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Serengeti in January

January is when the herds settle on the southern short-grass plains and the first calves arrive. The festive peak ends in the first week, central camps drop to mid-season rates, and the north of the park is quiet and out of season.

If you only want the answer

January is a very good month for the southern Serengeti: the herds are on the plains around Naabi, the Gol and Simba kopjes and Ndutu, with early births and lions, cheetahs and hyaenas close by. The model gives 28.0°C days and 87 mm of rain over 15 days, mostly in short storms. The Christmas peak ends on 5 January at Lemala, and central camps are on mid-season rates from 6 January.

Serengeti weather in January: storms between two rains

The model gives January 28.0°C by day, 17.0°C at night and 87 mm of rain over 15 days, at a point about 25 km west of Seronera. January sits in the drier spell between the short and long rains, which is real but unreliable: the rain tends to come as short storms rather than long wet days. Measured nights are cooler than the model, around 13 to 16°C, and colder on the open plains.

The plains tracks stay firm between storms. The black-cotton soils around Ndutu and in the Western Corridor turn sticky after rain, so a drive that takes an hour in a dry spell can take much longer the morning after a storm. Monthly rainfall from the model is approximate.

The herds on the southern plains

In January the herds are on the southern short-grass plains around Naabi, the Gol and Simba kopjes and Ndutu, and the first calves are born ahead of the mid-February peak. Predator density on the plains is high: lions, cheetahs and hyaenas follow the herds, and the kopjes are where the named lion prides of TAWIRI's study area hold territory.

Know which side of the boundary you are on. Lake Ndutu and the Ndutu camps are in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, where NCAA fees apply, while the plains around Naabi and the Gol and Simba kopjes are inside the park. Serengeti Balloon Safaris flies in the Ndutu area from 20 December to 31 March, so January is one of the few months a balloon flight over the calving grounds is possible.

Rates drop after the first week

The festive peak ends early in the month: Lemala's high season runs to 5 January 2027 and Elewana's to 3 January. From 6 January Lemala Ewanjan in the Seronera valley is on its mid-season rate of US$427 per person sharing, and Elewana's Serengeti Migration Camp is on mid rates of US$808 from 4 January.

The south is the exception. Camps on the calving plains charge high-season rates now: Asilia's Namiri Plains in the east is at US$2,250 per person until 28 February, and Elewana's Serengeti Pioneer Camp near the Moru Kopjes is on its high rate of US$1,020 from 4 January to 28 February. In the north, Lemala Kuria Hills is on its low season from 6 January at US$520, a sign of how quiet the Mara River country is now. TANAPA's conservation fee is US$82.60 per adult per 24 hours, with VAT.

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