Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park covering 552sq km is unique national park close to Arusha city with abundance of attractions include mount meru, momella lakes, ngurdoto crater, waterfalls, rivers, flora and fauna species. The park located north east of Arusha city just 40 minutes drive and approximately 60km from Kilimanjaro International airport, is the perfect destination for day tour safaris enjoying game viewing, forest walking and hiking adventure.
Arusha national park zones include dense mountain forest, open grassland, marsh area with seven colorful lakes of momela, small volcano caldera of ngurdoto, meru mountain and wildlife including rare black and white colobus monkey, turaco, flamingoes, waterbuck, buffaloes, giraffes, bushbuck, dik dik, elephants, wildebeest, zebra, baboon and even hyena and leopard spotted.
Momela lakes comprise several shallow lakes with unique color, supporting flocks of water birds as lesser flamingoes, goose, grebe and ibis. The lakes fed with underground water stream.
Mountain Meru is the second highest peak in Tanzania after Kilimanjaro and fifth highest peak in Africa with 4565m above sea level. There are two huts for overnight Miriakamba and Saddle Hut during Climbing mount Meru which only takes 4 days to conquer Meru.
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park is a biosphere reserve with 330sq km nestled below the Gregory rift valley wall escarpment. Is famous park for tree climbing lion, ground forest and Manyara Lake which covers 220sq km famous for supporting thousands of pink flamingoes.
The park name Manyara derived from plant known “emanyara” local name of euphorbia tirucali plant which grows to the area. Manyara varies from ground water forest, acacia woodland, open grassland and mashes area with large troops of baboons, herds of elephants, hippo, impala, bushbuck, waterbuck, warthog, blue monkey, more than 350 bird species, giraffes with predators as lion which prefers to rest on top of acacia branches.
Lake Manyara is shallow alkaline soda lake which supports thousands of lesser flamingoes with other aquatic creatures.
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park is most famous national park with endless plains, abundance of fauna and flora spreading over endless plains with dotted acacia trees and kopjes. Named Siringet from Maasai language signifies endless plain. Serengeti covers 14763sq km in the northern circuit of Tanzania reaching Masai Mara Kenya.
Serengeti is the important wildlife ecosystem for the wildebeest migration which migrates from southern plains of Serengeti and Ngorongoro Conservation to the northern reaching Maasai Mara Kenya searching pasture and water availability.
Serengeti is home of predators including cheetah, jackal, hyena and lion while along riverrine vegetation is the territory of leopards. Large herds of elephants, buffaloes and even zebra, giraffes, wildebeest, gazelle, impala, topi, hartebeest, dik dik, crocodiles and hippos found.
Serengeti offers finest game viewing with spectacular wildebeest migration, abundant of predators, bird species, amazing scenery, balloon safaris and walking activities.
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park in the northern circuit is famous park with concentration of elephants and giant baobab trees. The park named after Tarangire River a unique source of freshwater in the park area. Tarangire located western part of Arusha with distance of approximately 112km.
Tarangire is among popular national park of Tanzania with a lot of attractions including the scenery, wildlife, plants and bird species over 450 found in the park. Tarangire River plays an important role providing fresh water for wildlife existence.
The park with open grass land, acacia woodland, swamp area and hills endowed with high density of elephants including other species as leopard, cheetah, jackal, zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, waterbuck, impala, lesser kudu, eland, oryx, wild dog, dik dik and tree climbing python.
Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater situated within Ngorongoro Conservation area is a volcano caldera inhabited with abundance of wildlife varieties found in the crater floor. The crater is 610m deep, 19 to 21km in diameter and covering the area approximately 300sq km.
The crater floor support over 30,000 large animals, different bird species and wide vegetation zones including open grass plain, swamps and marshes, shallow lake, Munge river, Ngoitoktok spring and Lerai forest with yellow barked acacia and fig tree.
Ngorongoro is an iconic unique place to see rare black rhino including other wild species like lion, cheetah, hyena, serval cat, zebra, gazelle, gnu, hippo, buffaloes, elephant, monkey and bird species as crown crane, plover, eagle, flamingoes and goose.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area cover the total area of 8300sq km is known cradle of mankind and Unesco World Heritage Site renowned for volcanic caldera shelter for thousands of wildlife species in Africa. Stretching approximately 8300sq km is pioneer multiple land use area and part of Serengeti Ecosystem inhabited with human being the Maasai tribe and wildlife.
Ngorongoro conservation area endowed with different attractions including famous Ngorongoro crater one of seventh natural wonders, Empakai crater, Olmoti crater, Olduvai gorge, Laetoli and Ndutu plain with Lake ndutu south of Serengeti.
Lake Eyasi
Lake Eyasi a shallow lake located northern circuit of Tanzania inhabited with Hadzabe Bushmen and Datoga along the lake shores. Eyasi nestled southern side of Ngorongoro Conservation Highlands within Great Rift Valley region. Hadzabe or Bushmen also named Tindiga by their neighbor the Iraqw ethnic is the most famous hunters and gatherers within Eyasi lake shores with click sound related to Bushmen of Kalahari Desert.
Eyasi destination offers adventure activities includes hadzabe and Datoga cultural insight, fishing & canoe safaris in Eyasi, Hunting with local people the Hadzabe, Bird watching, Walking and Trekking.
Lake Natron
Lake Natron a famous shallow soda lake nestled below Great Rift Valley Escarpment. Nestled at the altitude of 600m above sea level, the area border Kenya to the East. Lake is feed by Ewaso Ngiro River and springs including hot springs.
Natron area is normally dry with sand rivers, rock hills, maasai steppe, classic flat topped acacia, Engaresero waterfalls, Gelai mountain with unique active volcano mountain of Ol doinyo lengai. Lake Natron is important breeding site for the flamingoes in Tanzania. With its caustic environment become a strong barrier against predators to reach the nests of birds.
Lake Natron supports abundance of white lipped or alkaline tilapia Oreochromis alcalicus which appears to be endemic to saline rift valley lakes and the Spirulina blue green algae with red pigments which provides food for flamingoes. Lake Natron offers various suitable accommodation facilities camps and tented camps including activities as walking safari, hiking, trekking and bird watching.
Olmoti Crater
Olmoti crater is a small volcano crater within conservation highlands of ngorongoro famous for walking activities accompanied with rangers during safari along the crater rim. Olmoti located 3280m above sea level in Maasai land with some flora and fauna species and Munge waterfalls the source of important river.
Empakai Crater
Empakai crater situated within Ngorongoro highland area. Empakai is a beautiful crater of ngorongoro highlands at elevation of 3280m above sea level. Empakai offers spectacular nature walking to the crater floor covering with dense vegetation, varieties of birds, Crater Lake with flamingoes and other wildlife species seen to the area include waterbuck, buffaloes, baboons.
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi National Park located in Morogoro region along highway Iringa to Dar es Salaam with 3,230sq km is known with Mkata flood plain which sustains the abundant of wildlife in the southern circuit of the country. The park reached easily from Morogoro town while from Dar es Salaam is approximately 283 km distance.
Mikumi named after the wild palm endowed with open horizons, water pools, miombo vegetation and flood plain which the part of great ecosystem that stretch to reach the Indian ocean support large number wild animals including buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, eland, wildebeest, impala, zebra and carnivores making people to compare it with Serengeti. Over 400 species of bird found in the park.
Ruaha National Park
Ruaha National Park is largest national park with over 20,000sq km, situated in the southern circuit of Tanzania. Ruaha named after the great Ruaha River the important source of water for wildlife in the park. Ruaha boosts largest population of elephants in Tanzania and also known for the great kudu antelope.
With baobab trees, acacia and miombo woodland vegetation inhabited with great Kudu antelope create unique attractions of Ruaha with other species of antelope as Roan, sable, impala, dik dik and the gazelle while in Ruaha River the concentration of hippos and crocodiles seen.
Ruaha National Park offers the most spectacular game viewing in the southern circuit with large number of wild species as lions, leopards, jackals, hyena, African wild dogs, warthog, giraffes, waterbuck, eland and bird species including kingfisher, plovers, sunbird, egrets and weaver bird.
Selous Game Reserve
Selous Game Reserve covering 55,000sq km is a World Heritage Site situated in southern part of the country known for hunting and game viewing safaris. Selous is the world’s largest game reserve found in Tanzania with huge number of flora and fauna that attracts that offers unique experience in the southern tourism destination.
The reserve named after British hunter and explorer Frederick Courtney Selous who killed during First World War in Beho Beho. The Rufiji River cross the reserve creates an important ecosystem including the Mikumi national park and Kilombero Game controlled area.
Activities conducted in Selous include boat safari, game viewing, hunting safaris, walking safaris and bird watching.
Mahale National Park
Mahale National Park situated in the western circuit along Lake Tanganyika in Kigoma region. Mahale is one of known wildlife area inhabited by the Chimpanzee with population of approximately 900 in Tanzania. Mahale situated south of Kigoma town bordering with world known Lake Tanganyika unpolluted lake with abundance of fish species.
Mahale chimpanzee seen in big groups while sunshine illuminates fish in the Lake and beach invites relaxation with incredible sunset. The major attractions of Mahale include Chimpanzee, spectacular beach, mountains range, colobus, monkey and vegetation as tropical forest and alpine bamboo. The tourist activities include chimpanzee tracking, hiking, walking, bird watching, snorkeling and sport fishing in the Lake Tanganyika.
Gombe National Park
Gombe National Park nestled along the shores of Lake Tanganyika found in Kigoma western circuit of Tanzania. Nestled in the small patch of mountain ranges with tropical forest is the popular destination for chimpanzee tracking experience in the country.
Lake Tanganyika which borders Gombe is among the world deepest lake and a place the western giant rift valley named Albertine rift valley branch cross. Lake Tanganyika is a fresh water lake with large concentration of fish ever recorded in the world.
Gombe covering 52sq km of area is reached from Kigoma town lying close to Democratic Republic of Congo. Activities to conduct in the park is chimpanzee tracking, sport fishing in Lake Tanganyika, sun bathing in the sandy beach along lake shores.
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro is the peak of Africa standing 5895m covered with beautiful glacier in the Kilimanjaro National Park. Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa and the tallest free standing Mountain in the world located in tropical region of Africa.
Kilimanjaro climbing is a life time experience which involves crossing different zones from dense vegetation, alpine desert to glacier zone at uhuru peak 5895m above sea level. Tanzania boasts many attractive volcanoes mountains to climb and trekking including Mount Meru, Ol Doinyo Lengai Mount Hanang, Uluguru and Usambara Mountain range.
In Mt Kilimanjaro found six ascending routes to reach the summit includes route of Machame, Marangu, Rongai and Lemosho. Day trekking in Kilimanjaro involves hiking to shira plateau or visit Chala Crater Lake located south eastern slopes of Kilimanjaro.
Mount Meru
Mount Meru is a second highest volcano mountain after Kilimanjaro standing 4566m high in Arusha National Park and within Arusha region Tanzania. Meru decorated with beautiful volcano cone at the top and the fertile slopes covered with thick mountain forest inhabited with large number of wildlife species and the alpine desert with flower plants.
Most climbers prefer most to trek for acclimatization to conquer the highest roof of Africa Kilimanjaro which stands around 65km away. Its highest peak named Socialist Peak with 4565m whiles other small peak known Little Meru.
Mount Hanang
Mount Hanang stands 3418m high in Hanang district Manyara region Tanzania with extinct volcanic crater that makes a stunning feature above the undulating plains.
Hanang District inhabited with famous ethnics the Barbaig and Iraqw endowed by most interesting and fascinating culture with tradition. Barbaig is semi nomad pastoral ethnic who’s their local tradition and culture remained unchanged. Barbaig identified by their ways of dresses as women usually clad in goatskin skirts with cotton blanket while men’s dress black cloth, carrying spears.
Iraqw ethnic is known as cushitic originated from Ethiopia usually dress colorful blankets. Their main economic activities based in commercial and farming. Hanang area endowed with off beaten adventure trekking & walking activities, cultural insight and bird watching with over 400 species.
Trekking to Mount Hanang in a day takes approximately 6 hours to reach the peak with another 4 hours to reach down from the peak while second alternative takes 2 days trekking tour.