​Overview – Nyerere NP (Selous)

Philip Briggs
Expert
By Philip Briggs

Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of many Bradt guidebooks to African destinations, including the guide to Tanzania.

Philip is a renowned Africa expert and author of the Bradt guidebook to Tanzania.

Philip is the author of the Bradt guidebook to Tanzania.

Nyerere National Park (formerly Selous GR) is Tanzania’s largest national park. The lifeblood of this wilderness is the mighty Rufiji river and network of interconnected lakes. This abundance of water attracts lots of wildlife in the Dry season from June through October. Game drives are most rewarding for predator sightings, but boat and foot safaris add a different dimension to your stay.

 
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Best Time to Go June to October
High Season June to October (The main tourist area gets crowded)
Size 30,893km² / 11,928mi²
Altitude 40-1,317m / 131-4,321ft
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Pros & Cons

  • Top wildlife viewing in the Dry season
  • Guided walks and boat safaris available
  • Lion are easily found at the lake shores
  • Excellent mid-range and luxury lodges and no large-scale accommodations
  • Hunting concessions make some animals skittish
  • The wildlife-viewing circuit is relatively small
  • Animals are scattered during the Wet season
  • Most lodges are closed from March to May

Nyerere NP Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding

Wildlife

The Rufiji River is teeming with hippo and crocodile, and the birdlife is fantastic. Lion sightings are very common as the opportunistic creatures tend to laze around the lakes waiting for animals coming to drink. One of the attractions of the park is the chance to encounter wild dog.

Scenery

The main wildlife-viewing circuit follows a string of five connected lakes fed by the Rufiji River. The Rufiji is one of Africa's great rivers, with palm fringed channels and swampy islets.

Weather & Climate

Nyerere NP experiences uniform temperatures throughout the year because of its equatorial location. The main variation is a slight dip in the heart of the Dry season (June to October), when the environment is slightly cooler. Either side of this, the weather is hot and humid in keeping with the local Wet season (November to May).

Best Time to Visit

The Dry season (June to October) is when you should travel to Nyerere, even though you'll be joining the crowds attracted by this period's clear blue skies. It's at this time animals converge on rivers and waterholes, and the dry bush is sparse enough for views of wildlife to be unobscured. If you do visit in the wetter months, be aware that numerous lodges close their doors from March to May.

Want to Visit Nyerere NP?

Nyerere NP Safari Reviews

  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
  • Wildlife
  • Scenery
  • Bush Vibe
  • Birding
Most Helpful Expert Review
Expert
Gemma Pitcher  –  
Australia AU

Gemma authored several Lonely Planet guidebooks, including the guides to Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.

My top tip for Tanzania
5/5

Nyerere National Park (Selous) is my favourite game area in Tanzania, and possibly the whole of Africa. The landscape, with its emerald-green swamplands, dead trees submerged in water and shaggy-topped palms, is ravishingly beautiful. You...

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Latest User Review
Krzysztof Poręba  –  
Poland PL
Reviewed: Feb 23, 2020
4/5

The Selous Park is beautiful. And so many of our dibrtch memories from Tanzania. Afebxha was waiting for us by changing the number of employees in the contract. It was only after our intervention that she confessed to guilty and we...

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