Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe is the smallest of Tanzania's national parks, but thanks to Dr. Jane Goodall, one of the best known. Since 1960, Goodall and colleagues have lived among the Gombe chimpanzees, making significant contributions to the study of primates. Travel to the Park is by water only from Ujiji or Kigoma. The forests are alive with the famous chimpanzee, red colobus and red-tail and blue monkeys. You can also spot bushbuck and bushpig and grey duiker. The lake shore is home to the pied and giant kingfishers, the crowned eagle, the African broadbill, Ross's turaco and the trumpeter hornbill.

Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park lies south of the Mahale Mountains on a high flood plain surrounding Lake Katavi. It is one of the most difficult Parks to reach and is strictly for those of an adventurous spirit, but it has excellent game viewing with a real wilderness atmosphere. July to October are the best months to visit the Park.

The water of the Park shelters crocodile, hippo and large flocks of pelicans. The diverse woodland, acacia bush, lakes and swamps have attracted over 400 species of birds. Leopard, lion, elephant, eland, roan and sable antelopes, southern reedbuck and topi inhabit the short grasses and thickets. Kitavi is also home to one of the largest herds of buffalo, with as many as 1,600 animals.

Mahale Mountains Park

Mahale Mountains, like Gombe, are home to some of the last remaining wild chimpanzees in Africa. The Park is reached by boat or plane, both of which are available for charter. May to October is the best time to visit. There are no roads and all game viewing is done on foot. Mahale is a unique ecological zone with lowland forest, moist and dry savannah, miombo and open woodlands. Animals range from elephant, buffalo, leopard and primates to roan and sable antelopes, giraffe, kudu, eland, leopard and lion.

Manyara

Located 125 km west of Arusha town, under the wall of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the oldest and most popular sanctuaries in East Africa. The park has a large variety of habitats making it possible to support a wealth of wildlife in its small area. The main habitats include the shallow soda lake itself which occupies 70% of the National Park total area of 320 sq km, the ground water forest, open grassland, acacia woodland and the rift wall. The most famous spectacle in the park is the tree-climbing lions, which are occasionally seen along branches of acacia trees. Other animals found in the park include buffalo, elephants, leopards, baboons, impala, giraffes, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich and hippos. Popularly referred to as an ornithologist’s paradise, Lake Manyara National Park contains over 400 bird species found in most savanna and river habitats in East Africa. Common water birds to be seen here are pelicans, spoonbills, Egyptian geese, hammerkops and the migratory flamingoes, which arrive in hundreds of thousands creating one of Africa’s greatest natural sights over the soda lake.

Mikumi National Park

Forming the northern border of Africa’s biggest game reserve, the Selous, Mikumi National Park is only three to four hours drive from Dar es Salaam, lying astride the main highway to Zambia, and en route to the National Parks of Ruaha and Udzungwa Mountains. The main feature of the park is the Mikumi flood plain, along with the mountain ranges that border the park on two sides. Open grasslands dominate in the flood plain, eventually merging with the miombo woodland covering the lower hills. The park is rich in wildlife and animals like buffaloes, hippos, baboons, sable antelopes, lions, wild dogs, wildebeests, zebras, impalas, giraffe, warthogs, and elephants which can be easily all the year round. Also reptiles including crocodiles, monitor lizards and pythons are resident in the park. Over 300 species of bird have been recorded some of which are Eurasian migrants.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

A UNESCO protected World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is situated some 190 km west of Arusha, between Lake Manyara and Serengeti National Parks. Covering approximately 8,288 square km, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area consists of the Ngorongoro Crater itself, the Olduvai Gorge and Ndutu, the Empakai crater and the Oldonyo Lengai Mountain. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a pioneering experiment in multi-purpose land use where people (the Maasai), their livestock and wildlife coexist and share the same protected habitat.

Wild animals are protected as in the National Parks. The craters of Ngorongoro and Empakai are reserved exclusively for wildlife, while the rest of the Conservation Area is shared by wildlife, people and livestock. The Maasai, the main residents of Ngorongoro, are pastoralists who move widely with their herds of cattle, sheep, goat and donkeys in search of pasture and water. In recent years the Maasai have been encouraged to work on the land and supplement their traditional diet of milk, blood and meat. The Ngorongoro Crater, which is the central attraction in the area, is the largest Caldera in the world that has its walls intact. The
Ngorongoro Crater floor, a sheer drop of 610 metres below the crater rim, has an area of 265 sq km, with a diameter of 19 km. The sight of the Ngorongoro Crater is simply stunning. “There is nothing with which to compare. It is one of the wonders of the world…” once wrote Professor Bernard Grzimek. The crater floor is covered with plains animals, including wildebeest, zebra, gazelles, elands, rhino, and a large predator population of lions, hyena and jackal which can all be viewed at close quarters. Cheetah and leopard can also be seen here. The rain season is between November and May. The altitude at the crater rim is about 2286 metres above sea level, and temperatures can get quite chilly in the evening.
 

Olduvai Gorge

The Olduvai Gorge, popularly referred to as ‘’The Cradle of Humankind’’, is the site where in 1959 Dr Louis Leakey discovered the skull of Zinjanthropus or “Nutcracker Man” believed to have lived 1.75 million years ago. Later reclassified as Australopithecus boisei, this creature had a massive skull though small brained (500cc) with huge teeth. Several months later Dr. Leakey found another fossil hominid in the same layer of excavation, called Homo habilis or “handy man”, smaller than the “Nutcracker Man” but with a larger brain (600cc) and capable of making simple stone tools.

Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park derives its name from the Ruaha River, which flows along its southeastern border. The river provides permanent water in the park and, during the dry season, animal concentration along its banks is spectacular. Ruaha National Park is about two to three hours drive from Iringa, a famous town on the Dar es Salaam to Zambia highway, and covers an area of 12, 950sq km, making it the second largest National Park in Tanzania, after Serengeti. This unspoilt wilderness is rich in flora (about 1650 plant species) and fauna, and contains a wide variety of animals that includes Greater and Lesser Kudu, roan and sable antelopes, which are rarely seen in most other game parks especially in Northern Tanzania. Ruaha National Park is famous for its herds of elephant and buffaloes. The Ruaha River, which plays an important role in the ecosystem of the park, provides sanctuary to a large number of hippos and crocodiles. During the dry season the river attracts great quantities of game including lions, leopard, hunting or wild dog, impala, waterbuck, warthog, giraffe, and elands. In the plains ostriches, cheetahs and Grants Gazelles can be seen. The park is rich in bird life throughout the year, with over 370 bird species recorded. The best time for game viewing is during the dry season, from May to December. During the wet months from January to April some tracks become impassable.

The Selous Game Reserve

The Selous Game Reserve, with an area of about 55,000 sq km, is the largest well-watered wildlife sanctuary in Africa, and one of the largest protected areas in the world. Its size is simply stunning, bigger than Switzerland, uninhabited and little touched by human interference. It is perhaps the most pristine wilderness still remaining in Africa, with a wide variety of wildlife habitats, including open grasslands, Acacia and miombo woodlands, swamps and riverine forests in the many tributaries of the mighty Rufiji River which flows though the reserve. Due to its unique ecological importance, it was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1982. Its wildlife is spectacular, and some of its mammal and reptile populations the largest in Africa, namely buffaloes, elephants, hippos, wild dogs and crocodiles. Other wildlife include the wildebeest, impala, waterbuck, zebra, eland, the greater kudu, sable antelopes, giraffe, baboon, the vervet and blue monkeys, and the black and white colobus monkey which can be seen in certain riverine forests moving from tree to tree in family groups. There is a large population of predators including lions, leopards, cheetah and the spotted hyena, and about 440 species of birds in the Selous, of both resident and migratory birds.

Named after Captain Frederick Courtney Selous, a legendary 19th century naturalist, explorer and hunter, Selous Game Reserve was founded in 1905. It is situated in the southern part Tanzania, bordered by Mikumi National Park to the northwest and by Udzungwa Mountains National Park and Kibasira Swamp to the west. The greater part of northern Selous is reserved for photographic safaris, and it is one of the most beautiful and game rich areas in the whole ecosystem.

The Selous wilderness meets the kind of dream visitors have of Africa of the early European explorers like Dr Livingstone and Henry Stanley. The Reserve offers a wider variety of game viewing opportunities to the visitor, including the thrilling experience of a foot safari through game inhabited bushes in the company of an armed ranger. The many waterways in the Reserve provide an excellent natural setting for boat safaris, both for game viewing and bird watching. This is in addition to the game drives in 4X4 motor vehicles which, combined with boat and walking safaris, offer an exciting and richer game viewing itinerary unique to the Selous Game Reserve. The best time to visit the Selous is from June to October. During the long rains, between March and May, some parts of the Selous become impassable and are temporarily closed for game drives.

Serengeti National Park

Covering an area of 14,763 sq. km, Serengeti National Park is the largest National Park in Tanzania. The park is located some 320 km to the northwest of Arusha, lying in a high plateau between the Ngorongoro highlands and the Kenya/Tanzania border, and extending almost to Lake Victoria to the west. Aptly named ‘’endless plains’’ by the Maasai people, you immediately experience this vastness as you enter the southeastern plains of the park from Ngorongoro. Declared a protected area in 1921 and gazetted as a National park in 1951, Serengeti is the oldest National Park in Tanzania and undoubtedly one of the most famous wildlife sanctuaries in the world. The principal features of the Serengeti are the short and long grass plains in the south and east, the acacia Savannah in the central areas, the hilly and densely wooded areas in the north and the extensive woodland in the west.

There is a variety of scenery, which include the plains, lakes, hills and the rock outcrops called kopjes. The main game drive areas in the Serengeti are the Seronera Valley, the Western Corridor, and Lobo or northern Serengeti. The Seronera valley in central Serengeti endowed with permanent surface water attract a large concentration of wildlife throughout the year. Common animals that can be seen here are lions, buffaloes, impalas, hippos, waterbucks, elephants, cheetahs and the leopard. From December, when the long rains start, to May, eastern Serengeti plains provide the best opportunities for game viewing as hundreds of thousands of the migratory animals are concentrated in this part attracted by the short palatable grass. Between May and June, when drought sets in, Serengeti is the site of one of the most breathtaking events in the animal kingdom – the migration of thousands of wildebeest heading southwest, north or west in search of water and greener pastures. The Lobo area remains rich in wildlife during the dry months of July to October when most of the game has moved from the grass plains in the south. This is also true of the Western Corridor towards Lake Victoria when the migration usually lingers in the area between June and July. Serengeti provides sanctuary to the highest concentration of plains animals in the world. Survey estimates indicate an animal population of about 4 million including 3,000 lions, 1,600,000 wildebeests, 300,000 Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle, 500,000 zebras. There are over 400 species of birds in the Serengeti.
The vegetation in the Serengeti ranges from the short and long grass plains in the south, to the acacia savannah in the centre and the wooded grassland concentrated around tributaries of the Grumeti and Mara rivers. The western corridor is a region of wooded highland and extensive plains reaching to the edge of Lake Victoria.

The Seronera Valley in the Serengeti is famous for the abundance lion and leopard that can usually be seen quite easily. The adult male lions of the Serengeti have characteristic black manes.

Tarangire National Park

Tarangire National Park lies 120 km south of Arusha, along The Great North Road highway, and is very popular for day trips from the town. Tarangire offers a wide variety of wildlife in its area of 2,600 sq km. As in all ecosystems, the vegetation and the types of animals you find are closely correlated. The principal features of the park are the flood plains and the grassland, mainly comprising of various types of acacia trees, and a few scattered baobabs, tamarind and the sausage trees. The Tarangire River, after which the park is named, provides the only permanent water for wildlife in the area. When the Maasai Steppes dry up with the end of the long rains in June, migratory animals return to the Tarangire River, making Tarangire National Park second only to Ngorongoro in the concentration of wildlife. This period stretches between June and November and it is the best season for game viewing in Tarangire. The most common animals found in the park include zebras, wildebeest, lions, leopards, waterbucks, giraffe, elephants, gazelles, impala, gerenuk, lesser kudu and the beautiful fringe-eared oryx. You may be lucky to spot the tree-climbing python for which the park is famous, or the greater kudu and the roan antelope which are rare species in Northern Tanzania. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded in the Park.

Udzungwa Mountains  Reserve

Harbouring one of East Africa’s great forests, Udzungwa Mountain National Park has an area of 1900 sq km, bordered by the Great Ruaha River to the north, with Mikumi National Park and Selous Game Reserve located further to the north and east. Protected as a national forest reserve until 1992 when it was commissioned as National Park, Udzungwa Mountains is undoubtedly one of the few true virgin and unique forested lands remaining in the world.

The major attractions include its biologically diverse forest, harbouring some plant species found nowhere else in the world, from a tiny African violet to 30-metre high trees. Apart from the forest, which acts as a water catchment area and having a large number of endemic species of both animals and plants, the park has spectacular mountains scenery, grasslands, rocks, rivers and waterfalls. One of the most spectacular sight is the presence of two indigenous species of primates, the Iringa red colobus monkey and the Sanje Crested Mangabey, not known until 1979. Apart from providing habitat to about six species of primates, its plateau contains populations of elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, African hunting dogs and several forest bird species.

Walking safaris to the Sanje River waterfalls (170 metres) is one of the popular activities in this park. Udzungwa Mountains’ can conveniently be combined with game drives in nearby Mikumi National Park, an hour’s drive to the north, or be included in the Ruaha National Park (4-5 hours drive) and Selous Game Reserve itineraries. The park has very good camping sites and is easily reachable through its conveniently located airstrip. The park can be visited throughout the year although it is a bit slippery during the wet rainy season. The dry season is June to October.

Saadani Game Reserve

Located only 130 km north of Dar es salaam and directly to the west of Zanzibar, Saadani is the only coastal wildlife sanctuary in East Africa, which not only means relaxing on Indian Ocean beaches after each safari, but provides the opportunity to observe Africa’s big game and birdlife interacting with the sea. The Reserve, about 1000 sq km in size, is being considered for upgrade to the National Park status. Saadani has a diverse population of mammals and birds. Elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra, colobus monkey, hippo, crocodile and the rare Roosevelt sable can be seen here. Saadani offers a choice of a driving safari, nature walk, and boat safari.

Kilimanjaro national Park

“As wide as all the world, great, high and unbelievably white in the sun was the square top of Mount Kilimanjaro”, wrote Ernest Hemingway of this highest mountain in Africa rising to 5,895 metres above sea level. Situated near the town of Moshi in northern Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro rises from the dry plains, through a wide belt of forest and high alpine heath to an almost bare desert and finally the snow capped summit, Uhuru Peak, just 3 degrees south of the Equator. One of the world’s highest free standing mountains, Mt Kilimanjaro is composed of three extinct volcanoes: Kibo 5895 m (19340 ft), Mawenzi 5149 m (16896 ft), and Shira 3962 m (13000 ft). The ascent of Kilimanjaro can be done from six routes: Mweka, Umbwe, Shira, Rongai, Machame, and the Marangu Route which is the easier and the most popular. Depending on which route one wants to use, the climb of Kilimanjaro can take between four nights to six nights on the mountain. The two most popular routes are Marangu and Machame routes. On the Marangu Route, accommodation is in alpine huts while on Machame Route it is camping throughout. While expert guides and porters will accompany you on your climb, unlike Mount Everest, no technical equipment is required.