The name Serengeti comes from the Maasai word “Siringeti” referring to an “Endless Plain”. As you stand on the Southern grass plains, you experience this vastness, and can witness one of the greatest concentrations of plain animals left on earth. The plains were formed 3-4 Million years ago when ash blown from Volcanic mountains of Ngorongoro highlands. The thick layer of ash preserved traces of early man, and established the rich soil which supports the growth of short grasses in Southern plains. From this early beginning, man and wildlife have shared this magical place.

In recognition of the need to preserve this special area, The Central Serengeti was declared a Game Reserve in 1929.

In 1951, the Reserve became Tanganyika’s first National Park, and in those days included the Ngorongoro Crater. Further alteration in 1959 resulted in the Park boundaries you see today. Part of the Serengeti plains and the highlands were designated to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, while extensions to the North and South were included to provide more protection to Migratory animals. Covering approximately 14,763 Square Kilometres, the Park is roughly the size of Northern Ireland or Connecticut, making it Tanzania’s second largest national park.

The Park is the Centre of the Serengeti ecosystem as the core area. Roughly defined by the annual Wildebeest Migration, the Serengeti ecosystems is expansive – and area of approximately 25,000 – 30,000 Square Kilometres. It is the combination of Serengeti National Park with its buffer zones –Ngorongoro Conservation Areas, four Game Reserves, one Game Controlled Area and Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve – that protects the largest single movement of wildlife on earth.

The Serengeti was first inhabited by the ancient hunter gatherers and more recently pastoralists. The plains were controlled by the Maasai. There are early Maasai rock paintings still visible at Moru and a special rock used for making different sound (Gong! Gong!). The colonist who arrived by the early 1900’s found a land virtually untouched, and exploited it for exceptional hunting opportunities, particularly Lion, Leopard and Buffalo. Serengeti offers more than just an annual migration. Its colourful topography of Mountains, Rolling Hills, Rivers and Plains provide year-round habitat for many of the Serengeti’s wildlife species.