Best Time to Visit Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park can be visited all year around depending on the visitors prefer. The park is especially popular for bird watching. The deal time to visit for seeing the migratory birds are from November to December and March to May, when birds from Africa and Europe arrive. If you prefer spotting animals, the best time to visit Arusha National Park is during the dry season between the months of June and October. Additionally, January and February are great months for hiking up Mt. Meru.
Arusha National Park is located near the town of Arusha n Tanzania. The park was created to include Mount Meru, which is the second-highest mountain in the area after Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Meru reaches 4,566 meters above sea level. The park was stablished in 1960 and covers an area of 137 square kilometres. It is managed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA). Volcanic activities during Mount Meru’s recent eruption helped the beautiful landscapes and scenery inside the park. The park is only 60 kilometres from Mount Kilimanjaro, which provides the park’s eastern background. The distance between Kilimanjaro International Airport and Arusha National Park is 35 kilometres for the former and 58 kilometres for the latter. Because of its close proximity, visitors have many lodging options, from luxury hotels to budget accommodations and hostels. Arusha National Park is especially known for having the highest number of giraffes in the region. Visitors can also enjoy seeing black and white colobus monkeys as well as the ancient fig trees with their crystal-clear water in the streams that flow through the highlands are two of Arusha National Park’s other significant draws.
Ngurdoto Crater
This volcanic crater is located in Tanzania’s Meru District, close Arusha. It is about 100 meters deep and stretches up to 3.6 kilometers across. The crater has a marshy area on its floor and s surrounded by lush forest. It is part of Arusha National Pak and is actually the remans of an extinct volcano. It is also referred to as “Little Ngorongoro” because, similar to Ngorongoro, it has evolved into a type of “reserve within the reserve” over time.
Getting to Arusha National Pak is straightforward, and visiting Ngurdoto Crater offers a unique experience. the crater itself is shaped like a basin with very steep walls and is filled with dense rainforest. The floor is mainly marshy grassland, providing a habitat for many animals such as buffalo, warthogs, elephants, monkeys, baboons, leopards, and spotted hyenas.
Mount Meru
Mount Meru is a volcano that sits about 70 kilometers west of Mount Kilimanjaro. It stands tall at nearly 14,968 feet, or 4562 meters. On clear days, you can easily see Mount Kilimanjaro Africa’s tallest mountain, from there. The last time Mount Meru erupted was in 1910, between October and December. The first person known to have reached t top was Fritz Jáger in 1904.
You can hike up Mount Meru using the Momela route, which starts at the Momella gate on the eastern side. The mountain is the main attractions of the park and draws many visitors to Arusha. The land around Mount Meru is remarkable with good soil that sustain a forest and home to several wildlife species, with rich soil that support forest and a variety of wildlife. In the park’s forest and savannahs, you might see different animals like blue and black primates, black and white colobus monkeys, infrequently spotted leopards, and a great variety of birds.
A typical 4-day hike begins at Momella Gate and ends at Miriakamba Hut, taking about 4 to 6 hours. The next day, hikers walk from Miriakamba Hut to the Saddle Hut, which takes around 3 to 5 hours. From there, climbers start at Saddle Hut, reach the summit, and then return to Miriakamba Hut. On the last day, the hike starts again at Miriakamba Hut and finishes back at Momella Gate. Climbing Mount Meru is quite affordable, making it a good choice for travelers on a budget who want to enjoy an adventurous hike in Tanzania. The best months to walk Mount Meru are from June to October during the dry season, as well as January.
Birdwatching
Arusha National Park has over 400 kinds of birds in such a tiny park. The forested parts of the park are perfect for birdwatching. Some of the bird species you might spot here includes common ostrich, white-faced whistling duck, fulvous whistling duck, grey crowned crane , red-knobbed coot, lesser and great flamingos, hartlaub’s bustard, goliath heron, montane nightjar, maccoa duck, pink-backed pelican, red-eyed dove, woolly-necked stork , black heron, black-faced sandgrouse, Egyptian goose, dwarft bitter, Africa swift, Shelley’s francolin, vulturine guineafowl, yellow-throated sandgrouse, hamerkop, coqui francolin, little swift, great egret, ring-necked dove, black-bellied bustard, European nightjar, black-head heron, helmeted guineafowl, little bittern , red-chested flufftail, common swift, intermediate egret, African green pigeon, saddle-bill stork, crested francolin, crested guineafowl, grey heron, European white stork , cattle egret, laughing dove, abdim’s stock, sombre nightjar and Nyanza swift among others.
Wildlife
Compared to other national parks in Tanzania’s northern circuit, this park is smaller, so it covers less land and has fewer animals. Still, it’s a rewarding place to visit because it is home to a wide variety of animals, including elephants, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, warthogs, giraffes, zebras, cape buffaloes, leopards, and occasionally spotted leopards.
Momella Lakes
Arusha National Park is home to seven small lakes known as the Momela Lakes. These lakes are named Big Momela, Little Momela, Kusare, Risheteni, Lekandiro, Tulusia, and El Kekhotoito. The village of Momela, located in the Meru District in Arusha region Tanzania, serves as the main entry point to the area. all of these lakes have alkaline water because of volcanic material created by the eruption of Mount Meru. While most animals cannot drink this alkaline water, zebras are often seen grazing nearby. The lakes in the eastern part of Arusha National Park are among the main sights visitors come to see.
How to Get to Arusha National Park
Getting to Arusha National Park is quite easy. the park has two main entrances: the Arusha National Park Gate and Momella Gate. The main gate of the park is about 25 kilometres away from Arusha town, making it conveniently accessible by road. It usually takes around 40 minutes to drive from Kilimanjaro International Airport to the main gate, and about 1 hour from Arusha town itself. Alternatively, the park can be accessed by use of domestic flights from Kilimanjaro International airport to Arusha airport and the journey takes 20 minutes.