Safari to Serengeti West

vast herds passing through on their way north

Serengeti West, commonly referred to as the ‘Western Corridor’, follows the course of the Grumeti River from the central part of Serengeti for 100km out towards Lake Victoria.

It’s a pretty area with a reasonable range of resident wildlife year round, but is most commonly visited during Apr-Jun then the main migration herds tend to pass through on their way north.

Wildebeest migration

This Serengeti West area tends to host the migration during the Apr-Jun period, when the herds are moving northwards.

Usually during April the herds are transiting from the Ndutu and Moru Kopjes areas, northwest through the Mbalageti Hills, eventually spilling out across the plains of the Western Corridor during Apr-May.

As the wildebeest graze their way forward, they encounter the Grumeti Stream, which usually pushes them in an easterly direction for a while before they take the plunge and cross the water. This may not be quite the same level of spectacle as the crossings on the Mara River during Jul-Oct, but it can still make for an impressive sight as there’s still plenty of crocodiles in this modest stream.

After that they tend to cut north into the forest of the Northern Corridor, disappearing from this area during June.

Outside this migration season, notably during the Jul-Oct dry season, the Western Corridor becomes a relatively quiet backwater but with enough resident wildlife to remain interesting.

Traffic avoidance

Unfortunately the Serengeti West area is poorly geared up to handle and disperse traffic flows, since it is traversed by a single main road. Although this is a dirt track inside the national park, it’s still a major thoroughfare, which is used by through traffic heading out to the towns around Lake Victoria. Unfortunately the network of smaller safari tracks on either side are rarely sufficient to keep you off this main road for very long.

During the migration season the through traffic on this main road is swelled by safari vehicles, notably those which pour out from the busy central areas in search of the herds.

It’s pretty difficult to avoid these scenes and provide a genuine quality safari experience in this area. The best option is to stay at one of the better camps in the area and rely on the detailed local knowledge of the guides.

As always, it’s very much up to you to make it clear to your guide quite how important avoiding other vehicles is to you.

Serengeti West tends to feature in a relatively low proportion of trips, mainly due to the fact that the migration window here is quite slim and the attractions of the area at other times are limited.

The usual stay duration is 2-3 nights.

Seasonality

This Serengeti West area tends to be of most interest during the Apr-Jun period, when the migration herds tend to pass through. The weather conditions in April are typically pretty difficult, it is the rainiest month of the year. But through May the situation usually improves significantly and by June the dry season should be well underway.

The other period of modest interest in Serengeti West is the Jul-Oct dry season, when the weather should be very reliable and the resident wildlife should be relatively accessible.

Getting around

The majority of people visiting Serengeti West do so as part of a guided overland safari, so they travel to their camp and around the area in their private vehicle.

A very few people visit Serengeti West in isolation, flying in and out of the airstrip here. In this case they travel around the reserve with a vehicle and guide from their camp.

Where to stay

The majority of visitors to the Serengeti West area stay in just one camp, usually spending 1, 2 or occasionally 3 nights in the area.

The area contains just one genuinely high quality permanent property, the well-respected Grumeti Tented Camp.

There are three permanent mid-range properties, the reasonably pleasant Mbalageti Serengeti, the rather dated Kirawira Camp and the much larger Lahia Tented Lodge.

During the migration season a number of mobile tented options move into the area, including the rather pricey Serengeti Under Canvas West Camp and Legendary Serengeti West Camp, plus the more sensibly priced Nomad Mbalageti Camp, Ubuntu West Camp and Asanja Grumeti Camp.

a slightly tricky area to avoid the crowds