The best developed of Tanzania’s tourism routes is known as the Northern Circuit. Here there’s the chance to see huge herds of wildebeest or flocks of brilliant pink flamingos emerging from the swirling mists of alkaline lakes which is quite a sight.

The main base for exploring the Northern Circuit is the pretty town of Arusha. The circuit includes many of the country’s most famous national parks, such as Serengeti, Arusha, Tarangire and Lake Manyara, as well as famous landmarks such as the Ngorongoro Crater, the Olduvai Gorge and Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Serengeti National Park:
Without doubt, Serengeti is the best known wildlife sanctuary in the world. It has unequalled beauty paralleled by its immense scientific value. It is the perfect safari paradise because of the concentration of wildlife especially the big cats. Even more famous is the annual migration whereby millions of wildebeest and as well as thousands of zebras move across into the other side of the plains in search of water and green pastures.

Ngorongoro Crater:
The Ngorongoro Crater is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. This natural amphitheatre covers an area of about 260 sq km - that’s 100 sq miles - and is home to up to 30,000 animals, almost half of them zebra and wildebeest. More than 100 species of birds not found in the Serengeti have been spotted here. Countless flamingos form a pink blanket over the soda lakes. The crater has been declared a World Heritage Site.

Tarangire National Park:
Close to Arusha, Tarangire National Park gets its name from the river that threads its way through the length of the reserve. It is famous for its dense wildlife population consisting of thousands of animals - wildebeest, zebra, eland, elephant, hartebeest, buffalo and oryx. It is quite a site to see them migrate from the dry Masai steppe to the Tarangire River looking for water. Lion, leopard and other predators follow the herds. Tarangire is also home to 550 varieties of bird.

Lake Manyara National Park:
Two famous spectacles in Lake Manyara National Park are the tree-climbing lions, which spend most of the day spread out along the branches of Acacia trees, and tree-climbing pythons. Nestling at the base of the Great Rift Valley escarpment, the park is noted for its incredible beauty. The lush forest is home to troops of baboons and blue monkeys. Further along, the forest opens up into woodlands, grassland, swamps and beyond, the soda lake itself is sanctuary to over 400 species of birds including flamingo, pelican, storks, sacred ibis, cormorants and Egyptian geese. The park is particularly noted for its huge herds of buffalo and elephant.