Northern Tanzania
Arusha National Park
The whole of Tanzania in a single morning
Overview
Forty minutes from Arusha, a park small enough to see in a day holds rainforest, a crater, a chain of alkaline lakes and the jagged 4,566-metre cone of Mount Meru.
Arusha National Park is the northern circuit's best-kept secret and its most useful first day. Black-and-white colobus swing through the forest canopy, giraffe drift across the Serengeti Ndogo grassland, and the Momella Lakes turn pink with flamingos beneath Meru's shattered crater wall.
Because there are no lions here, Arusha is one of very few Tanzanian parks where you can walk and canoe. We use it constantly — as a jet-lag day for arriving guests, as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro, and as a half-day for travellers with a late flight out.
The landscape
Montane rainforest, the Ngurdoto Crater's swampy floor, seven shallow alkaline lakes, and the sheer inner wall of Mount Meru's collapsed cone.
Quick facts
- Size
- 552 km²
- Drive from Arusha
- ≈ 40 minutes
- Famous for
- Colobus, canoeing and Mount Meru
- Ideal visit
- Half to full day
Wildlife
Who lives here
- Black-and-white colobus monkeys in the forest canopy
- Giraffe, buffalo, zebra, bushbuck and warthog
- Flamingos and over 400 bird species on the Momella Lakes
- No lion or elephant — which is precisely why walking is allowed
Seasons
When to come
Dry seasonJune – October & January – February
Clearest views of Meru and Kilimanjaro; best walking conditions.
Green seasonMarch – May & November
Lush forest, peak flamingo numbers, very few visitors.
Experiences
Walking safaris · Canoeing on the Momella Lakes · Ngurdoto Crater viewpoints · Mount Meru day hikes · Birdwatching
In Pictures
Scenes from Arusha
Journeys Here
Safaris that visit Arusha National Park
7 Days / 6 NightsTarangire · Ngorongoro Crater · Serengeti
Serengeti Signature Safari
The essential northern circuit, done properly
View journey
8 Days / 7 NightsNgorongoro Crater · Serengeti
Great Migration Safari
Follow the greatest show on Earth
View journey9 Days / 8 NightsMount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro — Machame Route
Seven days to the roof of Africa
View journeyGood to Know
Questions, answered
Because itineraries rush to the Serengeti. That is a mistake on arrival day — Arusha is close, cheap, beautiful, and one of the only parks where you can safely get out of the vehicle.
Northern
Pairs well on the northern circuit
Arusha National Park is one of 9 destinations on the northern circuit. Most itineraries combine two or three.
