Places to See in Tanzania

Tanzania has got many national parks and some of these include; Arusha National park that covers 552 sq km and it’s within the riverine wetland ecosystem. It has the montane forests as well as the alpine deserts of mount Meru which is Africa’s fifth highest mountain at 4, 566 m. This national park has got marshy areas, rolling grassy hills, and the wooded savannah. It has many animals including the Trogon, elephants, colobus monkeys, warthogs, red hot poker, giraffe, blue monkeys, Klipspringer, and the African buffaloes. Arusha National Park is also near the city of Arusha, and the Kilimanjaro International Airport that is 60km away.

Birding – Arusha National Park

There is the Gombe stream National Park, which is the smallest of Tanzania’s National parks covering an area of 52 sqkm. It has got a natural topography and has steep hill slopes, river valleys and the sandy northern shores of Lake Tanganyika. The park is also drained by the Gombe River and can be accessed to through boats from Kigoma. The animals here include; primates like chimpanzees, olive baboons, the red tailed monkeys and the red colobus monkey. It has got over 200 bird species including the African fish eagle and the red throated twin spot.

The Katavi National park also covers an area of 4471 sq km and is Tanzania’s third largest National park in the remote south west of the country. This is also an integral part of the riverine and the palustrine wetland ecosystem. The main animals found here include; the eland, roan antelopes, sable, hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants, lions, spotted hyenas, the African buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, impala, and the reed buck.

The Kilimanjaro National park which is also a UNESCO Site and gets its name to the park. This is the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895m and is also the tallest free standing mountain in the world, the animal species found here include; leopard, Africa buffalo, elephant, the abbott’s duiker, and many primates.

Kitulo Plateau National park also covers an area of 413 sq km and it’s covered by montane grassland with rich water resources at an elevation of about 2,600m. it’s between the rugged peaks, of the Ruaha river. The animals found here include; butterflies, chameleons, lizards, and the frogs. The park headquarters are located at Matamba inside the park which is 11 kilometres from Mbeya town.

There is also the Mahale Mountains National park which is set on the shores of the lake with the watershed that comprises richly forested Mahale Mountains with its peaks as high as 2 kilometre above the lake shores. The animals found here include; the chimpanzees, red colobus monkeys, and the blue monkeys, 1000 fish species and many bird species.

Lake Manyara National park also covers 330 sq km and its also an alkaline lake. This geography of the park is also seen formed by the serrated volcanic peaks that rise from the Maasai steppes. The animal species here include; bush buck, baboons, blue monkeys, giraffes, tree climbing lions, squadrons of the banded mongoose, dikdik, and the Klipspringer.

Rubondo National Park

The other national parks found in Tanzania include; Mikumi National park, Mkomazi National park, Ruaha National park, Rubondo Island National park, Saadani National park, Tarangire national park, Udzungwa mountains National park, Serengeti National park as well as the Ngorongoro Conservationa Area.