About Tanzania
Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park may be small, but it protects Africa’s 5th highest peak, Mount Meru. It is a rarely visited park hence it has an almost intact ecosystem consisting of montane forest, rolling grassy hills and momela lakes.
The forest is inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys, colourful turacos and is the only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen.
In the middle of the forest lies the spectacular Ngurdoto crater whose rocky cliffs enclose a marshy floor dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog.
Gombe Stream National Park
The smallest of Tanzania’s Parks, Gombe Stream National Park lies on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and is popular for its chimpanzee habitat. Other primates in the park include baboons, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys and bush babies.
The park also serves as home to over 200 bird species.
Katavi National Park
Tanzania’s 3rd largest National Park, Katavi National Park is isolated, untrammeled and rarely visited giving any visitor the feeling of being a first time explorer. The immense wetlands, roaring waterfalls, and woodlands are home to elusive populations of eland, sable and roan antelope, elephants, buffalo, giraffes, reedbuck, lions and many more. The Katuma River and Lake Katavi both serve as home to Tanzania’s densest population of hippos and crocodiles as well as a myriad of birdlife.
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park is home to the 50 km scenic gem; Lake Manyara that Ernest Hemmingway once described as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa.” Although the park is small in size, it boasts over 400 species of birds, tree climbing lions and massive elephant herds. Its ecosystem consists of open plains, lush forests and acacia woodlands. The forests are one of the best places to spot leopards.
The park is also home to the largest concentration of baboons anywhere in the world.
Mahale Mountains National Park
The Mahale Mountains National Park lies on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika and is in one of the most remote locations in Tanzania. The park has a unique combination of forests, mountains and lakes, and is home to some of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees.
Fauna that inhabit the park include lions, elephant, hippo, buffalo, giraffe and leopard.
The lake contains more than 250 species of fish found nowhere else on earth.
Mkomazi National Park
The park lies below the slopes of the spectacular Usambara and Pare mountain ranges. The savannah and grasslands are home to 2 endangered species; the black rhino and the African wild dog. Giraffe, eland, hartebeest, zebra, elephant, buffalo, fringe eared oryx, the spiral horned lesser kudu and the generuk are wildlife that call this park home.
It is a fantastic destination for birding enthusiasts with it’s 450 species of birds such as the cobalt chested vulturine, kori bustard and ground hornbill but to name a few.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area
The Ngorongoro conservation area in Northern Tanzania is popularly known as the “8th wonder of the world”. It stretches across 8,300 sq. kms bordering the Serengeti National park in the north and the west.
Steeped in history and home to the world famous Ngorongoro Crater, the area is also renowned for Olduvai Gorge; the cradle of mankind, the Ndutu and Masek alkaline rich, soda lakes; all of which are home to rich game populations.
Ruaha National Park
Recently expanded, Ruaha National Park is Tanzania’s 2nd largest national park, for the most part unspoilt and thriving in wildlife due to its remoteness. The terrain varies from vast savannah plains to tangled riverine thickets and the very lifeblood of the park; The Great Ruaha River. Most of the park sits on a 900 meter plateau turning the game viewing into a spectacular and unique experience.Sable & Roan antelopes, Greater & Lesser kudu, huge elephant herds, lions, leopards, cheetahs and a myriad of bird species are just some of the park’s many inhabitants.
Selous National Park
The reserve is Africa’s largest protected wildlife reserve and covers more than 5% of Tanzania’s total area. Rolling grassy woodlands and plains, rocky outcrops, the Rufiji River’s and it’s tributaries forming a network of lakes, channels and lagoons, and the various volcanic hot springs that burst forth from the ground, all serve to form the reserve’s intricate ecosystem.
The Selous is unique in that it offers a large range of activities including boating safaris, hiking safaris and fly camping. The reserve is also home to a third of all the wild dogs in the world. Wildlife found within the reserve include elephants, antelopes, crocodiles, hippos, white colobus monkeys, sickle horned sable and curly horned greater kudu.
Serengeti National Park
The Serengeti is Tanzanias oldest and most popular national park. The Serengeti is famous for its annual migration, when millions of hooves pound the open plains, as more than 190,000 zebra and 280,000 Thomson's gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing. When the migration is over, the Serengeti offers the most fascinating game viewing in Africa: big herds of buffalo, groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands upon thousands of topi, eland, impala, kongoni, and Grant’s gazelle.