Tanzania is located in East Africa and is one of the top safari destinations on the continent. It has 16 national parks, each offering different experiences.
Below is a list of these national parks.
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park is one of the most famous parks in the world. It is known for the yearly migration of more than 1.5 million wildebeest and 250,000 zebras.
The park is also home to about 3,000 lions, 1,000 leopards, 53,000 buffalos, 300,000 Thomson’s gazelles, 5,000 elephants, 3,500 spotted hyenas, 225 cheetahs, and many other animals.
Tarangire National Park
Tarangire National Park is a great place to see African elephants and baobab trees. It is also popular with bird watchers, with over 500 bird species recorded.
The park is named after the Tarangire River, which is the main water source and attracts many animals during the dry season.
Arusha National Park
Arusha National Park is in northern Tanzania and was created in 1960. It covers an area of 137 square kilometers and is home to Mount Meru, which is 4,566 meters high.
The Momella alkaline lakes in the park attract wading birds. Visitors can go on guided nature walks, game drives, or climb the mountain.
Lake Manyara National Park
Lake Manyara National Park is found between Lake Manyara and the Great East African Rift Valley. The park is known for its tree-climbing lions, which are also found only in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. It has around 350 bird species, 670 types of flowering plants, and more.
Kilimanjaro National Park
Kilimanjaro National Park is home to Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5,895 meters above sea level. The main activity here is mountain climbing.
The park receives over 50,000 visitors each year. It also has many animals and bird species.
Gombe National Park
Gombe National Park is on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in western Tanzania. It is one of the few places in the country where visitors can go chimpanzee trekking.
Other activities include hiking and relaxing at Lake Tanganyika after trekking.
Katavi National Park
Katavi National Park is less visited and located in the Katavi Region. It has animals like Cape buffalo, zebras, warthogs, wildebeest, waterbuck, hyenas, wild dogs, cheetahs, and many bird species.
Mahale Mountains National Park
Mahale Mountains National Park is one of two parks in Tanzania where you can see chimpanzees in the wild. Other primates are also found here.
Visitors can enjoy activities at Lake Tanganyika or hike the Mahale Mountains.
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi National Park is located west of Dar es Salaam and is the closest park to the city. It is known for its small elephants, which have shorter tusks and smaller size than other African elephants. The park was created in 1964 and covers 3,230 square kilometers.
Mkomazi National Park
Mkomazi National Park is located on the border with Kenya and shares a boundary with Kenya’s Tsavo West National Park.
The park has different types of landscapes that support animals such as common eland, hartebeest, African wild dogs, black rhinos, elephants, and zebras.
Ngorongoro Crater
Ngorongoro Crater is part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It is one of the few places in Africa where you can see the Big Five.
Visitors can also explore Olduvai Gorge and meet the local Maasai people.
Ruaha National Park
Ruaha National Park is the largest park in Tanzania, covering 13,000 square kilometers. It is a top bird-watching spot, with over 571 bird species recorded.
The park also has a large number of elephants and is home to mammals such as sable and roan antelope, wild dogs, kudu, bat-eared foxes, jackals, impalas, elands, zebras, cheetahs, and leopards.
The park has 1,650 plant species, about 34,000 elephants, and around 10 percent of the world’s lion population.
Saadani National Park
Saadani National Park is the only park in East Africa with a beach on the Indian Ocean. It is home to animals like buffalo, giraffes, sable antelope, baboons, vervet monkeys, greater kudu, red duiker, hartebeest, reedbuck, waterbuck, black-backed jackals, hyenas, leopards, hippos, crocodiles, and warthogs.
Mafia Marine National Park
Mafia Marine National Park is on Mafia Island in the Indian Ocean. Visitors can go snorkeling, diving, and boat cruising. The park is also known for its whale sharks. It was established in 1995 and covers 822 square kilometers.
Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park
Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park is located on Zanzibar Island. It has 40 bird species, 50 butterfly species, and animals like the Zanzibar red colobus monkey, Kirk’s red colobus monkey, bush babies, dolphins, tree hyrax, and Adder’s duiker.
Kitulo National Park
Kitulo National Park is between the Poroto and Kipengere mountain ranges. It covers 412 square kilometers and was created in 2005 as the country’s 14th national park. The park is at an elevation of 2,600 meters above sea level.
Most national parks in Tanzania have a similar climate throughout the year. The best time to visit is from June to September and from December to February.
During these months, the vegetation is less thick, and animals are easier to find near water sources.
