Tanzania: National Parks and Natural Beauty
Tanzania Honeymoons, Safari Holidays in Tanzania, Serengeti Safari, Tanzania Safari
Specialist, Tanzania Walking Safari, Climb Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Zanzibar
Diving, Mafia Diving, Zanzibar Honeymoon, Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Selous, Zanzibar,
Pemba
Tanzania: National Parks and areas of Natural Beauty
Nestled on the border of Tanzania and Kenya, Kilimanjaro rises impressively from the surrounding bush to a staggering 19,340 feet making it the tallest mountain in Africa. As well as providing the adventurous with the challenge of a lifetime, the park has a vast mountane forest that is home to elephant, leopard, buffalo, Abbot’s duiker, antelope and primates. Those who brave the challenge of the mountian will pass through weather conditions from tropical at the base to artic at the top. The views from this, the roof of Africa are unparalelled.
The focus of this park is the massive volcanic crater that is covered with forest and rises to 600m. This crater is the largest unbroken caldera in the world. The crater floor is comprised of Lake Magadi, Gorigor Swamp and Lerai forest and provides excellent game viewing.
This park is probably the most famous in all of Africa, made so because of the huge migration of wildebeest that takes place each year. There are few other places in the world where the relationship between prey and predator is made more clear than when watching the lion, leopard and cheetah follow the migration. After the rains, the park is transformed into a vast carpet of green and wildflowers that spring up overnight.
Ernest Hemingway called this lake “the most beautiful in al Africa”. The region is famous for its tree-climbing lion, mongoose, elephant and 440 different species of bird making it a bird watcher's paradise. There is also a strong population of baboon and blue monkey. The park is at the base of the 600m high Rift Valley Escarpment.
This park has vast amounts of wildlife in a very compacted area as the beasts gather round the few remaining water holes during the dry season. You can watch as elephants scratch the dusty riverbed trying to find underground streams and predators hunt their prey. During the wet season the plains burst into life and the animals spred out over 20,000km2.
This national Park sits on the hilly sides of the northern highlands. On driving through the gates you enter eerily quiet mountane forest that are full of blue monkeys and black-and-white colobus monkeys. Mount Meru is within the park’s perimeter and offers unparallel views of its famous neighbour, Mount Kilimanjaro. Those wishing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro may consider climbing Mount Meru as a warm-up hike.
Tanzania: Southern Circut National Parks and Natural Beauty
This the largest game reserve in Tanzania, indeed the world supports large populations of wildlife including 30,000 elephants, 200,000 buffalo and 30% of Africa’s population of hunting dogs with a population of 1300. More than 440 species of birds have been recorded here and the Rufiji River in the north is packed with hippos and crocs.
The Great Ruaha river sets the scene of this beautiful national park that is home to 10,000 elephant and 450 different species of bird. A pride of 20 lions lord over this savannah as well as cheetah, leopard and hyena. The park also has a herd of greater kudu (which is on the park emblem. These beasts are distinguished by the male’s magnificent corkscrew horns. Also worth seeing are the stone-age ruins at Isimila.
While not renowned for its game viewing, this park is a must for anyone who enjoys a hike. There is an enjoyable half-day hike that takes the traveler to Sanje waterfall that plunges 170m (550ft), spray flying, into the forest gorge below. The park is covered in an impressive forest that reaches up to 2,000m (6,560ft) without any interruptions. 6 primate species have been recorded in the park and the Iringa Red Colobus and the Sanje Crested Mangabey can be found nowhere else in the world.
This National Park is a great stopping point while traveling to Selous or Ruaha. The centerpiece of the park is the Mkata floodplain that supports an abundance of wildlife. Giraffe and elephant reside near the main river and this park is the best place in Tanzania for sighting the world’s largest antelope, the eland. In the wet season hippo abound in the park and 400 species of bird have been recorded.
This unique park on the east coast of Tanzania just 70km from Bagamoyo is a great place to visit for a day trip or short safari if you’re based in Dar es Salaam. It has a large population of hippos, crocodiles, flamingos, and many large bird species. On a rare occasion the early riser is rewarded with the strange sight of the parks elephant population coming down to play on the beach and the surf, a photographic opportunity not to be missed!
Tanzania: Southern Circut National Parks and Natural Beauty
This national park lies near Lake Tanganyika and is the smallest park in all of Tanzania. The park is most famous for it’s habituated chimpanzees and as you walk through the forest you can hear their piercing outbursts as they communicate with each other. At night you can look out over the water of the lake and see light spilling from the lanterns of hundreds of small wooden boats.
The Mahle Mountains are a sight that will stop you in your tracks when you first behold them. Rising more than 2km in height, they are the home to some of Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees, a population of roughly 800. Red colobus, red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys and a whole host of birds. Trekking up the mountain you will come to the lake that harbours an estimated 1,000 species of fish. The tallest mountain in the park is Nkungwe (2,460m / 8,069ft) and is held sacred by the local Tongwe people.
This remote park lies in the south west of Tanzania and its predominant feature is the Katuma River and the seasonal lakes of Katavi and Chada. During the wet season the floodplains fill up with elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, impala and reedbuck; all providing easy pickings for the lion prides and hyena packs that converge on the plains. The most impressive beast in Katavi is the hippo and at the end of the dry season up to 200 may gather at each watering hole, leading to a great deal of territorial fights.
Tanzania: The Islands
Just 40km off the mainland, the Zanzibar archipelago consists of two major islands, Unguja (Zanzibar) and Pemba, and numerous smaller ones. The islands are justly famous for their beautiful palm fringed beaches and accessible coral reefs. The Spice Island has a long and important history in the production of cloves, and has a 200 year history of trading with India, Persia and Arabia, resulting in a unique fusion of influences clearly visible in the culture and architecture of the islands. If you want to just chill out after your safari, or enjoy water sports and superb diving and snorkeling then head for the islands biggest attraction the coral beaches of the north and east coasts.