The annual wildebeest migration through the Serengeti and the Masai Mara attract visitors from around the world, who flock to the open plains to witness the largest mass movement of land mammals on the planet. More than a million animals make the seasonal journey to fresh pasture to the north, then the south, after the biannual rains. The sound of their thundering hooves, raising massive clouds of thick red dust, has become one of the legends of the Serengeti plains. The entire ecosystem thrives from the annual migration, from the lions and birds of prey that gorge themselves on the weak and the faltering to the gamut of hungry crocodiles that lie in patient wait at each river crossing for their annual feed.

But it’s not just the wildebeest who use the Serengeti as a migratory pathway. The adjacent reserves of Maswa and Ikorongo, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya all allow the animals and birds of the area a free range of movement to follow their seasonal migrations. Indeed, in the wake of the wildebeest migration, many of the less attention-grabbing features of the Serengeti are often overlooked. The park has varied zones in which each ecosystem is subtly different . Seronera in the centre of the park is the most popular and most easily visited area. The Grumeti River in the Western Corridor is the location for the dramatic river crossing during the wildebeest migration. Maswa Game Reserve to the south offers a remote part of the park rewarding in its game-viewing and privacy, and Lobo near the Kenyan border offers a change to see plentiful game during the dry season.

Aside from traditional vehicle bound safaris, hot-air ballooning over the Serengeti plains has become a safari rite-of-passage for travel enthusiasts. The flights depart at dawn over the plains and take passengers close over the awakening herds of wildebeest and zebra, gazelle and giraffe. The extra altitude allows guests to witness the striking stretches of plains punctuated only by kopjes. Up in the sky, you have Africa all to yourself.

The Serengeti
Probably the most famous National Park in Africa, the Serengeti is a huge tract of grassland that has been the location of countless wildlife documentaries.
The landscape is predominantly grassy plains, with occasional rocky outcrops and acacia woodland. The sheer number of plains animals attracts all types of predator, and the park is home to the ‘Big Five’. A stunning way to see game is by hot air balloon, as you drift in near silence above huge herds, but the prefered way of game viewing is from Land Rovers, since walking in the park is prohibited. The Serengeti is so large that 3 days is recommended as the minimum

NORTHERN REGION
amount of time in which to see all the park has to offer. A visit here is an amazing experience at any time as the landscape is wonderful and there are always resident herds in the park, though the seasons do have a strong influence on your experience.

For wildlife viewing the park is best visited between about November/December and May. Calving takes place around January/February. In the dry season many animals migrate to the Maasai Mara in Kenya.
The migration begins around May/June, and by the end of August most animals are either in the north of the park or in the Mara. They return to southern plains, leaving Kenya in mid-September to arrive in the Serengeti in great numbers by November, following the rainfall patterns to get to the freshest grass. The migration is one of the natural world’s greatest.

Loliondo
Loliondo is a private concession set in an area of outstanding natural beauty contiguous with the Serengeti National Park that forms its western boundary. Loliondo is in fact a Maasai communityowned area of land being used in partnership with a private safari company, which generates income for the local people. It is a landscape of varied habitats with sweeping grassy plains, acacia tree-lined water courses, rolling wooded hills and dramatic granite kopjes (rocky outcrops). As this is a completely private area, it is a superb place to really experience spectacles, with up to 2 million animals, mainly wildebeest and zebra. The column of animals can be up to 40km long, and predators lie in ambush at bottlenecks on the route, such as the Grumeti and Mara rivers, where the wildebeest congregate on the banks before attempting the crossing. The animals move in a roughly clockwise direction through the parks over the course of their journey, entering the Maasai Mara in Kenya before crossing into Loliondo and Ngorongoro Conservation areas towards the end of the year.
Have a look at our map to show you where you might want to be to see the best of the wildlife at various times of the year, then let us help you choose the type of accommodation which will suit you - either camping or in a lodge (also see page 6 for details).
Africa – totally removed from any other tourism.

Loliondo Camp is a luxury classic camp in colonial style, using large tents with en suite showers, chemical flush loos, comfortable beds with thick mattresses and lit by kerosene lamps. The tents are spread throughout the kopje area with the dining tent at the base of the main kopje. The camp is strategically moved from time to time in the interests of the environment and game migrations.

Loliondo specialises in providing personalised jeepbased game viewing and walking safari services for all guests, and offers privacy and freedom from the numbers of people found visiting the Serengeti. The Maasai will be your guides and they will take you on game drives and walks in the area, using the camp as your base. There are always resident animals here, and the migration tends to come through here in around late October to early December, greatly swelling the numbers of game. It is also possible to go out on mobile walking safaris with Maasai guides, who use their donkeys to transport the equipment.

These excursions can involve staying overnight in fly camps for 2 or 3 nights, before returning to the comfort of Loliondo Camp.
The camp is often closed in July and August.