The Best of Tanzania
An eleven-day journey through northern Tanzania's parks and villages, with mid-range or higher-range lodges.
Arusha National Park
A small park on the slopes of Mount Meru, with forest, crater and soda lakes, where you can walk with an armed ranger.
At a glance
- Our journeys here
- 1 safari
- Time spent here
- 1 day
- Journey length
- 11 days
Many travellers drive straight past Arusha National Park on the way to the bigger parks. Give it a day and it rewards you with some of the best walking in northern Tanzania.
Three landscapes
- Ngurdoto Crater, ringed by forest.
- The Momela Lakes, shallow and alkaline, with waterbirds and flamingos.
- Mount Meru, with forest on its lower slopes and bare rock higher up.
A day in the park
The day starts at the ranger post, with an introduction to the park and its history. The drive takes in Buffalo Swamp and a lookout point over the park; on clear days Kilimanjaro shows on the horizon. Lunch is a picnic in the forest.
On foot
Walks in the foothills of Mount Meru are always led by an armed park ranger and last up to four hours. On our itineraries the walk crosses open grassland with giraffe, buffalo and warthog, goes into forest to look for black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys, and ends at a waterfall. Near water and in the forest, look out for reedbuck, waterbuck, bushbuck and duiker.
Canoeing on the Momela Lakes is also possible here.
Getting there
The park is a day trip from Arusha: out in the morning, back in town for dinner.
Plan your time
Through the year
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Migrant birds
Migratory birds are present from October to April.
Migrant birds: January, February, March, April, October, November, December
Things to do here
Journeys that spend time here
Often combined with
Questions travellers ask
Can we walk in Arusha National Park?
Yes, always with an armed park ranger, for up to four hours.
Can you see Kilimanjaro from the park?
On clear days, from the lookout point.
Is Arusha National Park a day trip from Arusha?
Yes. Our journeys go out in the morning and are back in Arusha for dinner.
Can we go canoeing in Arusha National Park?
Yes, on the Momela Lakes.
Plan a journey that includes Arusha National Park
Tell us when you would like to travel and what matters to you. We will suggest how long to give Arusha National Park and what to pair it with.