Tarangire National Park covers an area of approximately 2,600km2 and is caught between the Maasai Steppe and the Great Rift Valley lakes in the north and west.  The northern part is largely dominated by the perennial Tarangire River; which flows through most of the north until reaching lake Burungi. The south has a series of “swamps” which dry into plains during the dry season.

Tarangire is believed to have the highest concentration of elephants in the world, their numbers range in the order of close to 3,000. Within a few hours of driving through the park, you will come across hundreds of elephants.

In the dry season, animals gravitate towards the two main sources of water in the park: the swamps and the Tarangire river. During this season the park has a very high concentration of wildlife and ranks only behind Serengeti for wildlife variety.  During the wet seasons, the concentration of animals is slightly reduced because animals are less constricted in where they find water, so they disperse across the Maasai Steppe.