Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park is an easily accessible national park in Tanzania. This is because from Moshi and Arusha it is a short drive. An ideal place for a trip. There are lots to see in this small park.

Arusha National Park houses the largest Giraffe population in the world. If you love watching these beautiful long-necked animals, you should not miss Arusha National Park. Arusha National Park has landscapes in a variety. It includes open savannah to rainforest through acacia scrubland and the alpine conditions.

Places of attraction

Arusha National Park visit can be completed in one day. The places of attraction include:

Outstanding Wildlife Diversity
Varied landscapes and high diversity wildlife exist within the park. There is a giraffe population in huge numbers, but visitors can see cape buffalo, blue monkeys, waterbucks, black and white colobus monkeys, elephants, trogons, turacos, and occasional leopard or lion. A variety of birdlife makes attract birding enthusiasts.

Mt. Meru
Mt. Meru is a well-known climbing destination. It has good visibility throughout the year. It is a nice way of getting introduced to climbing mountains so that it helps in climbing Kilimanjaro. Walking safari shows you multiple habitats and you can see antelopes, elephants, giraffes, and lots more.

Ngurdoto Crater and Museum
This crater is a shady expanse offering a home to playful colobus black and white monkeys. The Ngurdoto Museum presents an impressive collection of insects, birds, and animals, found here in the park.

Lake Longil
Lake Longil is the single freshwater lake in the park and popular for waterbucks and buffaloes.

Things to do

Day trips visits include visiting Lake Manyara, Mount Kilimanjaro, or Tarangire National Parks, besides exploring city markets or paying a visit to Mt.Meru.
Arusha is a lovely place to do shopping. You can collect souvenirs such as Tingatina paintings, Makonde carvings, and Tanzanite jewelry.
Canoeing the Momella Lakes: Arusha National Park has Momella Lakes, which are 7 shallow lakes. These lakes are in green or blue based on their algae growth. Canoeing safaris are possible and though the water cannot be used for drinking, a variety of animals such as dik-diks, waterbucks, zebras, and giraffes may be seen, besides flamingoes among the bird’s variety.

How to access

Arusha is a 45-minute drive from the Arusha town, which is the northern Tanzania starting point. There are many ways to reach Arusha National Park.
The flight is the easiest to reach Kilimanjaro International Airport that is 46Km from Arusha. You can also take cheaper flights located at Nairobi.

Shuttle bus service is best for the Arusha town. There are tour operators to receive at the airport and make ongoing arrangements.

Best Time to Visit

Game viewing is best from June to October during the dry season.
The park is the best year-round for birding and is good between November and April as the migratory birds are from Europe and North Africa. The local birds display their breeding plumage.

Note:

You may freeze in Arusha at night during the drier months (June to October) as an occasional cold front sweep through. But the real challenge is the wildlife watching is the best at this time, and the sunshine is also bright. The wetter months are to see the migratory bird’s arrival.