The Serengeti is arguably the best-known wildlife spectacle on the planet. Everything that applies to the Masai Mara – its northern extension – applies here, from the scale of the great migration to the ease of sighting predators.
Except that the Serengeti, at nearly 15,000 sq km, is nearly ten times bigger, which means that its plains are that much more ‘endless’ and there is a greater habitat variety. It also means that visitors are a little thinner on the ground than in the Mara. The centre of the park, around Seronera, is often busy but private concessions in the north and west offer more exclusive options.
Ngorongoro Crater sits a short drive to the east, still within the Serengeti Conservation Area. This volcanic caldera encloses 250 sq km of plains, forest and lakes, and harbours an improbable concentration of wildlife – including lions, elephants and black rhinos. Such riches draw the crowds, and the place can sometimes seem like a wild zoo.
But should your lifetime’s safari-going be confined to a single day-trip, then it should probably be here.