A bend in the river with a great many hippo in it
The Retina hippo pool is a deep pool on the river system in the central Serengeti, within reach of Seronera, where the water holds a resident hippo population large enough that the animals lie packed together. It is on most central-Serengeti itineraries and it is one of the few places in the park where the interest is a single fixed spot rather than a drive.
The name appears in two forms — Retina and Retima — and both are used interchangeably for the same place. Neither spelling appears in any published Tanzanian authority document consulted for this page.
What is and is not published
No Tanzanian authority publishes a description, a location, a hippo count or any other detail for this site. TANAPA’s Serengeti brochure, its website and its data service do not name it; UNESCO’s documentation for the property does not name it. It is a guide’s landmark and an itinerary line, not an officially designated attraction, and every figure attached to it in travel writing is unsourced.
That is not a reason to skip it. It is a reason to arrive without a number in your head.
What a stop is like
A large number of hippo in a confined body of water, at close range, in daylight. The things that make it memorable are the noise, the smell — which is considerable and entirely the point — and the behaviour, since a crowded pool produces constant jostling, yawning and displays between males in a way that a scattered river does not. Crocodiles are often on the banks nearby, and the surrounding riverine trees are good for birds.
It is a short stop, typically twenty minutes or so, and it fits into a morning or afternoon drive out of Seronera rather than justifying its own outing.
Practicalities, honestly stated
Whether you may leave the vehicle here is not something this site can state. Off-road driving is prohibited throughout Serengeti National Park, and where visitors may and may not be on foot is governed by the park’s rules and by the situation on the day. It is a question for the park authority and your guide, not something published site by site.
Hippo are dangerous animals on land and in water, and a pool this crowded means animals moving in and out of it. Keep whatever distance you are told to keep. The game drive guide covers how a Serengeti day is structured and the photographic safari guide what the light does to a stop like this one.
Common questions
Is it Retina or Retima?
Both spellings are in circulation for the same pool and neither appears in published Tanzanian authority material. Guides use them interchangeably.
How many hippo are there?
No authority publishes a figure, and the numbers quoted in travel writing have no source behind them. What is reliable is that it is a crowded pool.
Can you get out of the vehicle?
That depends on the park’s rules and the day, and it is a question for the authority and your guide. Off-road driving is prohibited throughout the park.
Is it worth a detour?
It sits close to Seronera and takes about twenty minutes, so a detour is rarely needed. As a set-piece stop on a central Serengeti day it earns its place.