The northern circuit is Tanzania's most travelled safari route. Tarangire National Park, about two hours from Arusha, is known for large elephant herds and baobab woodland, especially in the dry season. Lake Manyara, at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment, combines groundwater forest with a shallow alkaline lake that attracts flamingos and other waterbirds.
The Ngorongoro Crater, the floor of a collapsed volcano about 600 metres deep, supports one of the densest concentrations of large mammals in Africa, including black rhino. Beyond it lies the Serengeti, roughly 14,750 square kilometres of savanna that hosts the Great Migration and year-round predator populations. Arusha National Park, a smaller park on the slopes of Mount Meru, often serves as a first or last stop.