Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park runs for roughly 2,850 square kilometres along the Tarangire River in northern Tanzania, and it works on a simple hydrological logic: for much of the year the river is the only permanent water for a considerable distance, so as the surrounding country dries out between about June and October, the game comes to it. The result is one of the densest dry-season elephant concentrations in East Africa, with herds moving through a landscape of ancient baobabs that gives the park a character quite unlike the open Serengeti plains. Buffalo, eland, oryx, lesser kudu and the fringe-eared oryx are all present, and the park's mix of swamp, woodland and savannah supports over 500 recorded bird species, which makes it a serious birding destination in its own right. It sits close enough to Arusha to open or close a northern-circuit itinerary, and it is consistently quieter than its better-known neighbours.