The quiet side of the park
Lobo lies in the eastern part of Serengeti National Park, north of Seronera in country that is hillier and more wooded than the plains, with granite outcrops and valleys between them. TANAPA operates an all-weather airstrip here — the brochure lists Lobo as the airstrip for the east of the park — and a public campsite that the authority says needs no booking.
Its place in the year is the least advertised phase of the migration. The herds move down the eastern side of the ecosystem on the return leg south, through the Lobo and Loliondo country, and that phase attracts a fraction of the attention that the Mara crossings do. In practice that often means the same animals, a shorter drive from the centre, and very few other vehicles.
What the country is like
Broken woodland and rocky hills rather than open grass. The Serengeti’s altitude range runs from 1,100 to 2,000 metres and this is the higher, greener end of it. Resident game — lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe — holds here year-round, and the kopjes and valleys give a landscape with foreground in it, which the southern plains largely do not.
TANAPA lists walking safaris in the eastern part of the park, accompanied in its wording for the Serengeti by a skilled armed park ranger, and balloon flights operate over the eastern Serengeti among other parts. See walking safaris and balloon safaris.
Why it is under-used, and whether that should change
Lobo’s problem is scheduling rather than quality. A standard Serengeti itinerary either stays in the centre or flies north for the crossings, and the eastern woodlands are neither. The result is a part of the park with good resident game, a genuine migration phase and hardly any pressure on it.
The argument against is also honest: if a trip has three nights in the Serengeti and the herds are in the north in a crossing month, the north is the right answer. Lobo earns its place on a longer trip, on a trip in the months when the eastern route is active, or on any trip where the traveller would rather have a quiet sighting than a certain one.
Night game drives are not run inside Serengeti National Park anywhere, including here — the night game drive guide sets out where in Tanzania they are permitted.
What is not published
TANAPA names Lobo as an airstrip location and a campsite location. It publishes no description of the valley itself, no boundaries for the area and no seasonal expectation for it. The characterisation above follows from the park’s own regional descriptions and from what its facilities imply, and it is offered as that rather than as an official account.
Common questions
When are the herds at Lobo?
On the return leg south down the eastern side of the ecosystem. The timing moves between years with rainfall and no authority publishes a month.
Is there anything at Lobo when the herds are elsewhere?
Yes. Lion, elephant, buffalo and giraffe are resident across the park and do not migrate, and the broken woodland country holds them well.
How do you get to Lobo?
TANAPA operates an all-weather airstrip at Lobo serving the east of the park, and the area is reachable by road from Seronera and from the northern gates.