Moru Serengeti Kopjes Plains Western

Moru lies at the western edge of the southern serengeti plains, to the south west of Seronera and half way between Ndutu and the western corridor as the crow (vulture) flies.

Kopje (pronounced "copy") is an Afrikaans name for the clusters of large granite rocks or Inselbergs which are found in many of the parks in Tanzania, but which are particularly a feature in the Serengeti. They are hard plugs of ancient rock sticking up through the layer of softer volcanic ash soil. The area consists of numerous kopjes of varying sizes lying in a sea of grassland. The kopjes are made up of vast rounded granite blocks, many of them shaped like enormous loaves of bread. They are covered in vegetation to varying degrees; some have dense growths of trees and bush, whilst others are simply bare rocks.

Everything about the kopjes is a contrast to the plains and it's even quite a relief to the eyes as your focus is in the middle and near distance here rather than at its limits in the immense scale of the plains where views are so huge that it's like being at sea.

migration highlights Moru marks the western edge of the southern plains of the Serengeti national Park. This is the area the wildebeest pass through as they exit the southern plains en route to the western corridor and the central Serengeti. This tends to be in May or early June when the rut is in full swing.

Other highlights - Moru is just one group of many Kopjes to be found in the Serengeti. Others are Barafu and Gol Kopjes on the eastern edge of the park and Simba Kopjes just off the road between Naabi and Seronera. The reason why we treat Moru as an area on its own is because it's easy to combine a day or two here with a couple of other locations in the Park, being well placed between the plains and the western corridor and it's large enough with enough variety - the Mbalageti River runs just to the north - to warrant spending a bit of time here.

Moru is an excellent place to see cats. Not only are there good numbers here, but the scenery makes them incredibly photogenic, so it's a great combination. One of the best ways to see it is to climb up a rock in the early morning and just watch - which is what I did last time I was there and saw a lioness chasing hartebeest, a solitary bull elephant, buffalo and giraffe, in the space of half an hour. If you can get a mobile camp into Moru at a time when no one else wants to visit, the place has a very magical quality.

Best place to stay Moru Seasonal Camp

See also Serengeti Itinerary Ideas

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