ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

Arusha national park is a small protected area of about 137sqkm found in the northern circuit of the Tanzanian wilderness. The park covers mountain Meru which is the highest mountain in Africa rising above 4566m from sea level. Arusha national park is famous for the daily excursions for the people moving from Arusha to the northern circuit and has the best sights of the natural environment around mountain Meru.

Mountain Meru is an attractive volcano mainly because of the elevation from all the surrounding areas in the northeastern Tanzania region and the mountain is also the second highest mountain after Kilimanjaro. Arusha national park is covered by Serengeti national park and Ngorongoro crater in the west and Kilimanjaro in the east.

ATTRACTIONS IN ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

Wildlife

Wildlife is one of the attractions in Arusha park despite it being small and it does offer the perfect flora and fauna, it also harbors a lot of animals. The park is home to the highest population of giraffes in the world thus making it the favorite place for safaris for little children.

The park has outstanding wildlife whereby the park is unique in its own way compared to its size where the park doesn’t have many animals compared to the other national parks in Tanzania but it attracts a lot of tourists and during the visit there, you can be able to spot animals like Zebras, giraffes, warthogs, buffaloes, leopards on a lucky day, black and white colobus monkeys, baboons and the different bird species like the flamingos along the shores of the lake, narina trogon, bar-tailed trogon which are the highlights of the birding safari in the park.

Ngodurto crater

This features a lush rainforest that acts as a home to the mitis monkey and other primates. Ngodurto crater is a smaller version of the Ngorongoro crater with a width of about 3km along Lake Momela, a lot of warthogs can be spotted, reedbucks and water birds, buffaloes, elephants, baboons, and the different species of antelopes, the momella lake has another seven lakes that have different alkalinity and salt concentration and the shores host a lot of flamingos which make the lake shores all look pink and beautiful.

Game drives

These game drives will take you through the wooded savannah where you can spot a lot of buffaloes, giraffes, and elephants. The Moss covers the trees in the forest, red hot pokers, and the spiked lobelias plus the flowers that go towards the alpine desert thus making the park best for game drives, walking safaris, canoe safaris, picnics, and mountain climbing.

Mountain Meru

Mountain Meru which is another attraction in Arusha national park is the second largest mountain in Tanzania and the fourth on the African continent. Mountain Meru erects into the clear skies of Arusha national park and Kilimanjaro hides behind the cloudy form from the snow-capped peak of Kibo, mountain Meru stays visible throughout the year.

Mountain Meru is one of the active volcanoes on the African continent which is the main destination for mountain climbing in Tanzania. Climbing mountain Meru is a golden chance for you to view the spectacular Kilimanjaro from the summit of mountain Meru and hiking there gives you a great encounter with the wildlife in Arusha national park.

The Momella lakes

These are the best places for canoeing and birding due to the seven salty lakes within Arusha national park and which include small momella, big momella, kusare, lekandiro, tulusis, rishateni and el kekhototi and the level of alkalinity in the lakes that make them have distinctive colors from blue to green so the water there is not suitable for drinking and swimming but the best place where you can find the birds, waterbucks, dik-diks, giraffes, hippos, bushbucks among others.

BEST TIME TO VISIT ARUSHA PARK

You can visit Arusha national park at any time of the year for different park activities but the best time to visit is the dry season which is experienced in the months of June to October when you can be able to view the different animal species. The dry season is the best time to visit because this is when the vegetation is thin thus making the animals gather around water sources and also have clear views of the Kilimanjaro mountains which is not with the wet season whereby the roads are all slippery making them impassable.

ACCOMMODATION IN ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

The park has a number of lodge facilities within and outside the park premises for example the Hatari lodge which is the best accommodation in Arusha national park located on the northeastern edge of the national park with wonderful décor to make your stay at the lodge so wonderful where you can also have the spectacular view of mountain Meru and Kilimanjaro from a distance.

The accommodation options in Arusha town include Arusha coffee lodge, river trees country inn, Arusha hotel, dik-dik hotel, Kibo palace hotel, and Kia lodge which is near Kilimanjaro international airport.

REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

The park is unique because of the primates that are seen there in large numbers like the blue colobus monkeys, and black and white colobus monkeys which are only found in the park in Tanzania and provide you with the chance of climbing the second-largest mountain in Tanzania which is mountain Meru and fourth in Africa with 50% chance of spotting the snow baboons /albino baboons in the park near one of the water sources in the park.

ACCESSIBILITY

The park is located near Arusha town in Tanzania which is 40 minutes’ drive about 60 km from Kilimanjaro international airport. Arusha park at a glance has every activity in the park that can have a one-day excursion for travelers heading to the northern circuit for more wildlife safari.