather conditions and the movement of the herds.

Location: The Mara River is the primary river where these dramatic crossings occur. It runs through the northern part of the Serengeti in Tanzania and into Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. The crossing points often change from year to year, as they depend on the location of the migrating herds and the water levels in the river.

Dangers: The river crossings are incredibly perilous for the animals. Crocodiles lie in wait, ready to snatch a meal as the wildebeest and zebras struggle across the fast-flowing, crocodile-infested waters. The banks of the river are often steep and muddy, making it difficult for the animals to climb out. Many are injured or killed during these crossings.

Spectacle: From a wildlife viewing perspective, witnessing a Mara River crossing is a breathtaking experience. It’s a true spectacle of nature, with thousands of animals rushing to the river, the chaos and drama of the crossing itself, and the predators lurking nearby.

Safaris: To witness the Mara River crossings, many visitors go on guided safaris in the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara. Experienced guides and drivers know the best spots to view the crossings and can provide valuable insights into the animals’ behavior and the ecological importance of the event.

Itinerary in Glance

1 night in Arusha, 1 night in Tarangire, 1 night in Central Serengeti, 2 nights in Northern Serengeti, 1 night in Ngorongoro crater.

Day 1 – Arrival Day: Kilimanjaro International Airport – Arusha

Day 2 – Arusha – Tarangire

Day 3 – Tarangire to Central Serengeti

Day 4 – Central Serengeti to Northern Serengeti

Day 5 – Northern Serengeti

Day 6 – North Serengeti – Ngorongoro highland Area

Day 7 – Ngorongoro crater tour back to Arusha

Day 1: Arrival to Tanzania

Arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), where you will meet an Kiliholidays representative, and transfer to the Tulia hotel and Spa (https://www.tuliahotelandspa.com/ ). The hotel will provide all the essentials for a comfortable stay: cozy rooms, hot water, polite staff, a swimming pool, and Internet access. In the evening there will be a briefing with Mack, who will also make sure you are ready to begin the safari. Bed and Breakfast

Day 2: Arusha – Tarangire Park

Tour Briefing

Unless your arrival time yesterday allowed time for your safari briefing, then this will take place after breakfast. We will provide you with all the essential information, before we set off westwards to our first safari destination, Tarangire National Park. We will take our lunch, embark on a game drive and spend the night there.

Journey: (morning) Arusha to Tarangire National Park

Our two-hour (130km) journey takes us westwards from Arusha. Along the route, your eyes will be opened to all the colours and character of Tanzania: perhaps some Maasai herdsmen driving their flocks of goats to new pastures. You’ll get to know your driver-guide, amazed at his depth of knowledge as he effortlessly answers all your questions.

In the morning you will start your safari with a drive to the Tarangire National Park. The park, roughly the size of Luxemburg, covers an area of approximately 2,600 km². The landscape of savannah, seasonal swamps and giant baobab trees is home to Masai giraffes, buffaloes, hartebeest, eland, fringe-eared oryx, the weird-looking long-necked gerenuk and over 550 species of birds. But it is the elephants, Tarangire is famous for and the park, where herds of up to 300 animals roam, is probably one of the best places in East Africa to see them and to get close to these giant creatures. After an extensive game drive. Overnight at Farm of Dreams Lodge (https://farmofdreamslodge.com/ ). Lunch; Dinner

Day 3 – Tarangire – Serengeti

Journey: (morning) Tarangire to Serengeti National Park (afternoon)

With Serengeti as our destination, and with your head full of magical memories of Manyara, we set off to the north and west, a 5-hour journey of around 222km, following the famous Rift Valley. On the journey, you will be enchanted by the colors of everyday Tanzanian life, the different faces of the tribesmen, their herds, the bustle of the transport, the vibrant roadside stalls and markets. Soon, however, the human habitation gives way to the Serengeti plains. On arrival, we will enjoy our lunch.

Day’s Highlight

Here’s a National Park which will offer you a whole variety of wildlife surprises over the next few days, but perhaps today’s highlight – certainly for first-time visitors – will simply be the Serengeti terrain itself. The sheer vastness, as the plains roll away in front of you into eternity, will leave you with a sense of awe.

Safari in Serengeti National Park

At last! Serengeti, the incomparable wonder of Tanzania, will be the stage for the natural animal theatrics which will be performed over the next few days. Your game drive here combines the known with the unknown, the certainty that you will be amazed with the uncertainty of exactly what you will see and when. Changing light, a changing cast of animal actors, ensuring that at every turn there is a new experience. Snap off some memorable photos, but don’t forget to simply take a deep breath and enjoy nature in its real-time, raw beauty. Overnight at Robin safari Camp (https://robinsafaricamp.com/ ). Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 4 – Central Serengeti – Northern Serengeti

Today on our trip-of-a-lifetime we turn north, driving to the very northern edge of the Serengeti, our world-famous national park and – of course – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Journey: Central to Northern Serengeti

After breakfast, our journey from Central Serengeti to Northern Serengeti will take around 5 ½ hours (155km), with plenty of changing landscapes and wildlife highlights to see along the route.

Day’s Highlight

The changing landscapes of Northern Serengeti and the wildlife surprises it will almost certainly provide. There are no guarantees, but a rhino sighting cannot be ruled out!

Afternoon game-Drive in Northern Serengeti National Park

The Northern Serengeti is a land of open woodland, extending from the Seronera in the south to the Mara river in the north, marking the frontier with neighboring Kenya. During your time here, you can get to grips with a whole new set of exotic names: Bolongonja, Kogatende, Lamai and of course, the legendary Mara river.

We are now following in the footsteps of the Great Migration, great herds of thousands of zebra and wildebeest getting ready to cross the Mara into Kenya, and back again. On a daily basis, crossings cannot be guaranteed, but our driver-guides know the most likely places to witness them, one of Nature’s most awe-inspiring sights. Patience is required! And if you’re not lucky enough to witness a crossing, there’s always tomorrow; and in Northern Serengeti, plenty more to see today. Overnight at Mara Heritage Camp (https://heritagecampsandlodges.com/heritage-mara-kogatende/ ). Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 5 – Northern Serengeti

Day’s Highlight

If you’re lucky today, perhaps a rare, black rhino might cross your path…

Morning Safari (Game Drive) in Northern Serengeti

As you awake for a second day in Northern Serengeti, you can contemplate that parts of this northern area can easily match the Southern Serengeti for the abundance of wildlife viewing, especially between July and October. After your breakfast, you will embark with your driver-guide on a full-day game drive, looking out for elephant and buffalo, eland and gazelle. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to spot something really special: perhaps a cheetah, or even a rare black rhino, of which a small population are resident here.

Afternoon Safari (Game Drive) in Northern Serengeti

Depending on what your driver-guide found for you yesterday and this morning, this afternoon we’ll set out to see something new. If a Mara River crossing has escaped you, perhaps the conditions this afternoon will suggest that a crossing could take place. Our driver-guides have intimate knowledge of where and when they might occur. As well as the migrating herds, the Northern Serengeti is an area where you might easily see giraffe, elephant and dik-dik: with many resident species, there’s never a dull moment. Overnight at Mara Heritage Camp (https://heritagecampsandlodges.com/heritage-mara-kogatende/ ). Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 7 – Northern  Serengeti – Ngorongoro

Today our adventure takes us out of the Serengeti National Park and leads us to another of Tanzania’s true wonders, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. With its wildlife-filled crater, Ngorongoro may be difficult to pronounce, but with its wildlife-filled volcanic crater it is easy to admire. Unsurprisingly, this is yet another of our country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Journey: Serengeti National Park to Ngorongoro Conservation Area

After a morning game drive and lunch, this afternoon we will head south-east towards Ngorongoro, a distance of 145km which will take us around 4 ½ hours.

Day’s Highlight

Today, we will get our first sight of the spectacular, incomparable Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and the heart of the Conservation Area of the same name. But before that, we have another morning game drive in amazing Serengeti, marveling at its animal inhabitants. Another day of adventure, another day to enjoy the wildlife.

Morning Safari in Northern Serengeti/ Afternoon Safari (Game-drive) in Central Serengeti

Before leaving the Northern Serengeti, we take the opportunity this morning to enjoy another game drive in this incredible location. This allows us further time to wonder at the migratory herds and the dangers and challenges they face each year in their battle for survival. As well as the herd animals, you can look to the skies, perhaps finding a majestic martial eagle or one of the other birds that populate this area. As well as the thousands of migrating animals, this area also has a good population of resident wildlife, so you will never be disappointed. In the afternoon, we take the short drive to the central part of Serengeti, where after lunch a game-drive will help us explore further this busy area. Finally, you will go to your chosen accommodation for relaxation and your evening meal. Overnight at Marera Valley lodge (https://www.bougainvilleagroup.com/marera-valley-lodge/  ). Breakfast; Lunch; Dinner

Day 7 – Ngorongoro crater tour – Arusha

Journey: Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

After our morning visit to the incomparable crater – see below – and then lunch, we will have a 4-hour journey, covering the 250km back to Kilimanjaro International Airport.

Day’s Highlight

Like nothing else on Earth, the stunning crater of Ngorongoro is a unique home for many, many species of Tanzania’s wildlife. With some luck, you may even see a black rhino here.

Safari in Ngorongoro Crater

From our accommodation, we set off after breakfast, a 6am departure to reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them.

The crater has a population of around 120 lions, with well-defined territories; 15,000 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and around 50 black rhino. Many wildebeest and other herd animals are resident, benefiting from the many sources of year-round waters and are boosted by some migrators in season. Buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also present in numbers. Hippos can be found in pools and swampland and highland birdlife is colourful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the crater floor. Arrive to Arusha in the evening and overnight at your hotel of choice. Breakfast; Lunch

Safari price included:

• Camping safari according to the itinerary
• Transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle
• Professional, English-speaking guide
• Professional, English-speaking safari cook
• Overnight stays in safari tents
• Camping equipment (tents, sleeping mats, chairs, tables etc.)
• Meals according to the itinerary
• Mineral water and soft drinks throughout the tour;
• All mentioned activities
• All National Park fees
• Sleeping bag
• Thermos with hot tea/coffee;
• Medical kit;
• Binocular (1 per SUV);
• Wet wipes.
• Flying Doctors insurance (AMREF) during the safari

Safari price excluded:

• Flights
• Accommodation before and after the safari
• Pick-up from Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO)
• Optional activities
• Alcoholic
• Visa fees
• Tips to your safari guide and cook
• Personal spending money for souvenirs etc.
• Travel insurance