Visiting Tanzania in August: Climate, Animals and Visitor Numbers

Ask serious wildlife photographers when to shoot the Mara River crossings and many will say August. The evidence backs them up: crossings tend to be most frequent and steady now, with the bulk of the migration funneling through the northern Serengeti en route to Kenya. The dry, dusty conditions are a plus. Visibility is excellent, and animals become much easier to anticipate around water, since shrinking supplies pull wildlife back to the same dependable spots day after day. You pay for that predictability in crowds, though. Peak-season pricing applies, and the most popular crossing points see more vehicles than at any other time of year. Make crossing photography your priority and accept sharing a good vantage point with other vehicles, and August delivers some of the most dependable results of any month. Read our guide to photographing the migration, or browse our photographic safari itineraries.