The reserve was established in 1922, and in 1982 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its rich diversity of wildlife and uninterrupted nature. This reserve was named after Frederick Selous Courtney who was a great hunter and explorer. It is located in southern Tanzania and far from the madding crowds, the Selous Game Reserve is Africa’s largest game reserve and one of our favorite wildlife viewing areas. This really is a hidden gem! The rivers and lakes of the Selous are the lifeblood of a park that hosts some fabulous game, including elephant, wild dog, buffalo, hippo, crocodile and fantastic prides of lion.

As you may have gathered, we are huge fans of Selous safaris. The reality is that this park is so vast it is impossible to count its game and that is exactly what we love about it; Selous is untouched African wilderness and yet still easily accessible from Dar and Zanzibar.

Not only is it a wonderful place for the seasoned safari enthusiast, but the Selous also offers an amazing introduction to unspoiled Africa. It is home to some of Africa’s best walking, boat safaris, and fly-fish camping trips, the Selous has the greatest diversity of safari activities of all the Tanzanian safari parks. The boating safaris in particular really set this reserve apart from other Tanzanian parks. The fact that the Selous is so much quieter (in visitor terms) than the majority of the rest of the country just adds to its attraction.

Attractions in Selous Game Reserve

• Wildlife in Selous

There are a huge number of wildlife animals you can find when on safari in Selous game reserve. Lions, leopards, hippos and crocodiles live in Selous. You can spot endangered black rhinos, hard-to-find East African wild dogs as well as hyenas. Cape buffaloes, Masai giraffes, wildebeests and zebras live here too, the latter two are known by the great migration! And of course it is home to impalas, large numbers of Lichtenstein’s hartebeests, waterbucks and sable antelope in addition to elands and bushbucks. It is much quieter here than in the other parks, so you definitely have the chance of a unique experience during your Tanzania vacation! Selous Game Reserve was previously home to a very large number of many African bush elephants. Unfortunately, numbers have greatly reduced because of excessive poaching happening in the game reserve.

• Birds in the Selous Game Reserve

Selous game reserve is home to thousands of birds. Scientists have recorded over 445 different birds’ species that live in the various habitats within the Selous. The giant kingfishers, the pink backed pelican as well as the African skimmer live for instance near the lake areas. Along the sandbanks you will see the white-fronted bee-eater, fish eagle, carmine, ibises and palmnut 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 that you can see in Selous Game Reserve, as well migrant species.

• Boat Tour in Selous

Selous is also one of the few national parks where you can go on a boat safari. It is also one of the few parks that allows walking safari. It is an ideal trip if you want to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Rufiji River with its many hippos, crocodiles and beautiful bird-life. The sunset can also be stunning from the boat- there is nothing quite like the serenity of the river while the sun dips below the horizon.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Selous is the dry season from June to October. The wildlife is easier to spot because the vegetation isn’t thick and the wild animals have gathered around the known water sources. Subsequent towards the end of the heavy rain, the roads are extremely impassable and many of the camps are closed as the wet season comes to an end. A good time to observe the scarce wild dogs is during their denning phase that begins in June and lasts till August.