Arusha National Park

We could see some wild animals unfortunately we couldnt spot any of the big five

An excellent start

A good start to our tour of Tanzania with nice accommodation, excellent birding and some lovely scenery

For a day trip, Arusha National Park is pretty special.

I only had one day to spend on seeing wildlife after a week of work in Arusha. Arusha National Park proved to be a very accessible location. It is easy to get to and has an abundance of wildlife if you're prepared to spend some time to look around. It may not have all the animals, but if you go with the proper expectations you will not be disappointed.

Small park, easy to get to with some wonderful mountain scenery. Limited selection of wildlife.

Relaxing day unwinding after climbing Kilimanjaro

We visited Arusha NP the day after climbing Kili. The journey over from Moshi, where we were based, showed us more of the region, and Arusha NP offered an un-hurried day out. Our guides took us to their favourite spots; we saw many giraffe and zebra, baboons and colobus monkeys. Best treat was seeing Flamingos in a ring 1-3 deep all around big Momela lake. The park is very scenic, especially Ngurdoto Crater, and it would be good to return to see more of it, perhaps by climbing Mt Meru. Arusha NP offers quite a contrast to the almost complete absence of wildlife on Kili!

We didn't see that much animals at Arusha National Park (though it's always a matter of luck). But we still enjoyed the different landscape and beauty of this national park. We also booked a walking safari to the waterfall which was really a great experience. It's definitely something totally different (and worth doing) as you feel more like beeing a part of the nature than you would do sitting in a car. Moreover here you can find animals you won't see at the Serengeti such as colobus monkeys.

Arusha National Park has beautiful landscapes and unique animals

My father and I spent one day in Arusha National Park prior to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival, we weren't expecting to see much as the park is close to the city of Arusha, but there are many different species of wildlife visible in the park. Our tour guide knew all of the park areas and took us to his favourite spots. We saw giraffes, zebras, monkeys, baboons, hippos, flamingos, plenty of birds, and even a few elephants!

The location of the park is great because we were able to see many animals within close proximity to the city. As a photographer, there were many opportunities for closeup photographs with elephants, giraffes, and zebras. I would recommend the park to anyone because of its size and ability to see a large variety of animals.

While staying in Tanzania, I stayed in Moshi. The national park was less than a 45 minute drive. The transportation was great and our guide was very knowledgeable. Visiting in July was great. The weather was good. We were only able to see Kilimanjaro during dusk because of the quick weather changes in the mountain areas, but it never rained and was fairly sunny throughout the day.

I would recommend a visit to Tanzania and Arusha National Park. It was an incredible experience and I wish to go back!

It was a good way to start the trip but not the best park. Many giraffes which gives the landscape a very prehistoric look.

Diverse habitats but not the fantastic spectacle of some of the other Tanzanian parks

Arusha is a great place if you already have experience at the major parts. On the positive side, it isn't crowded with tourists. It has diverse habitats from forests to lakes to savannah to mountains. There are quite a few large mammals, but no predators or elephants. The flamingos around Momella lakes will blow your mind (and are so much closer and easier to enjoy than at Lake Natron, the other famous flamingo destination). It has a lot to offer for serious birders, but doesn't have too many of the spectacular birds that interest casual birders. We only went there self-guided, so I can't comment on going with a guide. There are a couple of great lodges just outside the park, Hatari by the north entrance, and another I can't remember by the south entrance. The park is small enough that you can see most of it in two days (excluding hiking in the forest, which I can't comment about; supposedly climbing Meru is fantastic, and a much different experience than the crowded slog up Kili). The small size makes it manageable, but is probably also the biggest negative and why I said it is good to visit after a major park- Arusha just doesn't have the vast open spaces and throngs of animals of Tarangire, Ngorongoro, or Serengeti.

We went through the park on our journey up to the summit of Mount Meru, soeven though we went through the park we didn't go on safari