Arusha National Park has an incredible variety of fauna and flora. Only a short drive from Arusha, it packs crater, lake and forest habitats into a compact area, and Hollywood chose the region to film ‘Hatari’, in which Hardy Kruger starred alongside John Wayne.
It is an ideal alternative for people seeking a different perspective on wildlife and game viewing. After several hours on a game drive, visitors can stretch their legs by walking or kayaking through the park — and the colobus monkeys found here are located in only this one park.
The park covers about 550 square kilometres and divides into three distinct zones — a forested crater in the south, shallow alkaline pools in the middle, and the slopes of Tanzania’s second mountain rising to the west. Few parks change character so completely over such a short drive.
What it lacks is as telling as what it has: there are no lions here, and elephant are rarely seen. That absence is precisely why walking and canoeing are permitted when they are prohibited in the larger reserves.
The park lies close to Arusha and to Kilimanjaro International Airport, which makes it the easiest of the northern parks to reach — pick-up from an Arusha hotel in the morning and back the same afternoon.
There are two entrances: Momella Gate on the north-eastern side, used for walking safaris and the Meru climb, and Ngurdoto Gate to the south, which is nearer the Moshi road. Which one a day trip uses depends on the activities booked.
The road in is surfaced almost the whole way, so the drive takes well under an hour and is barely affected by season — unusual on the northern circuit, where most approaches deteriorate in the rains.
Ngurdoto Crater is the centrepiece of a day visit. Buffaloes, waterbucks, giraffes, warthogs, zebras and baboons are seen all year round, along with many different bird species.
The Momella Lakes are shallow alkaline pools that hold flamingo and other waterbirds, each lake a slightly different colour because of its mineral content.
Mount Meru rises directly out of the park at 4,566 metres. It is Tanzania’s second-highest mountain and a serious climb in its own right, frequently used as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro.
The Ngurdoto Crater cannot be entered. Viewing is from marked points around the rim, looking down onto buffalo and warthog on the swampy floor several hundred metres below, which is why it is often described as a miniature Ngorongoro.
On a clear morning Kilimanjaro is visible across the plains to the east, and the view of it from this side is among the better ones available at ground level.
An armed ranger meets you at Momella Gate for a walking safari to see the wildlife up close — an opportunity only a few other national parks in Tanzania offer.
Lunch is taken at a picnic site, with the afternoon spent continuing the tour by safari vehicle.
Canoeing is the other activity unique to this park, and the multi-day trek up the mountain starts from the same gate.
Because the park is small and permits what the bigger reserves do not, it suits visitors who want variety over volume — a morning walk, an afternoon drive and a paddle all fit into a single day.
The park can be visited year-round and works as a day trip in any season. June to October is driest and gives the clearest views of both Meru and Kilimanjaro from the park.
The wet months bring greener forest and better birding, and the walking and canoeing still run. Mornings are the most reliable time for a clear view of the mountains before cloud builds.
The mountain climb follows the same windows as Kilimanjaro: January to March and June to October. The long rains from March to May leave the upper slopes slippery and the summit view unreliable.
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