January

The Great Migration · Southern Serengeti and Ndutu · High confidence

The herds gather in the south

The columns arrive on the short-grass plains around Ndutu. The first calves usually drop in the last week of the month.

By January the herds have generally completed their move south and are spread across the short-grass plains of the southern Serengeti and the Ndutu area of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The grass here is short, mineral-rich and exactly what a heavily pregnant wildebeest needs.

Game viewing is excellent and the crowds are far lighter than in the July peak. Predators are already positioning themselves — lion prides on the kopjes, cheetah out on the open ground where they can run, and hyena clans working the edges.

If you want the calving season without the very peak of it, the last week of January is an underrated window.

Where to stay this month

Camps in the Ndutu area are the obvious choice. Several are mobile and set up only for the calving season, which is exactly what you want — they are where the animals are, not where a building happens to stand.

Plan a January safari

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