Serengeti voted world's best safari

Six Tanzanian destinations in top 50 African safaris

Tanzania's Serengeti National Park has been voted the world's best safari destination in an online survey conducted by Safari Bookings, a leading website for African safari tours.

The Netherlands-based organisation based its findings on over 3,000 reviews from safari tourists as well as companies and experts working in the sector. The survey included a total of 138 parks from eight major safari countries including Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The director of Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) Allan Kijazi cited two main reasons why Serengeti was ranked in first place: its reputation as one of the best places “to see predators, including lions and crocodiles, in action” and the annual migration of 1.5 million wildebeest. Each year – generally some time between August and the end of October – herds of wildebeest migrate from Tanzania to Kenya, timed to coincide with the annual pattern of rainfall and grass growth.

However in 2014 they surprised environmentalists by leaving in May, and then this year in March, due to unusually dry conditions in the southern Serengeti. The wildebeest are joined by around 300,000 zebras, gazelles and other grazing animals.

In addition to the Serengeti, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, there are five other Tanzanian safari destinations in the top 50 list: Ruaha (10), Ngorongoro Crater (12), Selous (13), Katavi (22) and Tarangire (42).

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