Tanzania Safari Vacations

found at the at the bottom of the central Usambara mountains, the Amani Nature Reserve is rich with the beaten path of the obvious safari circuit, but makes a wonderful stopover on longer trips and while driving to the Swahili Coast. It’s quiet, tranquil setting offers the perfect opportunity to relax from the rigorous schedule of vehicle-based safaris. Although the area has been the focus of conservation efforts and botanical research for over a century, the Amani Nature Reserve has only been a protected area since 1997. International efforts to preserve the beauty of the Usambara forests within its boundaries have met with much local success.

Guided nature walks, prohibited in Tanzania’s national parks, are a unique feature of the nature reserve and offer an exciting opportunity to view the flora and fauna of the area up close. For the aspiring African botanist, Amani Nature Reserve’s incredible diversity of plant life — between 600 to 1,000 different species — is sure to attract. The East Usambara Conservation Area Management Program created and maintains the nature trails, as well as training guides in an effort to encourage village collaboration and conservation efforts. Short or long walks can be arranged, and the guides are very knowledgeable about local species, bird and insect life, and traditional plant uses.

Kigosi Game Reserve Tanzania

Kigosi Game Reserve is an overflow plain situated between the towns of Kigoma, Tabora and Shinyanga. Its vegetation is covered with grassy swamps to the south and Miombo woodlands to the north. It is has a variety of wildlife and insects and is also a significant breeding area for unique water birds like the Wattled crane and Shoebill stork. Wildlife found here includes the scarce Sitatunga, Waterbuck, Hartebeest, Buffalo, Topi and Lions. Crocodiles and Hippos are spotted in the Gombe River to the south of the reserve.

Sitauated a few meters east of the Pare Mountains in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc range, and located just south of the boundary with Kenya, Mkomazi Game Reserve is the center piece of a wide breeding project to give a home to the rare black rhinos. Move to Tsavo National Park in Kenya, Mkomazi’s visitor facilities are remarkably meager and limited, and driving to the spot is occassionary left out in favor of more reacheble national parks and reserves.

The Selous Game Reserve acquired its name after Frederick Courteney Selous, a British explorer and hunter in East Africa who composed and wrote a book concerning the region and his voyages, and was unfortunately killed in the First World War in the land currently named after him.
Found in south-east Tanzania in a distant and less-toured part of the country, the Selous Game Reserve is Africa’s biggest conserved wildlife reserve and occupies over 5% of Tanzania’s total area. Its rivers, hills, and plains are habitats to wandering elephant populations, the area’s renowned wild dogs, and part of the last black rhino left in the area. Because of its isolated site and due to the fact that it’s most quickly accessible by small chatter, the Selous Game Reserve has stayed as part of the undamaged treasures of Tanzania’s national parks and game reserves, and gives tourists an opportunity to spot out a wild and unreserved Africa.
The Selous is exceptional among Tanzania’s well-known conserved areas because it is a game reserve, not a national park, and all the same a greater range of activities are allowed. Boating safaris are recognized as a popular choice to vehicle-based trips, and provide an opportunity to tourists to see the varied life along the Rufigi River up close in all its splendors. Mountaineering safaris and fly camping are also superlative ways to exploring the country and attach a bit of adventure to your African adventure.

Udzungwa Mountains National Park

Udzungwa Mountains National Park is part of Tanzania’s most exceptional, unspoiled paradise and exhilarating wilderness mountains forested with most altitudinal range of forest. The Udzungwa Mountains National Park occupies an area of 1990 sq. km is one of exceptional Eastern Arc Mountains, which occupy approximately 10,000 square kilometers and it rises at an altitude of 250m to 2576m above sea level at the highest peak known as Lohomero.
The park majors in walking safaris and there are identifiable trails that occupy the forests and mountain peaks within the park, and provides different levels of complexity for everyone from novices to practiced trekkers. There is difficulty in passing through the Undzungwa Mountains National Park, for this reason, hikers have the area all to themselves.
The Udzungwa Mountains gives tourists the chance to see various species of primates and dying out birds in a striking African rain forest.

Katavi is situated in the far west of Tanzania, approximately sixty miles east of Lake Tanganyika. It is about a fifty minute flight from, and beyond four hundred miles and about four hours from Arusha, therefore certainly the explanation why it is toured by very a small number of tourists. At currently the park has less than a handful of tourists every year.

Katavi national park is the third biggest game sanctuary in Tanzania and hosts large herds of buffalo and elephants and numerous hundred hippos among other game. More resident animals include crocodiles, topi, giraffe, hartebeest, sable, roan, waterbuck and reedbuck, lion, hyena and leopard.
Katavi’s fantastic landscape is both diverse and undamaged. Flood plains of thick reeds and dense waterways are a habitat to a big population of hippo and wide-ranging birdlife. In the woodlands to the west, forest canopies are a hiding place for herds of buffalo and elephant.
There are a few or no infrastructure in the park consequently providing you the chance to adventure the unscathed wilderness, by foot or off-road by land rover, to find out the most un see parts of the park, without viewing another soul.
The dry months of July to October are the best months to tour the Park.

Tarangire national park occupies an area of 2600 square km of grassland, floodplains and large area of umbrella acacia woodland, in addition to regions of dense bush. It is situated on the southwest of Arusha town about 120 km and it is the fifth largest national park in Tanzania it is filled with wildlife multiplicity which rivals that of the renowned Serengeti in the dry season. The landscape gives one of the most stunning scenery spotted in all the northern circuit parks with the gigantic baobab trees filling the vegetation.
Animals found here include elephant, hartebeest, buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, eland, lesser kudu, kongoni, impala, gazelles, gerenuk, leopard, fringe eared oryx and a lot of smaller mammals.
The best time to take a tour to Tarangire national park is in the dry months from June to October when the river, being an all year round source of water, is visited by a wide range of wildlife

Situated on the south-west shores of Lake Victoria, Rubondo Island National Park made up of Rubondo Island and quite a few other small islands on Lake Victoria. The park is made up of a rich and diversity of butterflies and bird life, straightforwardly seen from the lake shore. The extraordinary Sitatunga, and tremendously dying out amphibious antelope, can at times be seen escaping charge predators by hiding and camouflaging itself in the lake shore marshes.

A tour to Rubondo Island National Park gives tourists a relief from game viewing in the tranquil serenity of a lake shore setting. Adventuring the islands within the park makes these exhilarating day trips. Fishing adventures into Lake Victoria are easily prepared with the help of the major lodges. Rubondo Island National Park is a relief from the rigours of the safari circuit and a peaceful place from which to explore Lake Victoria.
Rubondo Island national park is perfect for Walking, Boat Excursions, Bird Watching, Fishing and is a truly relaxing destination.

Kilkimanjaro National Park was set up in 1973 and occupying an area of 756 sq km. The park is about 1,720m above sea level from the Marangu Gate to 5,895m at the top of Kibo Peak. The mountain has 3 peaks that is to say Shira to the east, Mawenzi to the west and Kibo (the tallest) in the middle of the other two.
Kilimanjaro National Park occupies the area higher than 2700m on the mountain and is situated just 3 degrees (approximately 340km) south of the equator. Its vegetation differs from montane rain forest, to heath and moorland to highland/alphine desert presenting a masterpiece of breathtaking landscapes and scenery.
Hiking to Uhuru peak, the highest spot is a non-technical hike which can be participated in by any average explorer. There are various routes used to move up to the roof of Africa like Marangu, Machame, Shira, Rongai and Umbwe.
Wildlife seen includes elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion, serval cat, eland, bushbuck, duiker, hyrax, bush pig, collobus and blue monkeys.
Even if it can be climbed anytime of the year, the best times to climb Mount Kilimanjaro is in the cool, dry months of June-October, or the hotter, dry months from December-March. It is worthwhile to keep away from the rainy months of April, May and November.

Even if Gombe Stream is Tanzania’s smallest national park occupying a 52 square kilometers, it is a superb remote target well worth the troubles on getting to it.

Gombe stream national park is a quadrilateral strip of craggy, mountainous terrain conquered by variety of steep-sided ridges and valleys. This park is occupied by an intricate assortment of vegetation types, with adulating grasslands on the ridge crests, open woodlands on the steep slopes and thick evergreen forests along the valley floors. The park is a small natural habitat and an isolated ecosystem bordered by Lake Tanganyika to the west and the high wall of the Great Rift Valley escarpment to the east.

50 species of animal have been recognized in the park common in the monkey family: chimpanzees, yellow baboon, and Sykes monkeys, red and black & white colobus monkeys. The park also hosts a variety of reptiles, birds and small mammals.

The best time to tour is between May and October

Mikumi National Park

Occupying 3,230 sq km and situated amidst the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range, Mikumi is the fourth biggest park in Tanzania and only a small number of hours voyage from Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam. Mikumi national park and Udzugwa national park make part of the much larger ecosystem in t6he middle of the vast Selous Game Reserve.
Mikumi national park’s mixed land forms together with the wildlife and over 400 species of bird life like lilac-breasted roller, bateleur eagle and yellow throated long claw plus many more.
Animals found in this park include lions, leopards, elephants, elands, buffaloes, giraffes, zebra, sable antelopes, greater kudu, wildebeest, wild hunting dogs, black-backed jackal, hippos and crocodiles.
It is essential to note that Mikumi is about 4 hours drive from Dar es Salaam taking the tarmac highway to Iringa town and southern Tanzania. This makes it is easily reached all the year and a tour here can straightaway be combined with that to the neighboring Ruaha and Udzungwa national parks together with the Selous game reserve.