Hot Air Balloon Experience Serengeti –A Luxury Tanzania Safari Experience

Hot Air Balloon safaris in Serengeti National Park is one of the best ways to experience the park by seeing millions of wildlife from above on a hot air balloon.

This is such a unique experience as the balloons and their passengers rise early morning alongside the sun for great views that last a lifetime. Imagine floating above the Serengeti plains skimming treetops in complete silence whilst seeing wildlife on the ground below.

Hot air balloon experience flights last about an hour. Since 1989, balloon safaris has offered tourists the chance to spot animals from the skies especially the Great Wildebeest migration for a bird’s eye view.

Balloon flights run daily at 06:00 am from four launch sites within Serengeti National Park. One launch site is available all year round found close to the Seronera area.

Other launch sites are found in the Ndutu area available from December to March, in the western corridor from June to October, and in the northern Serengeti from July to October.

After the balloon safari experience, passengers gather, surrounded by the park’s lush plains, for a sparkling wine toast and an “Out of Africa” English-style breakfast.

The popular way of seeing wildlife in Tanzania is by game drives, however, the hot air balloon safari experience is a unique and rewarding way to see wildlife. A hot air balloon is one of a kind and offers the best opportunity to see wildlife from above.

The experience is amazing and so unique and family-friendly. On a visit to Serengeti National Park, it would be great to have the hot air balloon experience for an opportunity to see the large herds of wildebeest from above, the views are rewarding.

Although not cheap, it is worth undertaking the balloon safari and floats serenely over the treetops as the sun peaks over the horizon permitting you to experience the endless Serengeti plains.

More About Serengeti National Park

Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous African wildlife safari game drives destinations. The park is renowned for its large concentration of wildlife including the great migration which includes about two million wildebeest.

Serengeti is an almost endless grassy plain covering about 14,750 square kilometers with the oldest ecology in the country. This is the second-largest protected area in Tanzania after Selous Game Reserve.

The park is located in the northern corridor 7 hours drive from the tourist city of Arusha driving through the Lake Manyara region, Ngorongoro Conservation Area as well as the Serengeti National Park.

You also go through the Maasai warrior manyattas where cultural tourism is done. From the kopjes in the north to the acacia dotted endless plains to the south a stay in Serengeti is amazing as you can spend time in different points of the park and feel like it’s all a new experience.

Serengeti National Park borders the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the south and the Masai Mara National Reserve of Kenya in the North where the wildebeest also roam to.

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area has open plains with little dotted trees which attract highly nutritious grass which attracts wildebeest, especially in January for the calving season which takes about 2 months then after migrating back to the central Serengeti area when the newly born have the strength to walk for long distances.

What to see and do in Serengeti National Park

Being popular and known for being one of the seven natural wonders, there is a lot to do and see in Serengeti National Park. Here are the attractions and activities in Serengeti National Park;

• Wildlife and game drives

The park is home to large herds of wildlife like Buffaloes, gazelles, waterbucks, topis, oribi, zebras, wildebeest, dik-dik, and many others. Serengeti National Park ecosystem inhabits the largest number of lions, leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas in Tanzania.

Many buffaloes and elephants are found in the North West that is covered by Terminalia-combretum woodlands replaced the acacia woodlands. To best see all the wildlife in the park, you have to take game drives at least two to enjoy seeing the wildlife.

The other way of enjoying seeing wildlife in Serengeti is by taking a hot air balloon which is very amazing and offers a perfect ariel view of the park.

• Wildebeest

The Great Wildebeest Migration is an annual migration of giant herds of animals all through from Northern Tanzania to Kenya.

Each wildebeest migration constitutes over two million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles moving from Serengeti National Park of Tanzania and Masai Mara National Park of Kenya.

Wildebeest migration occurs in a regular pattern as thousands of the wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles move through the Serengeti Masai Mara ecosystem in search of green pasture.

With these large herds, this is the largest wildlife group you may ever see on an African safari, this is why it is one of the natural world’s greatest wonders.

February is the perfect month when the wildebeest can be seen in large herds altogether for the calving season. This is a highlight of the wildebeest migration along with the dramatic crossings of the Mara River.

Beyond Serengeti National Park are also various Tanzania safaris and with the much more connections with airlines through East Africa, you can have a customized trip with Uganda Wildlife tours, Kenya safari, or Rwanda gorilla safari in just a few days at an affordable price.