Overview
The Selous Game Reserve covers a total area of 54,600 square kilometers comprising a vast wilderness with forests, grassy plains, mountains, and open woodlands.
It is the largest protected game reserve on the African continent and is one of the largest fauna reserves in the world.
This reserve was named after Frederick Selous Courtney who was a great hunter and explorer. Selous Safari Holidays are highly recommended as in size this reserve is twice the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and three times Kruger National Park in South Africa.
This reserve was established in 1922, and in 1982 it was declared a UNESCO world heritage site thanks to its rich diversity of wildlife and uninterrupted nature.
The reserve is located in the southern part of Tanzania along the southern Tanzania safari circuit and offers the best escape from the large tourist crowds in the northern safari destinations like Serengeti while offering you a remarkable wildlife experience.
It is considered to be among the hidden gems in the country and offers a wide range of Selous Game Reserve Camps for accommodation.
The reserve is located about 219 kilometers from the business city of Dar es Salaam and may take about 4 hours to drive.
There are a number of wildlife mammals found within this national reserve among which are approximately 145,000 buffalos, 4,000 Lions, 100,000 wildebeests, large hands of giraffes, 35000 zebras, 40000 hippos, 250,000 impalas, large numbers of Lichtenstein’s hartebeests, waterbucks, elands, and bushbucks, in addition to leopards, crocodiles, and hyenas.
Furthermore, this is among the few wildlife sanctuaries on the African continent where you will find the puku antelopes, the African wild dogs as well as the sable antelope.
Previously the Selous was home to a very large number of elephants but because of excessive poaching these numbers have greatly reduced and all these can be seen during the game drives on the Selous Safari Holidays.
This game reserve is also home to over 445 different birds species and these have been recorded to live in the various habitats within the reserve for instance along the lake areas are the giant kingfishers, the pink-backed pelican as well as the African skimmer; along the sandbanks, you will see the white-fronted bee-eater, fish eagle, carmine, ibises and palm nut vultures.
The purple-crested turaco, yellow-billed stork, trumpeter hornbill, white-crowned spur-winged plovers, malachite kingfishers, and various small waders are among the other water birds, as well as various migrant species all visible.
The Southern Selous, South of the Rufiji, is split up into a number of ‘hunting blocks’ – each of which typically covers about 1,000km².
The northern Selous covers only around 5% of the reserve’s total area.
Hunting activity is not allowed in this area, it is just a special area for photographic safaris.
Best time to visit
Being a classic dry park, the Selous has remarkable game viewing opportunities, the biggest crowds of animals are usually experienced in the best time of the year which is July to October. The best time to visit the Selous Game Reserve is from June to October.
Where to stay in Selous
Once it comes to accommodation we have the best suggestions for safari camps with Selous Game Reserve.
Something to learn about overnight stay within the park you will be subjected to overnight fees commonly known as concession fees.
Despite that, we have the best collection of mid-range and luxurious camps within the park.
We invite you to take a look for more details. Enjoy the ride with us! And if you feel ok, contact us for more information.