SOUTHERN CIRCUIT - TANZANIA
Destinations
Selous Game Reserve
Selous Game Reserve, the now-called Nyerere National Park, is the biggest game reserve in Africa and one of the favorite game viewing areas in Southern Circuit Destination. Covering 50,000 square kilometers is amongst the largest protected areas in Africa and is relatively undisturbed by human impact.
The Largest National Park and one oldest reserve is one of its most scenic wildlife destinations; the Selous is utterly beautiful. The park's beauty is matched by the quality of a safari here; boating, walking, and fly camping complement classic game driving in thriving wildlife areas. This is a magnificent safari park and an essential component of any southern circuit itinerary.
The Selous is a superb safari destination for family safaris and African honeymoons, all the better for the ease of getting there and the lack of crowds. The park has the most diversity of safari activities in the country, offering boating safaris, standard game drives, walking safaris, and legendary fly camping trips.
The Largest National Park and one oldest reserve is one of its most scenic wildlife destinations; the Selous is utterly beautiful. The park's beauty is matched by the quality of a safari here; boating, walking, and fly camping complement classic game driving in thriving wildlife areas. This is a magnificent safari park and an essential component of any southern circuit itinerary.
The Selous is a superb safari destination for family safaris and African honeymoons, all the better for the ease of getting there and the lack of crowds. The park has the most diversity of safari activities in the country, offering boating safaris, standard game drives, walking safaris, and legendary fly camping trips.
Ruaha National Park
In 2008 Ruaha unified with Usangu Game Reserve and transformed into the Great Ruaha National Park, covering 20,000km². Despite the park's size, only a handful of camps are found here, which has built Ruaha's reputation as Tanzania's best-kept game-viewing secret.
Ruaha's wild and unrestrained feel sets it apart from other reserves, making it a popular choice for regular east African safari. In addition, Ruaha is well known for its varied dramatic scenery, which includes rolling hills; extensive open plains; groves of skeletal baobabs, and, along its southern border, the Great Ruaha River, from which the park gets its name. This is by far the most dominant geographical feature of the national park, and, for the wildlife, it is the most important.
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi is Tanzania's fourth-largest national Park found in Southern Circuit Destination. The Park can easily be accessed from Dar es Salaam. Almost guaranteed wildlife sightings make it an ideal safari destination for those without much time.
After the accomplishment of the gravel road linking the park gate with Dare es Salaam, Mikumi National Park has been recorded to become a hotspot for travelers in Tanzania. Mikumi National Park, the fourth largest Park, is located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range and is only a few hours drive from Dar es Salaam the largest city in Tanzania. Mikumi has a wide variety of wildlife that can easily be spotted and acclimated to game viewing.. The short distance from Dar es Salaam to Mikumi National Park and the massive number of brisk wildlife within the borders makes Mikumi a suitable option for weekend and business visitors who don't have to consume a long time on an extended safari itinerary. Most tourists come to Mikumi National Park focusing on spotting the "Big Five" (Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino, and Cheetah), and they are always not upset. Hippo pools cater access to the mud-loving beasts, and watching birds along the waterways is exceptionally rewarding.
Udzungwa National Park
Udzungwa is the largest and with the most biodiversity and a chain of a dozen sizeable protected forest mountains that advance majestically from the extended coastal scrub of eastern Tanzania. Known generally as the Eastern Arc Mountains, this archipelago of hidden massifs has also been titled the African Galapagos for its wealth of endemic plants and animals, most familiarly being the rare African violet.
Brooding and pristine, the forests of Udzungwa seem enchanted: a lush refuge of sunshine-dappled dale enclosed by 30-meter (100-foot) high trees, their stanchion layered with fungi, lichens, mosses, and ferns.
Udzungwa, alone among the ancient ranges of the Eastern Arc, has been accorded national park status. It is also unique within Tanzania in that its closed-canopy forest spans altitudes of 250 meters (820 feet) to above 2,000 meters (6,560 ft) without interruption.
Although not a conventional game viewing destination, Udzungwa is a magnet for hikers in Southern Circuit Destination. An excellent network of forest trails includes the popular half-day ramble to Sanje Waterfall, which plunges 170 meters (550 feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley below.
