Arusha National Park is the closest national park to Arusha town, which is the safari hub of northern Tanzania. It is a multifaceted treasure that safarigoers often overlook, even though it gives them the chance to see a wide range of environments in just a few hours.
The entrance gate leads into a shady montane forest with curious blue monkeys, colorful turacos, and trogons. This is the only place on the northern safari route where the black-and-white colobus monkey can be seen up close. In the middle of the forest is the beautiful NgurBeginning in a wooded savannah teeming with buffalo and giraffe, the ascent of Meru proceeds through forests burning with red-hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before emerging into a high open heath dotted with enormous lobelias. While klipspringers with their tiny hooves serve as trail markers, everlasting flowers cling to the rocky terrain of the alpine desert. In the dawn light, Kilimanjaro’s sharp peak shines like a beacon.
The Momela Lakes, which are all different shades of green or blue, are surrounded by open hills to the north.
There are many different kinds of birds that live in and pass through the lakes. On the lakes’ edges, shaggy waterbucks show off their big lyre-shaped horns, and hundreds of flamingos sometimes turn the shallow water pink. Giraffe’s glide across the grassy slopes between groups of grazing zebras, and pairs of wide-eyed dik-dik run into thick brush like giant hares on short legs.
Even when elephants and lions are not there, leopards and spotted hyenas can be seen slinking through Arusha National Park in the early morning and late afternoon. At dawn and dusk, the clouds on the eastern horizon typically part, revealing Kilimanjaro’s magnificent snow-capped peaks about 50 kilometers (30 miles) distant.
The Park is dominated by Mount Meru, Kilimanjaro’s more subdued relative and Africa’s sixth-tallest summit at 4,566 meters (14,990 feet).
Meru, with its forested summits and eastern slopes, is a fantastic hiking destination and offers unparalleled views of its more well-known cousin.
Beginning in a wooded savannah teeming with buffalo and giraffe, the ascent of Meru proceeds through forests burning with red-hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before emerging into a high open heath dotted with enormous lobelias. While klipspringers with their tiny hooves serve as trail markers, everlasting flowers cling to the rocky terrain of the alpine desert. In the dawn light, Kilimanjaro’s sharp peak shines like a beacon.
It is in Tanzania that you will find Arusha National Park. This area is 552 square kilometers (212 square miles) in size. Arusha and the surrounding area are in northern Tanzania.
