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A herd of zebras crossing the plains, seen from the air

The endless plain

Serengeti

Serengeti comes from Maa, the Maasai language: siringet, "the land that goes on for ever". You understand the name when you arrive. It is nearly 15,000 square kilometres of plain with nothing to interrupt the view.

Area
14,750 km²
Established
1951
Status
UNESCO World Heritage
Nights we suggest
2 or 3

The great migration, month by month

More than a million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebra make a full circuit of the ecosystem each year, following the rain. It is not an event with a date: it is a continuous movement, and all that changes is where the herd is at any given moment.

From December to March the migration is on the southern plains, around Ndutu. February is the calving: roughly half a million calves are born in barely three weeks, and every predator in the park is behind them. It is the best time to see a hunt.

From April to May the long rains arrive and the herd starts moving west and north. It is the worst time to travel: many tracks become impassable and several camps close.

From June to July the action is in the western corridor and the first crossings of the Grumeti river. From July to October the herd is in the north and crosses the Mara river into Kenya: these are the crocodile crossings from the documentaries. It is high season, with everything that implies for prices and for vehicles.

In November they come back south with the short rains and the cycle starts again.

What to see outside migration season

The Serengeti does not empty when the herd leaves. The predators are resident: lions hold fixed territory and do not follow the wildebeest beyond it.

The centre of the park, Seronera, has one of the highest lion densities on the continent and water all year, so it works in any month. The kopjes, those granite outcrops rising out of the plain, are where they lie up, because from the top you see everyone coming.

It is also one of the best places in Africa for cheetah, which needs open plain to run, and for leopard in the acacias along the rivers.

The great migration

Where the herds are, month by month

Well over a million wildebeest, zebras and gazelles circle the ecosystem every year, following the grass. Pick a month and see where they usually are.

The herds move clockwise: from December to March they are on the southern plains and at Ndutu, in April, May and June they move up through the centre and the western corridor, between July and October they cross the Mara River, and in November they come back down the eastern side, past Lobo.

  • The herds, in the chosen month
  • Their route over the year
  • Border

January Calving

Southern plains and Ndutu

The herds graze the short grass of the south, between the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro area. Calving begins at the end of the month.

  1. January · Southern plains and Ndutu. The herds graze the short grass of the south, between the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro area. Calving begins at the end of the month.
  2. February · Ndutu. Calving month: close to half a million calves in three weeks, with lions, cheetahs and hyenas close behind. The best time of year to see a hunt.
  3. March · Southern plains. The calves now run with the herds. When the grass runs out and the long rains arrive, they start moving north-west.
  4. April · Central Serengeti. The long rains. The herds move up past Seronera and the Moru kopjes; the park is green and almost empty of vehicles.
  5. May · Centre to the western corridor. Columns of wildebeest miles long heading west. It is the rut: the bulls fight and you hear the herds long before you see them.
  6. June · Western corridor · Grumeti River. The first crossings, over the Grumeti River and past its crocodiles. Then the herds begin to head north.
  7. July · From the western corridor to the north. The herds leave the western corridor and move north. The Mara River crossings can begin at the end of the month, depending on the rain.
  8. August · Mara River · Kogatende and Lamai. Peak season for the Mara River crossings, on the border with Kenya. You watch them from the Tanzanian side, at Kogatende and Lamai.
  9. September · Mara River and the Maasai Mara. The crossings go on: the herds go back and forth across the river after the grass, on both sides of the border.
  10. October · Northern Serengeti. The last Mara crossings. With the first rains, the herds start back towards the south.
  11. November · Eastern Serengeti · Lobo. The short rains. The herds come down the eastern side, past Lobo, towards the new grass in the south.
  12. December · Central and southern Serengeti. The herds reach the southern plains. Everything is green and it is quiet, except over Christmas.
This is the route in a typical year. The herds follow the rain, and each year they run a few weeks early or late: when we plan your trip we tell you where they are.
A dark-maned lion resting in the shade
A lioness yawning beside her cubs
A male lion lying on the golden plain
Two lions asleep high in a tree, silhouetted against the sky
Wildebeest drinking at the Grumeti River in the Serengeti
Lion cubs on a kopje in the central Serengeti

Questions about Serengeti

When is the great migration in the Serengeti?

All year, because it is a continuous movement. What changes is the area: December to March on the southern plains (with calving in February), June to July in the western corridor and July to October in the north, where the Mara river crossings happen.

How many days should you spend in the Serengeti?

Two nights minimum. It is an enormous park and the internal distances are long: with a single night almost all of it goes on driving in and out.

Are you guaranteed to see lions in the Serengeti?

It is one of the likeliest places on earth. The Seronera area has a very high lion density and they are resident, so they do not depend on the migration.

Shall we build your safari through Serengeti?

Tell us how many of you there are and when you would like to go. We call you within 24 hours, and you book directly with your guide, with no agency in between.

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