The Great Migration in Tanzania
Where the herds usually are in each month, and which part of the Serengeti to stay in for your travel dates.
How the migration works
The migration is not an event. It is a continuous, roughly circular movement of about 1.3 million wildebeest, together with several hundred thousand zebra and gazelle, around the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem. There is no start and no finish; the animals are somewhere in that circuit every day of the year.
Broadly: the herds calve on the short-grass plains in the south around February, move west and north as the grass is exhausted, cross the Grumeti in about June, reach the Mara River in the north from roughly July, and drift back south from late October when the short rains green the plains again.
These timings are approximate. When the rains come early or late, the herds can move up to three weeks ahead of or behind the usual pattern.
How we plan a migration safari
We book camps in the right part of the Serengeti for your month and explain your chances of seeing a river crossing before you book.
Month by month
The year, in order
- January The herds gather in the south Southern Serengeti and Ndutu · High confidence
- February Calving on the short-grass plains Ndutu and the southern plains · Very high confidence
- March Still south, and starting to move Southern and central Serengeti · Moderate confidence
- April On the move through the long rains Central and western Serengeti · Low confidence
- May Massing for the Grumeti Western Corridor · Moderate confidence
- June The Grumeti crossings Western Corridor and Grumeti River · Moderate confidence
- July North to the Mara River Northern Serengeti and Kogatende · Moderate to high confidence
- August Peak crossing season Northern Serengeti and the Mara · High confidence
- September Crossings continue Northern Serengeti · High confidence
- October Drifting south again Northern and eastern Serengeti · Moderate confidence
- November The long walk south Central and eastern Serengeti · Low to moderate confidence
- December Arriving on the calving grounds Southern Serengeti and Ndutu · Moderate to high confidence
- Great Migration
5 Days Serengeti Migration Safari
Ndutu or Northern Serengeti · Ngorongoro
- Great Migration
7 Days Serengeti Migration Safari
Arusha › Lake Manyara › 2 nights Ndutu › Central Serengeti › Ngorongoro
- Great Migration
9 Days Luxury Honeymoon Safari
3 nights Northern Serengeti › 2 nights Central Serengeti › Ngorongoro › 2 nights Tarangire
- Great Migration
14 Days Tanzania Photographic Safari
Arusha › 2 nights Tarangire › 2 nights Ngorongoro › 3 nights Central Serengeti › 5 nights Northern Serengeti
- Great Migration
- Safari + Zanzibar
16 Days Migration Safari & Zanzibar
Arusha › 2 nights Tarangire › 2 nights Ndutu › 4 nights Serengeti › Ngorongoro › 5 nights Zanzibar
Tell us your travel month
Your travel dates decide where in the Serengeti you should stay. Send us your dates and we will plan the route around them.