National Parks

Each of Tanzania’s national parks offers something unique – from the alpine landscapes of Kilimanjaro to the bush meeting the sea in Saadani. And with excellent transport links within Tanzania, it is easy to combine several national parks in one safari.

ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

Arusha National Park, often overlooked in favour of its more famous neighbours, is in fact a treasure, a rich tapestry of habitats, teeming with animals and birds. From the lush swamps of the Ngurdoto Crater to the tranquil beauty of the Momela Lakes and the rocky alpine heights of Mt Meru, the terrain of the park is as varied as it is interesting.

Zebras graze on the park’s red grasslands, and leopards lurk next to waterfalls in the shadowy forest. More than 400 species of bird, both migrant and resident, can be found in Arusha National Park alongside rare primates, such as the Black-and-White Colobus Monkey.

The rewarding of climbing up Mt Meru passes through forests of dripping Spanish moss and rises to open heath spiked with giant lobelia plants. Delicate Klipspringer antelope watch the progress of hikers from the top of huge boulders, and everlasting flowers cling to the alpine desert underfoot. Once astride the craggy summit, the reward is a sight of neighbouring Mt Kilimanjaro, breathtaking in the sunrise. The best time to visit Arusha National Park is during the dry season from July to November, or after the short rains from December to March. The best months to climb Mt Meru are June through to February, with the best views of Mt Kilimanjaro seen from December to February. The park lies just 25 km east of Arusha and is a rewarding day trip from Arusha or Moshi.

GOMBE STREAM NATIONAL PARK

Gombe Stream is the smallest of Tanzania’s national parks, a thin strip of ancient forest set amidst mountains and steep valleys on the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
Chimpanzees are Gombe Stream’s main attraction; they are the stars of the world’s chimpanzee community, made famous by the pioneering British researcher Jane Goodall, whose years of constant observation since 1960 have brought to light startling new facts about mankind’s closest cousins. Chimps are as individually unique as humans and no scientific expertise is needed to distinguish the different characters in the cast. The majority of the park mammals are primates, most of them forest species and in addition to the famous chimpanzees, visitors could be lucky enough to see blue or red-tail monkeys. Carnivores are rare in the forest, making Gombe the ideal place for a walking safari, or a swim in one of the streams. The best time to find chimpanzees at Gombe is during the wet season from February to June and November to December. The dry months of July to October and December to January are better for photo opportunities.

JOZANI-CHWAKA BAY NATIONAL PARK

Jozani Forest, a conservation project aimed at preserving some of the last indigenous forest on the island, lies at the heart of Jozani-Chwaka National Park, straddling a narrow belt of land linking the east and west coast of the island. It is the largest area of mature indigenous forest on Unguja (Zanzibar Island), and home to possibly the island’s most famous and photographed resident, the Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkey. The diverse range of natural habitats to be found in the national park supports a variety of rare, endangered and endemic species, including the Ader’s Duiker, as well as Sykes Monkeys, bush babies, African civet, giant elephant shrews, and chameleons as well as more than 100 species of brightly coloured butterflies and around 83 species of birds. South of the forest, a thin long creek juts in from the sea, and is lined with mangrove trees. A marvelous boardwalk has been constructed, so you can easily and harmlessly go deep into the mangrove to experience this unique ecosystem. Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park makes an excellent day-trip wherever you are staying on the island, though the best time to go is in the dry season, from July to February, when there is little chance that the forest will be flooded.

KATAVI NATIONAL PARK

Katavi National Park in western Tanzania is remote and wild, a destination for the true safari aficionado. The name of the park immortalises a legendary hunter, Katabi, whose spirit is believed to possess a tamarind tree ringed with offerings from locals begging his blessings. Despite being Tanzania’s third-largest park, Katavi sees relatively few visitors, meaning that those guests who arrive here can look forward to having this huge untouched wilderness to themselves. The park’s main features are the watery grass plains to the north, the palm-fringed Lake Chada in the south-east, and the Katuma River. Katavi boasts Tanzania’s greatest populations of both crocodile and hippopotamus. Lion and leopard find prey among the huge populations of herbivores at Katavi – Impala, eland, Topi, zebra and herds of up to 1,600 buffalo wander the short grass plains. The rare, honey-coloured Puku antelope is one of the park’s richest wildlife viewing rewards. A kaleidoscope of birds flit across the riverbanks, swamps and palm groves while flotillas of pelican cruise the lakes and elephants graze waist-deep in the marshlands. Katavi is best visited in the dry season between May and October, December and February.

KITULO NATIONAL PARK

Kitulo, which has only fairly recently become a fully protected national park, is situated on the Kitulo Plateau, which forms part of Tanzania’s southern highlands. The area, which is known locally as the “Garden of God,” provides a home for a wide variety of wildflowers such as balsams, bellflowers, honey-peas, irises, lilies and orchids.

KILIMANJARO NATIONAL PARK

The great mountain of Kilimanjaro is a metaphor for the compelling beauty of East Africa. Rising in absolute isolation, at 5,895m (19,336ft), Kilimanjaro is one of the highest walkable summits on the planet and a beacon for visitors from around the world. Just three degrees south of the equator, Kilimanjaro’s great peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi are nonetheless covered all year round with snow and ice. Most reasonably fit and properly guided climbers can experience the triumph of reaching the crater rim with little more than a walking stick, warm clothing and determination. Those who reach Uhuru Point, the actual summit, or Gillman’s point on the lip of the crater (Kilimanjaro is a dormant, but not extinct, volcano), will have earned their climbing certificates and their memories. There is, however, so much more to Kilimanjaro than the summit. A journey up the slopes takes visitors on a climatic world tour, from the tropics to the arctic. The grassy and cultivated lower slopes turn into lush rainforest, inhabited by elusive elephant, leopard, buffalo and antelope. Higher still, heath and moorland, covered with giant heather, becomes a surreal alpine desert and, finally, there is ice, snow and the biggest view on the continent. December to February is the warmest and clearest time to visit, with July to September being colder but also dry. It is wet in the rainforest from April to June and during November.

LAKE MANYARA NATIONAL PARK

Tucked below the majesty of the Rift Valley wall, Lake Manyara National Park consists of a thin green band of forest, flanked by the sheer 600m high red and brown cliffs of the escarpment on one side and by the white-hot shores of an ancient soda lake on the other. This wedge of surprisingly varied vegetation supports a wealth of wildlife, nourished by the streams flowing out of the escarpment base and waterfalls spilling over the cliffs. Acacia woodland shelters the park’s famous tree-climbing lions, lying languidly among the branches in the heat of the day. Feeding in the undergrowth or dozing in the dry riverbeds is the country’s densest populations of buffalo and elephant. Deep in the south of the park, hot springs bubbles to the surface as hippo wallow near the lake’s sedge-lined borders. The park’s dazzling variety of birds includes thousands of Red-Billed Quelea flitting over the water, pelicans, cormorants and the pink streaks of thousands of flamingos. Manyara is the perfect location for an active safari – canoeing on the lake or mountain biking and abseiling outside the park’s borders. The dry season (July to October) is best for large mammals, while the wet season (November to June) is best for bird watching, waterfalls and canoeing.

MAHALE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Like its northern neighbour Gombe, Mahale Mountains National Park is home to some of the last remaining wild chimpanzees in Africa. Around 1,000 of these fascinating animals roam the rainforest of Mahale, a chain of dramatic peaks draped in lush vegetation reaching to Lake Tanganyika’s beaches far below. Visitors are led on guided walks in search of the chimpanzees, following clues such as the previous night’s nests, or scraps of half-eaten fruit and fresh dung. Once found, the chimpanzees
preen each other’s glossy coats in concentrated
huddles, squabble noisily or bound effortlessly into the trees, swinging nonchalantly through the vines. visitors can also trace the Tongwe people’s ancient pilgrimage to the mountain spirits, trekking through enclaves of rainforest to grassy ridges chequered with alpine bamboo. After a hot walk in the forest, the clear waters of the lake, home to 250 species of fish, beckon for a refreshing swim. The best time for forest walks in Mahale is during the dry season, from May to October

MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK

Forming the northern borders of Africa’s biggest game reserve – the vast Selous – Mikumi is one of the most popular of Tanzania’s national parks, the most accessible part of a 75,000 square kilometre (47,000 square mile) wilderness that stretches almost to the shores of the Indian Ocean. The main feature of the park is the Mkata flood plain, along with the mountain ranges that border the park on two sides. Open grasslands dominate the flood plain, eventually merging with miombo woodland covering the lower hills. The woodland is the favourite haunt of the lion, sometimes perching high in the trees to keep their feet dry
from the sticky black mud of the wet season. Observation towers above the treeline allow panoramic views of the plain which is home to formidable herds of buffalo. Mikumi’s elephants are more compact than those in the rest of the country, but still a formidable sight when viewed close up. The rains swell the park’s population of birds to more than 300 species as European migrants seek refuge in Mikumi, joining resident stars like the Lilac-Breasted Roller. Mikumi’s road network provides visitors with easy game viewing drives and there are hippo, zebra, giraffe, hartebeest and wildebeest in abundance. The park is accessible all year round.

MKOMAZI NATIONAL PARK

Set below the verdant slopes of the spectacular Usambara and Pare Eastern Arc Mountain ranges and overseen by the iconic snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro, Mkomazi is a virgin breathtaking beauty exhibiting unique natural treasures and an immense sense of space. All this adds to the fulfilment of enjoyment visitors can expect. Mkomazi National Park provides a much needed and beautiful bridge between the northern parks and coastal attractions. Everyday, thousands of people pass within a few kilometres of Mkomazi on one of Tanzania’s busiest highways. These and northern circuit safari-goers are invited to discover the treasures of this wedge of hilly semi-arid savannah – home of large herds of giraffe, eland, hartebeest, zebra, buffalo and elephant. Mkomazi is a vital refuge for two highly endangered species, the charismatic Black Rhino and sociable African Wild Dog, both of which were successfully reintroduced in the 1990s. Nomadic by nature.

RUAHA NATIONAL PARK

Ruaha is a park where game viewing can begin the moment the plane touches down. A pair of giraffe may race beside the airstrip, with a line of zebra parading across the runway in their wake as nearby protective elephant mothers guard their young under the shade of a baobab tree. Wildlife in Ruaha is concentrated along the great Ruaha River that is the park’s lifeblood. Waterbuck, Impala and the world’s most southerly Grant’s Gazelle risk their lives for a sip of wateras predatoes watch on. The shores of the Ruaha are a permanent hunting ground for lion, leopard, jackal, hyena and the rare and endangered African Wild Dog. Ruaha’s 8,000 elephants are recovering strongly from ivory poaching during the 1980s and remain the largest population in East Africa. Ruaha is the only protected area in which the flora and fauna of eastern and southern Africa overlap, leading to fascinating combinations of wildlife – both Greater and Lesser Kudu live here, as do Sable and Roan Antelope.

RUBONDO ISLAND NATIONAL PARK

Rubondo Island is tucked into the corner of Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest lake, an inland sea sprawling between three countries. Rubondo provides protection for fish breeding grounds, while tilapia and the rapacious Nile Perch, some weighing more than 100kg, tempt recreational fisher-folk with challenging sports fishing and world record catches. But Rubondo is more than a water wonderland. Deserted sandy beaches nestle against a cloak of virgin forest. Papyrus swamps host the secretive Sitatunga, a shaggy aquatic antelope, and the dappled bushbuck. Rubondo is a birder’s paradise, with the Malachite Kingfisher’s azure brilliance competing with the Paradise Flycatcher’s glamorous flowing tail. Rubondo is home to African Fish Eagles and is a global stopover for hundreds of migratory birds, as well as a sanctuary for sweet smelling wild jasmine and 40 different species of orchid. Ninety percent of the island is covered with humid forest,the remainder ranges from coastal grassland to lakeside papyrus beds.A number of indigenous mammal species – hippo, bushbuck, genet, and mongoose – share their protected habitat with introduced species such as chimpanzee, elephant, and giraffe. Rubondo’s wild flowers are at their best from November to March. For migratory birds, visit December to February.

TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK

During Tarangire’s dry season, day after day of cloudless skies seem to suck all moisture from the landscape, turning the waving grasses to a platinum blonde, brittle as straw. The Tarangire River is a mere shadow of itself, just a trickle of water choked with wildlife; thirsty antelope and elephant have wandered hundreds of parched kilometres to Tarangire’s permanent water source. Herds of elephant three hundred strong dig in the damp earth of the riverbed in search of underground springs, while wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, and gazelle mingle with rare species such as eland and oryx around each shrinking lagoon. Python climb into the shade of the trees that line Tarangire’s massive southern swamps and hang there like giant malignant fruit, coils neatly arranged over the branches in a perfect sphere. Tarangire in the dry season enjoys the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti ecosystem. Tarangire’s huge herds of elephant rival the park’s gigantic, squat baobab trees as its most celebrated feature – ancient matriarchs, feisty young bulls and tiny, stumbling calves are ever present to fascinate visitors with their grace, intelligence and majesty. The best time to visit Tarangire for wildlife viewing or walking is the dry season, from June to October.

UDZUNGWA MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

The Udzungwa Mountains are almost unearthly. An enchanted forest of leafy glades, freckled with sunshine, where fungus, lichen, moss and ferns ingratiate themselves into every damp crevice, it is at once both vivid detail and larger than life. A new variety of African violet was discovered in the shelter of a 30m high tree. It is a hothouse, nurturing species found nowhere else on earth, a secret bank account of precious genetic stock. Of its six types of primate, two are endemic – the Iringa Red Colobus monkey and the Sanje-Crested Mangabey, not discovered until 1979. Four previously unknown birds, including the Rufous-Winged Sunbird and a new species of the partridge-like francolin, make this Tanzania’s richest forest bird habitat and among the three most important bird conservation areas on the continent. One of East Africa’s great forests, this undisturbed habitat undoubtedly has new treasures yet to reveal. A link in the chain of Africa’s eastern arc mountains, Udzungwa is made for hiking and climbing on trails through the rainforests and along the escarpments. The plateau is a natural tower top, with views of sugar plantations against a patchwork of grassland and mountain forest extending over 100km. But the centrepiece is the Sanje River, which reinvents itself into a spectacular waterfall, plunging 170m through the forest to land in a mist in the valley below. Visit Udzungwa year around, but be prepared for rain any time.