Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park is situated in north-eastern Tanzania. The park is small but varied with spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas. In the west, the Meru Crater funnels the Jekukumia River; the peak of Mount Meru lies on its rim. Ngurdoto crater in the south-east is grassland;it’s an iconic attraction between the safari tourists for its spectacular landscapes, climbing and wildlife viewing.Arusha National Park covers Mount Meru, a prominent volcano with an elevation of 4,566 m.
Park highlights:
- Arusha National Park is also home to the world’s largest population of giraffes.
- Arusha National Park offer a nice views of Kilimanjaro and Meru
- The Park is Tanzania’s most accessible national park from Arusha, Moshi and Kilimanjaro
- The best part of the park is due to its small size the highlights of the park can be covered up in one day.
- The park has a great place for the birds’ species throughout the year.
- The name of the park is derived from a group of people living across the region” Waarusha”.
- The national park offers a wide variety of wildlife that includes giraffe, Cape buffalo, zebra, warthog, the black-and-white colobus monkey, the blue monkey, flamingo, elephant, and Leopard (rarely seen).
- Arusha National Park is the only national park in Tanzania where you can spot the black-and-white colobus monkeys.
- It less crowded in comparison to other national parks in Tanzania Canoeing safari is offered in the wet season
Activities
Just north to Ngongongare gate lays the Arusha National Park that has a great view of Mount Meru. The lush green park is great for spotting zebras, giraffes, waterbucks, bushbucks, klipspringers, dik-diks, buffaloes and hippos
- Wildlife Safari
- Birding Safari
- Canoeing Safari
- Trekking at Mount Meru
- Walking Safari
Getting there
- By road Arusha national park is just about 45 minutes’ drive away from Arusha Town or airport, 1h30 hours from Kilimanjaro airport and 3hours from Moshi town.
- As Arusha is the starting point of any safari in northern Tanzania it is quite easy to cover this small park on the way to visit any national parks of Tanzania.
Accommodation
The park provide a good range of accommodation from budget lodges and hotels as well luxury accommodation very few inside the park and many are located both in the city and in the farmland suburbs or at the foothills of Mount Meru
