Big Five Safari Tanzania: Where to See All Five Animals

The Big Five at a Glance

Animal	Best place in Tanzania	How likely
Elephant	Tarangire, in the dry season	Almost certain on any northern safari
Buffalo	Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire, Serengeti	Almost certain
Lion	Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater	Very likely over a few days
Leopard	Central Serengeti around Seronera	Good with two or more nights there, never promised
Black rhino	Ngorongoro Crater	Possible, usually at a distance

Why These Five?

The name comes from big-game hunting. The Big Five were the animals hunters on foot thought most dangerous to track, not the five largest. Hippo and giraffe are both bigger than a leopard and don't make the list. The term outlived the hunting and is now a wildlife watcher's checklist.

Where to See Each One

Elephant: Tarangire

In the dry months, from June to October, elephants come to the Tarangire River from a wide area around the park. Up to 3,000 can gather there, often in family herds that walk right past the vehicle. Elephants are common in the Serengeti too, and the Ngorongoro Crater has a small group of old bulls with heavy tusks.

Buffalo: Ngorongoro Crater

The crater floor holds thousands of buffalo, and you will almost certainly see herds on any game drive there. They are just as common in Tarangire and the Serengeti. An old bull on its own, the kind guides call a "dagga boy", is worth a closer look.

Lion: Serengeti

The Serengeti has one of Africa's largest lion populations, often put at around 3,000. Prides hold territory on the open plains and around the kopjes, the granite outcrops lions use as lookouts. The crater has several prides of its own, including black-maned males, and Lake Manyara is known for lions that climb trees.

Leopard: Central Serengeti

Leopard is the one that keeps people guessing. They are solitary, mostly active at night and spend the day in trees or long grass. The Seronera valley in the central Serengeti is the best area in Tanzania, because its river is lined with sausage and acacia trees that leopards rest in. Two or three nights there improve your odds a great deal. In the crater, leopards live in and around the Lerai Forest but are rarely seen.

Black Rhino: Ngorongoro Crater

Poaching took Tanzania's black rhino close to extinction. The crater's population, now over 30 animals, is protected around the clock, and it is the most reliable place in the country to see one. Even there, rhinos often keep to the far side of the floor, so binoculars help. A few live in the Serengeti around the Moru Kopjes, but sightings are rare.

Best Time for a Big Five Safari

The dry season, June to October, is the strongest window. The grass is short, the bush is thin and animals stay close to water, which makes leopard and rhino easier to spot. January and February are a good second choice: the southern Serengeti is full of predators following the calving herds, and the crater is good all year. In the long rains of April and May, roads get muddy and long grass hides animals, but you have the parks almost to yourself. For the full calendar, see the best time to visit Tanzania.

How Many Days You Need

Plan on six or seven days on the Northern Circuit. A common route is a day in Tarangire, two or three nights in the central and northern Serengeti, and a full morning on the crater floor on the way back. Shorter trips can still find all five, but with less time in the Serengeti, leopard becomes the one most people miss.

• 7 Day Tanzania Safari: Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire covers all three parks.
• 7 Day Glimpse of Northern Tanzania adds the Mara River in the dry season.
• 12 Day Predators and Prey Safari gives more time for leopard.
• Short on time? A Ngorongoro Crater day trip from Arusha is the best single day for the Big Five.

What About the Southern Parks?

Nyerere and Ruaha have big lion prides, wild dogs, elephants and buffalo, and very few vehicles. Rhino sightings there are extremely rare, though, so the south suits a second safari or a predator trip rather than a Big Five checklist. See Ruaha and Nyerere.

Tips for Seeing All Five

• Tell your guide early that the Big Five matter to you, so they plan the crater and Seronera days around them.
• Be at the crater gate when it opens. The first hours on the floor are the quietest, before most vehicles come down.
• Bring good binoculars, at least 8x42. Rhinos and resting leopards are often far off.
• Use your time in the Serengeti. Full-day drives with a picnic lunch cover far more leopard country than two short drives.
• Keep the rest in view. Cheetah, hyena, wild dog and the migration herds are often the sightings people remember most.

Tanzania or South Africa for the Big Five?

South Africa's private reserves, such as the Sabi Sand next to Kruger, are known for close leopard and rhino sightings. Tanzania wins on wide-open plains, lion numbers and the Great Migration. Our Kruger vs Serengeti comparison goes through the differences.

Either way, nobody honest can promise all five. They are wild animals. What a week in the dry season with time in the crater and at Seronera gives you is good odds.

Want to plan around the Big Five? Tell us your dates and we'll build the route and timing for the best odds.