National Parks

Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park

Kilimanjaro. The name itself is a mystery wreathed in clouds. It might mean Mountain of Light, Mountain of Greatness or Mountain of Caravans. Or it might not. The local people, the Wachagga, don't even have a name for the whole massif, only Kipoo (now known as Kibo) for the familiar snowy peak that stands imperious, overseer of the continent, the summit of Africa. Kilimanjaro, by any name, is a metaphor for the compelling beauty of East Africa. When you see it, you understand why. Not only is this the highest peak on the African continent; it is also the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, rising in breathtaking isolation from the surrounding coastal scrubland – elevation around 900 metres – to an imperious 5,895 metres (19,336 feet).

Selous Game Reserve

The game reserve gets its name from the hunter-explorer Frederick Courtney Selous, whose books about his exploits were best sellers in Victorian England. Selous was killed by an Elephant in early 1900's during the First World War. The Selous Game Reserve is the largest protected wildlife area in Africa. Only in the Serengeti will visitors see a greater concentration of wildlife. Yet Selous boasts Tanzania's largest population of elephant as well as large numbers of buffalo, hippo and wild dog. The remaining African Black Rhinos are also dominating the reserve. Other species commonly seen are sable antelope, bushbuck, impala, giraffe, lion, eland, baboon, zebra, crocodiles, leopard and greater kudu.

Arusha National Park

The closest national park to Arusha town – northern Tanzania’s safari capital – Arusha National Park is a multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safari goers, despite offering the opportunity to explore a beguiling diversity of habitats within a few hours. The entrance gate leads into shadowy montane forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and colourful turacos and trogons – the only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of the forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep, rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog.

Ruaha National Park

The game viewing starts the moment the plane touches down. A giraffe races beside the airstrip, all legs and neck, yet oddly elegant in its awkwardness. A line of zebras parades across the runway in the giraffe's wake. In the distance, beneath a bulbous baobab tree, a few representatives of Ruaha's 10,000 elephants - the largest population of any East African national park, form a protective huddle around their young. Second only to Katavi in its aura of untrammelled wilderness, but far more accessible, Ruaha protects a vast tract of the rugged, semi-arid bush country that characterises central Tanzania. Its lifeblood is the Great Ruaha River, which courses along the eastern boundary in a flooded torrent during the height of the rains, but dwindling thereafter to a scattering of precious pools surrounded by a blinding sweep of sand and rock.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Known as "Africa's Eden," the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is home to the greatest density of wildlife found on any Tanzanian safari, It features the world's largest unbroken caldera -- a crater formed by the collapse of an ancient volcano. The Ngorongoro Crater spans 102 square miles encompassing grasslands, swamps, forests and lakes, and contains approximately 25,000 large animals. Safari participants descend nearly 2,000 feet into the crater to observe large herds of zebra, wildebeest, gazelle and their predators. You may even see rare black rhinos grazing by the lakes. The area also contains the Olduvai Gorge, where famed archaeologists and anthropologists Mary and Louis Leakey discovered nearly two-million-year-old bones and tools from what some believe were the earliest humans.

Lake Manyara National Park

Stretching for 50km along the base of the rusty-gold 600-metre high Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Manyara is a scenic gem, with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. The compact game-viewing circuit through Manyara offers a virtual microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience. From the entrance gate, the road winds through an expanse of lush jungle-like groundwater forest where hundred-strong baboon troops lounge nonchalantly along the roadside, blue monkeys scamper nimbly between the ancient mahogany trees, dainty bushbuck tread warily through the shadows, and outsized forest hornbills honk cacophonously in the high canopy.

Serengeti National Park

An essential destination on Tanzania safaris is Serengeti National Park, the country’s largest and most famous reserve. With 5,700 square miles of plains stretching as far as the eye can see, the Serengeti is home to one of the most diverse wild animal populations on Earth. The park is also one of the best places on the continent to view lion prides. Safari guests traverse the Serengeti in four-wheel-drive vehicles to spot buffaloes, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos and more. For breathtaking sights of the game as they stir at dawn, an early morning hot-air balloon ride over the plains.