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Destinations
Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park covering 137 sq kilometres, lies between the peaks of
Mount Kilimanjaro and Meru and ascends from 1500 metres at Momella (pack gate) to 4566 meters at the
summit of Mount Meru. The park contains Ngurdoto Crater and Momella lakes. On clear days
Mount Kilimanjaro and Meru can be seen from almost any part of the park. The vegetation
and wildlife varies with the topography, which ranges from forest to swamp.
One of the wow's in Arusha
Birdlife
The park is famous for over 400 species of bird life, both migrant and
resident, such as red shark, spur winged goose, herons, woodpecker, grey parrot, secretary bird
and many more. The Momela Lakes offer plentiful bird watching opportunities.
Wildlife
Arusha National Park contains a diverse population of herbivores, primates and
predators including black and white colobus monkey, baboon, elephants, giraffe, buffalo, hippo,
leopard, hyena, waterbuck, warthog and wide range of antelope species. No lions are found in
the park.
Mount Meru, 4566 meters high scaling can be trekked through a variety of landscapes,
plains, forest moorlands, and a lava desert. Trekking in the park require to be accompanied by an
armed Game Ranger due to wild animals.
From the summit, there is an impressive view of the crater and 3000 metres below the eruption cone.
The best time to climb is from July to February.
Lake Manyara National Park
Ever Seen an Elephant jump?
The park derives it's name from Maasai word 'Manyara" which is the name for the plant
Euphorbia tirucalli. The Maasai use this plant to grow livestock stockades. Lake Manyara National Park,
130 km from Arusha town, covers 330 sq km, 200 sq. km being a lake. The park is located between the 600m
escarpment of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Manyara. The park is therefore spectacularly set on a
narrow band of lakeshore along the Western Wall of the Great Rift Valley.
The Great Rift Valley is part of a fault in the earth's crust, which stretches 8,000
km from Turkey to the mouth of the Zambezi River in Mozambique. The fault is so massive that when astronauts
landed on the moon the Rift valley was clearly visible to them. The approach to Manyara is dramatic because
the rift wall is so clearly defined and can be seen running north and south into the hazy distance.
Driving across the valley, one can see giraffes and often a variety of other plain dwellers such
as wildebeest, zebra and ostrich, even before reaching the park. At the Southern end of the park are hot Sulphur
Springs called Majimoto in Swahili. Further along the forest opens up into woodlands, grassland, swamps and beyond,
the soda lake itself. The park is famous for tree climbing Lions.
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Ngorongoro Crater
"Ngorongoro Crater" A glimpse into one of the eight natural wonders of the world. This is an enormous
natural arena. Visitors wonder as the astonishing unfolding view dwarfs their preconceived imaginations.
Best view of the Ngorongoro crater
The crater itself is about 670 meters deep and 20 kilometres in diameter. The floor of the crater covers about 102 square miles.
Unlike other craters such as the Lago di Boisena in Italy and Mono Lake in California, the Ngorongoro crater supports wildlife,
most of which reside there all year round.
The one-way route down the crater is breathtaking as it meanders around ravines and rock crevasses. At one point the narrow route
curves its way through the inside of a large living baobab tree. Whereas temperatures on the rim of the crater are usually chilly
and the atmosphere foggy, halfway down the crater it brightens up and becomes savannah warm at the bottom of the crater.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) covers some 8,300 sq. km. It boasts of the finest blend of landscapes, wildlife, people and
archaeological sites in Africa. It is also a pioneering experiment in multiple land use. The concept of multiple uses is a deviation
from the traditional approach of regarding conservation as complete absenteeism of human interference. For NCA, the concept means best
use of the resources to achieve the basic objectives of the establishment of the NCA. It entails the management and utilization of
resources in the form for which it is best suited based on biological productivity and pertinent social and economic factors.
Ngorongoro Wildlife
Ngorongoro has over 20,000 large animals including some of Tanzania's last remaining black rhino. Animals are free to leave
or enter the crater but most of them stay because of the water and food plentiful in the crater floor throughout the year. Some
other species are mainly wildebeest, zebra, buffalo and gazelles. All these animals in turn support large predators such as lions and leopard,
and scavengers such as hyena and jackals.
Ngorongoro Birdlife
There are various species of birds found in Ngorongoro including flamingos.
Oldonyo Lengai
This is Maasai name for the still active volcano. It means the mountain of God. Adventurous visitors sometimes struggle up its
steep slopes to visit the steaming, bubbling crater but others prefer viewing its symmetrical cone from a distance. This mountain is on way
to Lake Natron, which is a soda lake rich in thousands of flamingos, which have been a major attraction to most tourists.
Olduvai Gorge
Humans have been part of Ngorongoro's landscape for millions of years. The earliest signs of mankind in the conservation area are at Laetoli,
where hominid footprints have been preserved in volcanic rock for the Past 3,600,000 years.
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Serengeti National Park
The world-famous Serengeti National Park is the second largest in Tanzania, occupying about 14,763 sq km. The park's name Serengeti means endless
plains derived from the Maasai word 'Siringiti'. The Park lies in a high plateau between the Ngorongoro highlands and the Kenya/Tanzania border, and extends almost
to Lake Victoria. The park encompasses the main part of the Serengeti ecosystem.
You will never be disappointed to visit Serengeti.
The most famous features of the Serengeti ecosystem are the spectacular concentration of animals found nowhere else in the world and the annual wildebeest migration.
This spectacle sees more than 1.5 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebras and 300,000 Thompson's gazelles trekking to new grazing lands. The brief population explosion of
wildebeest produces over 8,000 calves a day before the migration starts.
As in all ecosystems, the vegetation and type of animals you find are closely correlated. The principle features of the park are the short and long grass open plains in
the southeast, the acacia savannah in the central area, the hilly, more densely wooded in the northern section, and black clay plains, dominated by the central ranges
of mountains in the western corridor.
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Tarangire National Park
It is the most southern accessible parks of northern Tanzania. Named after river Tarangire,
the park covers an area of 2,600 sq. km. Much of the park is open grassy savannah, dotted with splendid
specimens of Baobab trees, but there are also areas of swamp in the south. The park is also spectacular
in dry season when many of the migratory wildlife species come back to the permanent waters of the river
until the onset of the rains when they migrate again for the better pastures. This animal phenomenon takes
place from June to September.
Tarangire National Park.
The park is located in a wooded steppe within an Arid Acacia savannah species. The most
important vegetation type include: Riparian wood land, Acacia tortilis parkland, Wetlands and seasonal
floodplains, Acacia-Cammiphora woodland, River grassland, Combretum-Dalbergiawoodland, Acacia dreponolobium
woodland, Deepp gully vegetation and Grasslands with scattered baobab trees.
Wildlife
The dry season is the best period for game watching as much of the park wildlife is concentrated
in the vicinity of the Tarangire River. The Park has the greatest concentration of wildlife outside the Serengeti
ecosystem. Among other species to be seen at Tarangire are buffalo, herds of up to 300 elephants, lion, warthog,
eland, the fringe eared Oryx, lesser and greater kudu, gerenuk and large numbers of impala. The park is also
famous for tree climbing pythons and abundant birdlife
Birdlife
Bird watchers have a wide selection to see in this park which has more than 550 recorded species,
the most breeding species in one habitat in the world, the ostrich, the heaviest bird which can fly and the Kori
bustard.
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Kilimanjaro National Park
Mount Kilimanjaro is the crown of Tanzania. Although just 3 degrees south of the Equator, the peak of Kibo has permanent caps of snow and ice, rising at 5895 high and is Africa's rooftop and the world's highest freestanding mountain.
The mountain rise abruptly from the open planes to form the snow capped peaks of Kibo and Mawenzi, which are frequently fringed by clouds.
This highest mountain in Africa is believed to have started formulating since 750,000 years ago
and that there has been human habitation around the mountain for centuries. Archaeological discoveries have
found rings and bowls made from obsidian flakes, which were found on the western slopes.
At 5,892 meters, it is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest walkable summit in the world.
The diameter of its base is 72 kilometres. Kilimanjaro is a dormant, but not extinct volcano. Ominous rumbles can
some time be heard and gases emerge from the fume holes in the crater.
The Peak of Mount Kilimanjaro
Uhuru Peak
Is the highest point on Kibo, and indeed the whole of Kilimanjaro. From UHURU Peak, with its spectacular
hanging glaciers there are breathing views of the African plains some 20,000 feet below. Kibo is slightly lower the peak
of Gillman's Point, and these are the target goals for trekkers. The peaks of Mawenzi are for technical climbers only.
Best time to Climb
It is always fine to climb except during rain seasons in April, May, June and November. December through
February are the warmest and clearest months and it is also dry, colder from July-September
The vast majority of the climbers use the Marangu route and a round trip takes five days. Main highlights of this route are
lush forests, the scenery and the wildflowers at Maundi crater and the views of the Kibo and Mawenzi peaks.
Marangu gate is also the park's headquarter. Other routes include Mweka, Machame, Shira, Umbwe and Rongai routes.
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Mikumi National Park
The park is situated about 216 km from Dar es Salaam along the Dar es Salaam-Zambia highway. It was established in 1964.
Mikumi National Park borders with Africa's largest Game Reserve, the 'Selous' and is the third largest National Park after Serengeti and
Ruaha National Parks and covers an area of 3230 sq km. The park has many attractions and the plains surrounding River Mkata, which are
rich in Flora and fauna, are by themselves wonderful scenario. The common animals found in the park include zebra, buffalos, elephants,
hippos, lions, and the impalas.
Mikumi is one of the best places to see the wildlife.
Selous Game Reserve
The park covers an area of about 64,450 sq km and is the largest protected wildlife area in Africa.
The major attractions include the largest population of elephants, buffalo, hippo plus other animals like lion,
bushbuck, giraffe, kudu, eland, zebra, etc.
Ruaha National Park
The name Ruaha is derived from the Hehe word "Luvaha" meaning a river. The park covers an area of 12,950 sq.
km, the second largest in the country. The park is situated some 130 km west of Iringa town. Ruaha River by itself is an attraction;
leave alone some hundreds of species of flora, which surround it. Besides there are a lot of crocodiles, hippos, elephants, etc.
Udzungwa National Park
The Park is located south of Mikumi National Park along the Mikumi-Ifakara Highway. The park derives its
name from the famous Udzungwa Mountain, with an area of 1990 sq. km. The major attractions include its unique species
of Fauna and Flora, which called for its declaration as a national park. The Udzungwa Mountains and Forests are a good
source of rivers and springs, one of them being the famous Kilombero River, which constitutes the essential part of the
multi-hactoral Kilombero Sugar Plantations. Other attractions include Lions, Buffalo, Giraffe, etc.
Katavi National Park
The park is located in Rukwa region and it is situated about 40 km southeast of Mpanda town, and covers
an area of 2,253 sq. km. The park has lots of animal species including zebra, sable, eland, leopard, buffalo, lion,
elephant, antelopes, etc.
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Mahale National Park
The park is located some 120 km south of Kigoma town, along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. It covers
about 1,613 sq. km. Attractions include chimpanzees and a good number of monkey species like colobus monkeys. It
is estimated that there are 700 chimpanzees in Mahale and 15 species of Monkeys whose habits tally with those
of chimps.
Gombe National Park
The park is situated 16 km north of Kigoma town in western Tanzania and covers an area of 52 sq.
km. It is a narrow strip of mountainous country bounded in the east by the eastern rift valley escarpment and
by lake Tanganyika in the west. The major attractions include evergreen forests, chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys (blue, red tails, and red colobus).
Rubondo National Park
The park, forms part of a number of archipelagos in Lake Victoria, and covers some 240 sq. km.
The major attractions include chimpanzees, hippos, giraffes, and elephants. The absence of man-eaters such as
lions and leopards ensures a safe walk in Rubondo National Park and even some fishing activities with boats
under Park Wardens are carried out.
Saadani National Park
The coastal Circuit include the Saadani National Park, which is about 100 kilometres from Dar es Salaam.
This is a recently established park and is the only park located along the coast in East Africa, where you can see big
mammals. It is here that tourists enjoy the beauty of the sea together with numerous animals including
elephants, lion, leopard, zebra, roan, buffalo, giraffe, antelope etc. It is also the only place in East Africa where
you can see the elephants taking bath in the Indian ocean.
Zanzibar & Pemba
Zanzibar is popular for its enormous rewarding beaches and the old Arab buildings with narrow
streets, which are unique in all of Tanzania. Zanzibar is also known as a spice island where you will see
varieties of spices plantations. The old slave market and ruins are also attractive to many tourists.
There is a lot to do in Zanzibar. We do organise Spice Tours, Jozani Forest Reserve Tours, Zanzibar Stone
Town Tours, Prison Island Tours, Dolphin Tours and Dhow Cruises,
For more information cantact us here
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