Arusha National Park

About Arusha National Park

Often overlooked in favor of the bigger northern parks, Arusha National Park sits almost in Arusha city's backyard yet packs in a surprising diversity of landscape: montane rainforest, the Momella Lakes, open savannah, and the slopes of Mount Meru, Tanzania's second-highest peak at 4,566 meters and still an active volcano.

What Makes It Different

This is one of the only parks in Tanzania where walking safaris and canoe trips are permitted alongside game drives, giving visitors a closer, quieter way to experience the bush than a vehicle allows. The Momella Lakes attract flamingos and other waterbirds, giraffe wander the lake shores, and black-and-white colobus monkeys are a common sight in the forest canopy -- a species rarely seen elsewhere on the Northern Circuit.

Best Time to Visit

The park is a rewarding half-day or full-day trip year-round, though the dry season from June to October offers the clearest views of Kilimanjaro on the horizon and the easiest walking conditions on Meru's lower slopes.

Getting to Arusha National Park

Its proximity to Arusha city -- around 45 minutes' drive -- makes it an easy addition either as an acclimatization day before a Kilimanjaro climb or as a standalone day trip.

Good to Know

Because it sits so close to town, Arusha National Park is often used as a gentle warm-up hike for travelers preparing to climb Kilimanjaro or Meru, helping with early acclimatization, or simply as a scenic and relaxed half-day outing between flights at the start or end of a trip.

Guided walks here can bring you close to giraffe and antelope species not normally approached this closely on a vehicle-only safari, always accompanied by an armed ranger for safety. The Momella Lakes canoe safari is a particular highlight, paddling quietly past grazing buffalo and giraffe drinking at the water's edge -- a perspective no vehicle safari can match.