Tanzania · Africa · southern hemisphere
Serengeti & Ngorongoro is at its best for hiking in June to September. Good but not prime in January and February.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildlife | 67 | 90 | 67 | 15 | 15 | 67 | 90 | 90 | 67 | 42 | 15 | 42 |
| Hiking | 68 | 66 | 40 | 6 | 13 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 87 | 44 | 21 | 23 |
No reliable monthly crowd data for this destination — the proxy used elsewhere did not pass its checks here, so nothing is shown rather than a guess.
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the year.
Two separate peaks, not one season — calving in the southern Serengeti in February, and the Mara River crossings from July into October. Pick which spectacle you came for, because they are five months and a long way apart
Guided only, on foot with an armed ranger, booked ahead. The Ngorongoro highlands hold the real walking.
March to May. The long rains turn the tracks to mud, the herds are strung out and moving northwest rather than doing anything dramatic, and a good number of the mobile camps simply pack up and move.
July through September for the river crossings, and again over Christmas and New Year
Drives are long and the distances between the Serengeti and Ngorongoro are real — this is hours in a vehicle, not a stroll. Walking safaris usually set a minimum age, often twelve.
The mobile tented camps follow the herds, which is the entire point — a permanent lodge in the central Serengeti is comfortable and may be nowhere near the animals in February. Ask where a camp will physically be in the month you are going, not where its office is.
The long rains make some tracks impassable and scatter the game away from water.Mar · Apr · May · Nov
Kept out of the score on purpose. Averaging a rare catastrophe into a monthly number would tell you something false; the warning is the honest form.
Walking here is guided and permitted, never casual. The Ngorongoro highlands are where the actual trekking is; the Serengeti plains are for driving.
These are affiliate links: we earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. Nothing on this page is chosen by who pays — not a score, not a month, not a warning.