Visiting Arusha National Park is an experience of a lifetime because it houses the World’s Largest Giraffe Population, making it one of the most interesting places to visit in Tanzania. It hosts a wide variety of landscapes, ranging from vast savannah and rainforest to acacia woodlands and up to alpine vegetation on the higher reaches of Mount Meru.

Arusha National Park has a rich variety of wildlife. Despite the small size of the park, common animals include giraffe, Cape buffalo, zebra, warthog, the black-and-white colobus monkey, the blue monkey, flamingo, elephant, bushbuck and many other African animals. Birdlife in the forest is prolific, with many forest species more easily seen here than elsewhere on the tourist route. Narina trogon and bar-tailed trogon are both possible highlights for visiting birders.

SIZE: 137 sq.km

LOCATION: Northern Tanzania

Arusha National Park is where many Tanzania safaris begin, either by road or by a short regional flight. Explore our Tanzania safari packages starting from Arusha or get in touch with Suricata Safaris and one of our safari experts will tailor-make a safari to your needs!

HOW DOES ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK FIT INTO YOUR TANZANIAN ADVENTURE?

• Arusha National Park can generally be explored in a day and is a great stand-alone adventure.
• Some great Activities at Arusha National Park include game driving, canoeing, hiking Mount Meru, and walking safaris.
• It is one of the few national parks in Tanzania where you can go on walking safaris.
• Arusha city is a pleasant place to spend a day or two before or after a Tanzania Safari or Kilimanjaro trek.
• Arusha is the gateway to Tanzania’s Northern Circuit, which includes the Serengeti, Tarangire National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

GETTING TO ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

The best way to get to Arusha National Park is by driving, it is only a 45-minute drive from Arusha, the beginning point of any northern circuit safari in Tanzania.

There are two airports: Arusha Airport (ARK) on the outskirts of town and Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) about 50 km away.

BEST TIME TO VISIT ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK

The Best Time To Visit Arusha National Park is from June to September and December to March during the dry seasons. Wildlife spotting and other activities are the most enjoyable at this time of year, and it lines up with The Great Migration if you plan on doing the Serengeti too. Bird spotting in Arusha National Park is best between November and April when migratory birds from Europe can be seen around.

ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK WILDLIFE

The forest in Arusha National Park is including blue monkeys and black-and-white colobus. If you are lucky, you might also spot a shy red duiker. More common is the even smaller Kirk&rsquo's dik-dik. Giraffes are very common in the area around the Momella lakes.

With diverse wildlife that includes herbivores such as elephants, hippos, buffalo, zebra, and even the occasional wildebeest. Also, it is home to the world’s largest population of giraffes.