Arusha National Park

Arusha national park. Lying at an altitude of 1,380m, west of Mt. Kilimanjaro and at the foot of Mt. Meru, Arusha is ideally located as our Tanzanian base. All of the highlights of the northern circuits are easily accessed including Lake Manyara, Ngorongo, Tarangire and the world famous Serengeti.

Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam translates to ‘haven of peace’ in English and is a natural sheltered harbour located right on the Indian Ocean coast, at the head of the Kizinga River. The city was named and initially laid out by Zanzibar Sultan Majid from 1865 but it is the German East African Company’s substantial development since 1891, of principal buildings, a railway and the botanical gardens that survive. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre for the country and has a good selection of hotels with shopping malls and bars for the visitor.

Africa’s highest mountain stands a proud 5,896m and is surrounded by a national park of 756 sq. km. All routes lead to the summit circuit and twin peaks Kibo and Mawenzi (5,149 m), which are connected by an 11 km saddle. The collapsed peak Shira (3,962 m) has become a crater. Many attempt the climb but only 20-50% completes the top.

Mount Meru

Mount Meru, the fifth highest African mountain forms part of the Arusha National Park, and is a recommended 4-day climb. One of Africa’s most rewarding climbs, offering spectacular scenery, and guaranteed wildlife animals encounters on its forested slopes. The summit cone features a stunning asymmetric caldera complete with an ash cone in the crater. The cone in itself, makes a climb to the summit worthwhile. Climbs should be booked in advance, as an armed game reserve ranger of the Arusha National Park must accompany climbers. You are invited to contact us should you require more detailed information on climbing Mt. Meru.

Ngurdoto Crater

This crater, located inside the Arusha National Park and stretching 3 km’s across, is a steep-sided bowl, surrounded by riverine forest, while the crater floor is a lush swamp. The crater with its many visible animal trials, provides a natural sanctuary to many African animals, including elephant, African buffalo, a variety of monkeys and baboons, as well as birds like hamerkop, spur-winged geese and herons. It is however unfortunately prohibited to descend down to the bottom of the crater. To the west of the crater lies Serengeti Ndogo or “Little Serengeti”, consisting of an extensive grassland plain and it is one of the few places in the game reserve, where Zebra can be encountered.

Please refer to the map below for further details, images and safari information guide on this awesome and picturesque wildlife reserve in Tanzania.

Momela Lakes

The Momela lakes, also located inside the Arusha National Park, are shallow alkaline lakes and are made up of seven lakes, being big Momela, small Momela, El Kekhotoito, Kusare, Rishateni, Lekandiro and Tulusia. All seven lakes are mainly fed by separate underground water sources. Due to the varying mineral content of these underground sources, each lake supports a different type of algae growth, resulting in uniquely differently colored lakes. Because these lakes are alkaline, the water is not utilized by animals for drinking, but they do however attract a wide variety of African bird life, particularly flamingos.