The biggest national park in Tanzania is Ruaha National Park. It is about 13,000 square kilometers in size.
It is about 130 kilometers from Iringa and in the middle of Tanzania. The Park is part of a larger ecosystem that also includes Rungwa Game Reserve, Usangu Game Reserve, and several other protected places.
The Great Ruaha River, which runs along the park’s south-eastern edge and is the best place to see animals, gave the park its name. You can drive to the park from Iringa, and the park’s center, Msembe, has an airstrip.
The rain forest in Ruaha National Park has two different rainy seasons. The short season is from November to February, and the long season is from March to April. Between June and October, the park has its dry season.
There are more than 571 kinds of birds in the park, and some of them are known to migrate from both inside and outside of Africa.
People think that there are more elephants in Ruaha than in any other East African National Park. Miombo forest is also a place where you can often see beautiful animals like Kudu, Sable, and Roan antelopes. Wild dogs, which are almost extinct, also live in the park. There are also lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, elands, impalas, bat-eared foxes, and Jackals in the park.
The Park is also home to crocodiles, dangerous and non-poisonous snakes, monitor lizards, agama lizards, and frogs, among other reptiles and amphibians.
The Park has plants like baobab trees, Acacia, and other types that grow in semi-arid areas. Over 1,650 different kinds of plants have been named.
Scheduled and chartered flights
into the park depart mostly from the cities of Arusha, Dodoma, Kigoma, and Dar es Salaam. Both Msembe and Jongomero serve as airstrips for the park.
Driving distances from Iringa to Dar es Salaam are around 130 and 625 kilometers, respectively.
The park’s entrance road is open year-round.
