Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, East Africa
The luxurious Tarangire Sopa Lodge , surrounded by rocky outcrops known as kopjes and ringed by ancient baobab trees, stands deep within the pristine and largely undiscovered wilderness that is Tarangire National Park. Offering 75 rooms, a swimming pool and a luxury dining room and bar, the lodge offers a welcome oasis in these semi-arid lands, which act as a backdrop to some of the largest migrations of animals in Africa.
The Tarangire National Park
Tarangire, named after the Tarangire River which runs through it, is an arid haven, peppered with ancient baobab trees, towering termite mounts, and home to huge herds of elephant. Only 30km from the Rift Valley escarpment, this national park falls outside the nutrient-rich volcanic belt and therefore its annual rainfall is very low (550mm). As a result, much of the national park is semi-arid, dominated by baobabs, acacias and Doum Palms, often festooned with the nests of African palm swifts.
Location: Tanzania luxury safari lodge
Tarangire Sopa Lodge is situated inside Tarangire National Park in the north of Tanzania. From Arusha town, the drive is around 2 hours (120 km) on a good tarmac road. If you wish to arrive by air, a light aircraft can be chartered to fly into the Park. Tarangire Safari Lodge is just 10km away from the park airstrip. We are within easy driving distance of many of Tanzania's famous parks on the northern safari circuit.
• Lake Manyara National Park: 90 km (about 1.5 hr)
• Ngorongoro Crater and Conservation Area: 150 km km (about 2.5 hrs)
• Serengeti National Park: 295 km km (about 6 hrs)
• Arusha National Park: 170km (about 3 hrs)
The lodge can be reached from the following major airports.
• Arusha airport (for domestic flights) 110km, 2 hours
• Kilimanjaro International Airport (served by KLM, Ethiopian Airlines, and Condor Air) 165km, 3 hrs
• Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi, Kenya) 400km, 6-7 hrs
The Tarangire National Park lies at the core of the much larger Tarangire Conservation Area (TCA), which extends across the Maasai Steppes. This area was once used for trophy hunting until it was restored to the traditional Maasai owners in the late 1990s.
Your Tanzania luxury lodge safari
Tarangire is famous for its large herds of elephants (there are over 3,000 elephant in the park), also for its large numbers of lions (which can often be seen digging for water in the dry riverbeds), leopards, African buffalos, and lesser and great kudus. Tarangire is also world-renowned for its birds, boasting some 450 recorded species. Of the 60 raptor species that occur in Tanzania, 49 occur in Tarangire. What is more, the national park's open habitat (especially in the northern sector), dotted with leafless trees makes for ideal bird-watching conditions.
Tarangire Sopa luxury Safari wildlife highlights
Plains game is abundant in the dry East Africa season. East Africa mammals include lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant, zebra, lesser kudu, eland, and buffalo. Birds: Tarangire national park offers more than 450 species of birds.
When to visit Tarangire Safari Lodge
Tarangire Sopa Lodge is open all year round and offers plentiful game viewing experiences in all seasons. Perhaps the best time to visit Tarangire, however, is in the East Africa dry season (July to October), especially to see large numbers of ungulates (at this time, many ungulates in the more famous Serengeti have migrated north to Kenya). Second only to the Ngorongoro Crater as a dry-season (June/July) sanctuary for vast herds of migratory creatures, the national park's wildlife tend to follow clearly defined seasonal patterns.
First to move north-east out of the national park, often as far as Lake Natron, are the zebras and wildebeests, which begin their trek in October. After them, trek the gazelles, buffaloes, elands, oryxes and hartebeests. Finally, the elephants move out of the national park. The Defassa waterbucks, impalas, giraffes, lesser kudus, Kirk's dik and warthogs, meanwhile, remain resident. The return of Tarangire's migratory species begins in June and July; firstly with the oryxes and elands, then the elephants; and finally, the zebras and wildebeest.
Accommodation: Tanzania luxury safari lodge
The lodge offers 75 spacious rooms, all with a private lounge and mini bar. Each fully-carpeted room offers 2 queen-size beds with mosquito nets, ceiling fans and a private balcony. 4 rooms are suited to the physically challenged. Services include: laundry, hair dryer, mini bar).
Dining and bars: Tanzania luxury safari lodge
There is a large airy dining room with both inside and outside seating. BBQ and themed dinners are offered. The comfortable bar is adjacent to reception.
The Tarangire Sopa menu will typically include a wide selection of East Africa, Tanzania and traditional safari choices as well as numerous international choices.
Conferences and events: Tanzania luxury safari lodge
Tarangire Sopa Lodge offers a conference facility and a range of incentives that include: bush breakfasts, lunches and dinners, Swahili nights, African nights, sundowners and gala dinners.
Weddings and honeymoons at Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Tarangire Sopa Lodge makes an ideal Tanzania wedding destination.
Child-friendly facilities at Tarangire Sopa Lodge
Children are most welcome (family accommodation is provided) and children's meals and babysitting are offered.
Tanzania luxury lodge safari experiences in Tarangire
Typical Tanzania safari experiences at Tarangire Sopa include: safari game drives in especially adapted 4WD safari vehicles (with professionally trained Tanzania safari guides), safari bush breakfasts, lunches and dinners; cocktails around the lodge safari campfire and guided safari walks through the bush. Tarangire Sopa also offers ornithological tours, cultural performances and visits to the local Maasai people of Tanzania. Walking tours and night game drives can also be enjoyed in the larger Tarangire Conservation Area, which is immediately adjacent to the national park.
Tarangire Sopa Lodge • Tanzania National Park Safari Lodges
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