Life is A Safari

Top Tanzania Travel Destinations & National Parks

From The Snow-Capped Majesty Of Kilimanjaro, The Highest Freestanding Mountain On Earth, To The Savannah Plains Of Serengeti, This Is A Land Of Astonishing Scenic Beauty.

Experience
TANZANIA.

Kilimanjaro dominates Tanzanian tourism as much as it does the skyline. Africa's highest mountain is a phenomenal sight and a demanding climb. Look beyond its shadow though and you will be rewarded with a UNESCO World Heritage site, plains dense with predators and rich with ancient human history.

Rewards perhaps don't come bigger than the Serengeti. The boundless grassland of Tanzania's oldest National Park is home to lions, cheetahs and leopards, and it's so expansive that to witness a predator in action is often the preserve of your jeep alone.

Among their prey are the gazelles, zebras and some 1.5 million wildebeest, which rove the desert for grass to graze. Following the calving season, this mass of hooves ascends north into Kenya. This spectacle is known as the Great Migration and is considered to be one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Predators are not in short supply either, and the UNESCO honoured Ngorongoro Crater boasts the densest population of lions on the planet. The Conservation Park is also home to the 'Big Five'.

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ARUSHA
NATIONAL PARK

The closest national park to Arusha town – northern Tanzania’s safari capital – Arusha National Park is a mountainous park famous for its biodiversity. Inside the park you can find different ecosystems such as: plains, lakes, and forests, and in those ecosystems you can find an array of animals, including: giraffes, zebras, buffalos, antelopes, and many others.

  • Size: 137 kmq
  • Location: Northern Tanzania, northeast of Arusha town

Lake Manyara
National Park

This small park enjoys a spectacular setting spanning the Rift Valley escarpment. Famous for its unusual tree-climbing lions, large herds of elephant, buffalo and migratory flamingos, this park offers a diverse wildlife experience within a relatively small area. The varied landscape is also home to an incredible array of birdlife, but it is the scenic beauty of Lake Manyara that makes it one of Tanzania’s most popular parks.

  • Size: 330 sq. km of which 200 sq. km are covered by the lake.
  • Location: Northern Tanzania.
  • Distance from Arusha: 126 km West.
  • Dry season (July-October) - best period for large mammals.
  • Wet season (November-June) - best period for birds, waterfalls and canoeing.

SERENGETI
NATIONAL PARK

This beautiful, vast expanse of grassy plains is a wonderful safari option for those with just a few days to spare. Visitors can fly directly from Arusha into the Serengeti, which is home to the largest overland wildebeest migration in the world. Whatever time of year you visit, you’ll have plenty of chances to spot the Big 5 as well as opportunities to visit a Masai village or take a hot air balloon ride over this amazing landscape.

  • Size: 14,763 square kilometers (5,700 square miles)
  • Location: 2555 km from Arusha, bordered to the north with Kenya and to the west with Lake Victoria.
  • Famous are the Serengeti kopjes, rocky islands that dot the plain, where many animals find shelter. The most famous are Simba Kopjes, Moru Kopjes and Masai Kopjes which you can visit during the photo safari.

TARANGIRE
NATIONAL PARK

Deriving its name from the Tarangire River which winds its way through the park, Tarangire is mostly made up of grasslands, flood plains and acacia woodlands, along with thousands of baobab trees which make for a spectacular backdrop. During the dry season the game viewing is exceptional as a mass of wildlife flock to the river and wetlands. The vast size of the park lends a remoteness to the safari experience and offers an opportunity to really get away from the crowds.

  • Size: 2850 sq. km.
  • Location: Northern Tanzania
  • Distance from Arusha: 118 km southwest

Ngorongoro
Conservation Area

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is a protected area home to a conservation project where the Maasai and their livestock live alongside wild animals.

There are nine craters in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Ngorongoro crater is the largest and most visited. Before it collapsed, geologists estimate, its height was about 4,587 meters above sea level.

Lion, African elephant, leopard, buffalo and black rhino live in Ngorongoro Conservation Area with many other wild animals.

  • Size: 8,292 kmq; the crater is 260 kmq, 610 meters deep
  • Location: Northern Tanzania
  • Crater size: 260 sq. km of surface
  • Crater diameter: 22.5 Km

Mount Kilimanjaro
National Park

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest solitary peak in the world and the highest mountain all over Africa, that’s why it’s called "The Roof of Africa". Climbing to the summit does not require technical skills, Kiimanjaro trekking is possible for all passionate trekkers.

This imposing mountain is an extinct volcano made up of three craters: Shira to the West (3962 m.), Mawenzi to the East (5149 m.) and Kibo in the center, while Uhuru Peak (5895 m.) is the highest peak.

A tundra "Saddle" stretches for 3600 meters between Kibo and Mawenzi, while a glacier covers the top of the mountain. This suggestive “White Blanket”, which soars above the clouds, can be spotted arriving by plane or even from Arusha on clear days.

  • Size: 756 sq km
  • Location: Northern Tanzania
  • Altitude: 5895 meters
  • Distance from Arusha: 120 km
  • Distance from Ngorongoro: about 300 km
  • Distance from Serengeti: approximately 450 km
  • Distance from Tarangire: about 250 km

MAHALE MOUNTAINS
NATIONAL PARK

Known for its chimpanzees and exotic tropical fish in Lake Tanganyika, Mahale National Park remains one of the most secluded parks not only in Tanzania but throughout Africa.

Deep in the Mahale National Park, you will experience the same paradise as Henry Morton Stanley upon approaching and exclaiming, “Doctor Livingstone, I Presume.” Located just 100 kilometers (60 miles) off-road is Lake Tanganyika where its blue waters are surrounded by white inlets. Above the shore by nearly two kilometers the Mahale Mountains loom with their lush jungle crests.

  • Size: 1,613 sq km (623 sq miles).
  • Location: Western Tanzania, bordering Lake Tanganyika.
  • Famous for: Chimpanzee trekking, Hiking and walking, Snorkeling and fishing

MIKUMI
NATIONAL PARK

Located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range, Mikumi is the fourth largest national park in Tanzania and only a few hours drive from Tanzania’s largest city. The park has a wide variety of wildlife that can be easy spotted and also well acclimatized to game viewing. Lions survey their grassy kingdom – and the zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo herds that migrate across it – from the flattened tops of termite mounds, or sometimes during the rains, from perches high in the trees.

  • Size: 3,230 sq km (1,250 sq miles), it's on of the largest park in Tanzania.
  • Location: 283 km (175 miles) West of Dar es Salaam, this park can be visited with Selous, Ruaha and Udzungwa national parks.
  • Famous for: Walking safari crocs, birds and many others.

Selous
Game Reserve

Vast, remote and wild, but easily accessible, Selous Game Reserve is an area almost four times the size of the Serengeti. It offers pristine wilderness and a rich variety of wildlife including endangered wild dog. Off-roading in a 4WD safari vehicle is permitted in Selous which is an exciting way to seek out more elusive animals. Most camps and lodges also offer guided bush walks and rivers safaris.

  • Size: 55,000 square km
  • Location: South-East Tanzania
  • Famous for: Walking safari, Boat safari & Fishing.

The Udzungwa Mountains
National Park

A paradise to hikers and backpackers. The mountain range is often referred to as "The Galapagos Islands of Africa" due to its rich levels of biodiversity and endemism (the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location).The park's scenery is spectacular, with the rainforest spreading across rolling hills, valleys and mountains. The park has a number of impressive waterfalls, including Sanje Waterfalls, the highest waterfall in the National Parks system in Tanzania. Swimming in the plunge pools of the waterfalls is extremely refreshing following a hot hike!

  • Size: 1,990 square kilometers (770 square miles).
  • Location: five hours (350 kilometers/215 miles) from Dar Es Salaam; 65 kilometers (40 miles) South-West of Mikumi.
  • Famous for: Hiking and walking and Bird watching

Mkomazi
National Park

Set below the verdant slopes of the spectacular Usambara and Pare Eastern Arc Mountain Ranges and overseen by iconic snow – capped peak of Kilimanjaro, Mkomazi is a virgin breathtaking beauty exhibiting unique natural treasures and immense sense of space. Mkomazi Doesn’t Offer Game Viewing To Compare With Other Parks, But For Those Who Want To Escape The Tourist Treadmill And Scarcity Of Other Tourists Will Compensate. We Could Link Mkomazi Onto A Longer Safari, With The Option Of Camping Within The Park.

  • Size: 3,245 sq km (1,240 sq miles)
  • Location: Northern Tanzania split between Kilimanjaro and Tanga administrative regions, Mkomazi National Park also borders Tsavo West National Park in Kenya.
  • Famous for: Rhino Santuary, Wilddogs & Game Safari.

Katavi
National Park

Katavi’s dramatic scenery is as varied as it is pristine. Flood plains of thick reeds and dense waterways are home to a huge population of hippo and varied birdlife. In the woodlands to the west, forest canopies shroud herds of buffaloes and elephants. Seasonal lakes fill with dirty coloured water after the rains and animals from all corners of the park descend in them to drink.

  • Size: 4,471 sq km (1,727 sq miles)..
  • Location: Southwest Tanzania, east of Lake Tanganyika.
  • Famous for: Boat safari, Walking, Driving and Camping safaris.

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