Selous is largest game reserve in whole Africa, one of the most favorite game viewing areas of the continent. Covering 48,000-sq-km, the reserve is amongst the largest protected areas of Africa, a vast wilderness nested in the heart of southern Tanzania.

Selous is a splendid safari destination for both families and honeymooners, all because it is easy to get there and there is no crowds, like in the busy Northern circuit.  The reserve contains the widest diversity of safari activities in the country, ranging from boating safaris to the standard game drives, walking safaris and legendary fly camping trips.

The Northern part of Selous is home to a maze of channels and lagoons that run off the Rufiji River. This abundant landscape is a water source for the Selous residents, and towards the end of the dry season the concentration of animals around is spectacular.

More than 440 bird species can be found in the Selous. On the lakes you can spot pink-backed pelicans, African skimmers and giant kingfishers, while the sandbanks are home to carmine and white-fronted bee eater colonies. Fish eagle couples, palmnut vulture, ibises and palm swifts all nest in the borassus palms, and other water birds include yellow-billed stork, white-crowned and spur-winged plovers, various small waders, pied and malachite kingfishers.

Game drives are offered usually in the cool early morning and again as the sun sets in the evenings, when you’re most likely to see the Big Five, a vast number of antelope species, giraffe, zebra, warthog, African wild dogs and plenty more! At midday, when the sun is high, both humans and animals retreat into the shade for a rest.

Walking safaris are also common activity in Selous, allowing you to intimately experience African bush  with its animals, birds and insects, as much as is physically possible. There is nothing more unique that the loud silence of the bush with its bird calls, insect chitter and the occasional roar of a lion.

What to do

Game drives, Wildlife photography, Birding, Boat Safaris, Walking safaris, Fishing.

How to get there

By Road

An approximately 6-hour drive from Dar es Salaam, depending on the state of the road, which, in turn, depends on the weather.

By Air

Daily flights to Selous are offered in light aircraft, from both Dar es Salaam (45 minutes) and Ruaha (90 minutes).

Udzungwa Mountains National Park is, by all means, one of the most exceptional and thrilling wilderness areas in Tanzania, containing some unique wildlife species in its forests. The park is well known for its primates, as there are 12 species that include two endemic ones, such are Sanje Mangabey and the Iringa Red Colobus. Udzungwa is home to some 400 species of bird, many of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

Udzungwa mountain range is often dubbed to as – The Galapagos Islands of Africa, due to its high levels of biodiversity and endemism.

The park’s scenery is magnificent, woven with the rainforest spreading across the hills, valleys and mountains. Within the park there is a range of impressive waterfalls, including Sanje Waterfalls, which is the highest waterfall in Tanzania. Swimming in the plunge pools of the waterfalls is extremely refreshing following a hot hike.

Despite the fact that Udzungwa is not a prime game viewing destination, it is still a magnet for hikers. With a range of forest trails, and ultra popular half-day walk to Sanje Waterfall, it rewards the visitors with the splendid sceneries and diversity, like of which you will not find in the world today.

There is a more challenging 3 days hike through Mwanihana Trail, leading to the high plateau and its panoramic views over the surrounding sugar plantations, before ascending to Mwanihana peak, the second-highest point in the range.

For bird watchers, taking a carved canoe ride along the Kilombero river is a must, because it is easy to spot the endemic Kilombero Weaver, bee eaters, pelicans and other seasonal water-birds. You might as well see hippos, crocodiles and Nile monitor lizards. All this combined makes it a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon, enjoying a picnic lunch in unforgettable natural environment.

Getting there

Drive from Dar es Salaam or Mikumi National Park.

What to do

From a two-hour hike to the waterfall as well as camping safaris. Combine with nearby Mikumi or en route to Ruaha.

Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania, nested in the heart of the country. It is one of very few protected wildlife areas where you can spice the game viewing with the sight of breathtaking landscapes. The ecosystem of the park is almost untouched and unexplored, adding the flavor to the  visitors safari experience and making it quite unique.

During dry season, Ruaha rivers become the main source of water for wildlife, but apart from the rivers there are several natural springs serving the same purpose.

In the pick of dry season, elephants obtain water from dry river beds by using their front feet and trunks, while the remaining waterfalls along the Great Ruaha River are also important habitat for hippopotamus, fish and crocodiles.

The park has a high diversity of plants and animals including elephants, buffalos, antelopes and some of rare and endangered species like wild dogs. Ruaha is one true ornithology paradise, with more than 571species, of which some are known to be migrants from within and outside Africa. Some of the notable species in the park include Ruaha red-billed hornbill, which is dominant in the area. Though birds can be seen all the year around, the best time for bird watching is during the wet season.

The parks concentration of elephants is believed to be highest, comparing to any national park in East Africa. It is also one of the few places in Tanzania where you can spot rare species of antelopes like Kudu, Sable and Roan antelopes, within the  Miombo woodland. Ruaha is also a habitat for endangered wild dogs, while other residents of the park include lions, leopards, cheetah, giraffes, zebras, elands, impala, bat eared foxes and Jackals.

Apart from large mammals, the park is also a home to a number of reptiles such as crocodiles, poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, monitor lizards, agama lizards and frogs.

The rivers of the park represent economical, social and ecological significance for the setting itself, but also the whole country. Main rivers flows include Great Ruaha, Mzombe, Mdonya, Mwagusi and Jongomero.

The Great Rift Valley crosses the park, with its escarpment wall along the western valley side about 50-100m high in the north-eastern parts, and gaining height to the South-West. Natural springs can be found throughout the park and their source lies in the base of the Western Rift Valley escarpment, of which mostly known are Mkwawa, Mwayembe, Makinde and Majimoto springs. They represent a sanctuary for the wildlife in dry season, when most of the rivers run dry.

What to do

Game viewing, long and short wilderness walking safari, bird watching.

The wet season (January –April) is best for bird watching, lush scenery and wildflowers. The male Greater kudu is most visible in June which is their mating season.

How to get there

By air

There are both scheduled and chartered flights into the park mainly from Arusha, Dodoma, Kigoma and Dar-es-salaam. Park’s airstrips are located at Msembe and Jongomero

By road

It is about 130km drive from Iringa town and 625km from Dar-es-salaam city.

The road into the park is passable throughout the year.

Saadani National Park is a unique mixture of game viewing, palm trees swaying on the beaches of Indian ocean  and the blue water glittering under the tropical sun, which all makes it very special place to visit.

Saadani is the only wildlife reserve in East Africa that boasts Indian Ocean beachfront, but also provides classic setting of game viewing, which makes it very popular destination for European beach lovers. The park is also such place where your leisure moments on the beach might be interrupted by an elephant walking by, or a lion quenching his thirst at the nearby waterhole!

You can find astonishingly wide range of grazers and primates on the game drives and walks, like of which are giraffes, buffaloes, warthogs, common waterbucks, reedbucks, hartebeests, wildebeests, red duikers, greater kudus, elands, sable antelopes, yellow baboons and velvet monkeys.

There can be found herds of up to 30 elephants almost frequently, with also several lion inhabiting the area, together with leopards, spotted hyenas and black-backed jackals. Boat trips on the Wami River give you opportunity of sighting hippos, crocodiles and a range of birds, including the mangrove kingfisher and flamingo. Saadan’s beaches represent the last major green turtle breeding sites on mainland Tanzania.

How to get there

Charter flight from Zanzibar or Dar es Salaam with a possibility of scheduled flights. Thrice-weekly road shuttle from Dar es Salaam, taking four hours in each direction.

Surfaced Moshi road for 160km (100 miles), then 60km (36 miles) on dirt.

Road access from Tanga and Pangani except after heavy rains.

What to do

Game drives and guided walks, Boat trips, Swimming.

Mikumi National Park is fourth largest national park Tanzania, accessible primarily from Dar es Salaam. This park offers almost guaranteed wildlife sightings, which makes it ideal safari destination for travelers without much time for safari.

Located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range, Mikumi is a home to a wide variety of wildlife that can be easy spotted during game viewing. Most visitors come to Mikumi looking to spot the ‘Big Five’ (cheetah, lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhino), and they seldom leave the park disappointed. Hippo pools provide close access to these mud-loving giants, and bird-watching along the waterways is one of a kind. Mikumi borders the Selous Game Reserve and Udzungwa Mountains National Park, and the three form spectacular safari circuit.

Vast open horizons and rich wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, extremely popular centre piece of Mikumi, draws frequent attention, similar to the much more famous Serengeti Plains.

Dappled by a excellent circuit of game-viewing roads, Mkata Floodplain is probably the most reliable place in whole Tanzania where you can spot mighty eland, the world’s largest antelope. There are also not much less impressive greater kudu and sable antelope gazing the foothills covered in miombo.

There are more than 400 bird species recorded within the park, with such common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated long claw and bateleur eagle joined by a host of European migrants during the rainy season. Hippos are the prime attraction of the pair of pools nested 5km North of the main entrance gate, surrounded by ever-changing flocks of water-birds.

How to get there

A good surfaced road connects Mikumi to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro, a roughly 4 hour drive.

Also road connections to Udzungwa, Ruaha and (dry season only) Selous.

Charter flight are available from Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Selous. Local buses run from Dar to park HQ where game drives can be arranged.

What to do

Game drives and guided walks. Visit nearby Udzungwa or travel on to Selous or Ruaha.

Ngorongoro Crater is one of Tanzania’s most popular sites, being said to contain the highest density of wildlife in Africa. Sometimes called ‘eighth wonder of the world’, the Crater is attracting an growing number of visitors every year.  You should expect the crowd and other vehicles being there at the same time, but you will be rewarded with great wildlife viewing in a absolutely breathtaking environment, found nowhere else in Africa!

The crown jewel of Ngorongoro is a deep volcanic crater, making the largest un flooded and unbroken caldera in the world. Spreading around 20kms across, 600 meters deep and 300 sq kms in area, the Ngorongoro Crater is a mind-blowing natural wonder.

The Crater rim is over 2,200 metres high and has its own climate. From this viewpoint it is possible to see tiny shapes of animals making their way around the crater floor deep inside the crater.

The crater floor consists of many different habitats that include grassland, swamps, forests and Lake Makat, which is Maasai word for salt, whose water supply comes from the Munge River.

Although animals are free to move in and out of this unique ecosystem, the rich volcanic soil and lush forests and water sources on the crater floor, combined with steep crater sides, somehow incline wildlife to remain in the crater throughout the year.

How to get there:

There is a drive from Arusha that takes around 4 hours to reach Ngorongoro Crater.

Alternatively you can fly to Manyara airstrip, which is about an hour from the Crater itself.

What to do:

Walking safaris, game drive safaris, visit to the Empakaai Crater or Olduvai Gorge.

Mount Kilimanjaro is a national park in Tanzania, located 300 km South of the Equator, situated in Kilimanjaro Region. At the heart of the park is the 5895m Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak and one of the continent’s most majestic sights. Kilimanjaro is also one of the world’s highest volcanoes, and the highest free-standing mountain on Earth, rising from cultivated farmlands on the lower slopes, through lush rainforest to alpine deserts, and finally across a lunar landscape to the summits of Kibo and Mawenzi.

Kilimanjaro consist of five main vegetation zones from the lowest to the highest point, including lower slopes, montane forest, heath and moorland, alpine desert and summit. The whole mountain including the montane forest belt is very rich in species, in particular mammals, many of them endangered species.

Kilimanjaro is one of the world’s most accessible high summits, a beacon for visitors from around the world. Most climbers reach the crater rim with little more than a walking stick, proper clothing and determination.

But there is so much more to Kilimanjaro than just the summit, because the whole expedition is one of a kind climatic world tour, starting from the tropical rainforests to the arctic conditions on the very top.

Getting there

30km from Moshi, and 128 km drive from Arusha. About one hour from Kilimanjaro airport.

What to do

• Six trekking routes to Uhuru Peak
• Day or overnight hikes on the Shira plateau
• Visit the beautiful Chala crater lake on the mountain’s southeastern slopes
• Materuni and Marangu waterfalls and coffee tours

At 552 sq km, Arusha National Park  ia a small park, and despite the fact that there is wildlife here, it iss nothing compared to other Northern Circuit parks. But such minor details can be easily forgotten when you engage in walking thru  its mind blowing sceneries and vast trekking possibilities.

Which is why this pars is a popular destination for day excursions, with just 25km distance from Arusha, and only 35 km from Kilimanjaro International Airport. The small national park consists of the slopes, summit, and ash cone of Mount Meru, the Momela Lakes, Ngurdoto Crater, and the lush highland forests that covers its lower slopes. Game viewing around the Momela Lakes happens in a very slow pace, and as you pass through the forest you should definitely look for  the troupes of rare colubus monkeys hanging in the canopy.

The closest national park to Arusha town is a well hidden jewel, often overlooked by tourists aiming for the big names, despite providing the opportunity to explore a diversity of habitats on the relatively small space .

To the north, grass covered hills enclose the pristine beauty of Momela Lakes, each one having a different tone of green or blue. Shallow sections of the lakes are sometimes painted pink with thousands of flamingos covering the area. Within the park you can see giraffes gently glide across the grassy hills, making way thru the herds of  zebras, while couples of dik-dik scatter around the bushes like overgrown hares on skinny legs.

Elephants are not common in Arusha National Park, with lions are totally absent, while leopards and spotted hyenas may be seen early in the morning and late afternoon.

Getting there

The park is just a few km northeast of Arusha, with the main gate 25 km east of the city. It is also 58 km from Moshi and 35 km from Kilimanjaro International Airport.

What to do

Moun Meru trekking, game drives, walking safaris, canoeing, bird watching .

Tarangire National Park is the sixth largest national park in Tanzania, located in Manyara Region, with the name originating from Tarangire river that flows thru the park.

Tarangire is widely known for the highest population of elephants, compared to anywhere else in Tanzania. It is not very rich in vegetation, scattered with baobab and acacia trees makes soectacular and distinctive location to visit.

Located just a few hour drive from the Arusha, Tarangire is a popular stop for all who travel through the northern circuit on their way to Ngorongoro or Serengeti. The park consists of two game controlled sections, and the wildlife is allowed to move freely thru whole area.

Before the rains, herds of gazelles, wildebeests, zebras, and giraffes migrate to Tarangire plains, where the last grazing land still exists. The park offers an exceptional game viewing, and during the dry season you can see large groups of elephants.

Herds of up to 300 elephants scrape dry river bed in search of underground streams, while migratory wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, impala, gazelle, hartebeest and eland rally in the shrinking lagoons. This makes Tarangire largest concentration of wildlife outside Serengeti, providing easy prey for predators, and the only place in Tanzania where you can regularly see dry-country antelope such as oryx and long-necked gerenuk.

Home to more than 550 bird species, the park is a haven for bird enthusiasts.

Abandoned termite mounds are often inhabited by colonies of dwarf mongoose, and pairs of red-and-yellow barbet, which draw attention to themselves by their loud duetting.

Tarangire is famous for its tree-climbing pythons, as do its lions and leopards, basking in the branches where the fruit of the sausage tree make the perfect disguise for their tails.

Getting there

Easy drive from Arusha or Lake Manyara following a surfaced road to within 7km (four miles) of the main entrance gate.

What to do

Walking, driving and camping safaris.

Located in the background of the Great Rift Valley western escarpment, this long and narrow park covers the area between the escarpment and Lake Manyara. The lake is very shallow and alkaline and covers one-third of the park but reduces considerably in the dry season.

Lake Manyara National Park is very easy to access, taking about 90 minutes drive from Arusha and only an hour from the Ngorongoro Crater. Which is why on the northern side of the park can get very crowded, especially in the afternoons. To see the park at its best, we recommend that you either stay within the park or spend two nights somewhere close, entering the park early for a full-day safari.

There are two main entrances to the park, a northern and southern gate. The northern gate is much more used, because the majority of accommodation facilities can be found in the northern section of the park. The southern gate is not commonly used because of the very restricted access, and there are only few camps and lodges available at this entrance.

Covering only about 330km², of which commonly two-thirds is underwater, Lake Manyara National Park is a small park by African standards. However, it’s also very beautiful and represents a home to wide diversity of animals, especially birds.

Lake Manyara large mammals population includes good numbers of elephant, buffalo and wildebeest along with plenty of giraffes. Within the park you can also spot quite a number are zebra, waterbuck, warthog and impalas. You may need to put a little more effort to encounte small and relatively shy Kirk’s dik-dik, and klipspringer on the slopes of the escarpment. The broken forests and escarpment make a good home for leopards, while Manyara is famous for its tree-climbing lions, but this isn’t as unique to the park as is often claimed. Here you can find huge troops of baboons, which number often passes several hundred, and are considered as largest in Africa.

More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many of them remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara is a perfect spot for bird watching, since visitors to the park can expect to see more than 100 different species of bird on any day.

Getting there:

Lake Manyara National Park is located 126 km (78 mi) south west of Arusha and can be reached by car in an hour and a half. The park is also accessible from Babati, the capital of Manyara Region. There is also an airport, Lake Manyara Airport (LKY), located at the top of the rift wall.