Tanzania is an amazing country full of diverse beauties. Here are the mountains of Meru and Kilimanjaro. The beauty of the aquatic and animal world of Tanzania is impressive. The country's natural wealth is amazing.
National Parks in Tanzania
Tanzania is a completely unique country, it is rightfully considered one of the most interesting places in the world in environmental terms. Imagine that on the territory of one state there are thirteen nature reserves, twelve national parks, thirty-eight nature conservation areas, as well as a large number of nature-saving places. The unique natural complexes brought great fame to the country, which made it one of the best in the world for eco-tourism. What is there only! Even the most sophisticated travelers will be amazed at the beauty of these places. Here you can go on a safari, visit ecological tours, fly in a balloon over the savannah. And some reserves even allow trophy hunting.
It is impossible to even list the number of feature films, scientific films that have been shot here throughout history. Here is such an amazing state of Tanzania. National parks of the country are a great opportunity to plunge into the world of wildlife, to see exotic animals in the natural habitat, to admire the natural beauties known to the whole world.
Kitulo Park
Kitulo National Park is a paradise for nature lovers. This place is also called God's Garden. And the terrain got this name for a reason. Three hundred and fifty species of vascular plants grow in the reserve. Imagine that this place is one of the richest in the world in terms of vegetation.
It gained worldwide fame thanks to the enormous flower fields that open during the rainy season. This is such a beautiful and impressive sight that it is simply impossible to convey in words. There are forty-five species of orchids alone.
Walking through the park, in spacious meadows, you can see antelopes, goats.
Kitulo is by no means a safari park. It is rather a place for nerds and nature lovers. Here you can just walk and enjoy the beauties. You definitely need to see the Great Ruaha River. People come to the national park to see numerous bird colonies. Here you can find a very rare African bustard, as well as a colony of endangered blue swallows and many other rare birds.
The national park was founded in 2005. More precisely, it previously functioned, but then suspended its activities. Since this region is extremely interesting from a botanical point of view, in 2005 Kitulo again earned. It occupies 466 square kilometers. For tourists, it is most interesting from December to April. It is at this time that the peak of flowering plants falls. Visitors are offered walking with and without a guide, bird watching, mountain climbing.
Kilimanjaro National Park
The highest mountain in Africa - Kilimanjaro, its height reaches 5895 meters. She towers majestically above the savannah. Kilimanjaro has three peaks, two of which are extinct volcanoes, the third is partially active (Shirou, Mawenzi, Kibo). Over the past century, smoke from the crater has been observed here.
If desired, any tourist can climb the mountain and feel himself on the greatest peak. For such a trip, you do not need to have special climbing equipment - you only need warm clothes. Do not forget that the top of the mountain is always covered with snow. During the travel days you will pass several climatic zones. And from the tropics find yourself in eternal cold.
A special six-day mountain climbing route has been developed for tourists.
Fauna Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro National Park is a World Heritage Site. It was created in 1973. It is currently divided into seven zones. Only part of them are intended for hiking. The best time to visit the park is from December to February. The main purpose of the visit, of course, is to conquer the world famous peak. More than ten thousand people come here with such a mission every year.
Animals of Tanzania are very diverse. Kilimanjaro Park has an equally rich fauna world. There are lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos, buffalos, monkeys, lemurs, damans and many others. The bird world is no less diverse and rich. Eagles, buzzards, bearded lamb live in the reserve. There are a lot of insects here, which is associated with tropical climate conditions.
Katavi park
Katavi National Park is located in the west of the country. Next to it are the reserves of Lukvati, Rukva, Luafi and a large number of forest reserves. All of these untouched lands are twenty-five thousand kilometers. Katavi is the third largest park in Tanzania. It was named after the legend of a local tribe.
To the west of Katavi is Lake Tanganyika, as well as Mahali Mountains, Gombe Stream Parks. On the south side is Lake Nyasa and the famous national parks of Rauha and Kitulo.
Animals of Tanzania are very diverse and numerous, only fifty varieties of medium and large mammals live on the territory of Katavi. There are more than twenty thousand individuals of zebras. Giraffes, buffalos, warthogs, elephants also live. Of the predators here live leopards, lions, cheetahs, crocodiles, hyenas, wild dogs.
Hippos are most common in Katavi. At the end of the dry season, two hundred animals come together in ponds. In general, all Malomalsky reservoirs during the period of drought are occupied by elephants, hippos and crocodiles. There are three large bodies of water in the territory. So, two of them are occupied by hippos, adjacent to storks and crocodiles.
Katavi is famous for the fact that tourists have the opportunity to see a huge number of wild animals in a small area. In the driest season, this is easiest to do, as all animals move closer to the water bodies.
Katavi is one of the most beautiful places in all of Africa where you can make good shots of a lion and crocodile hunting.
As for the plant world, the park has 226 species of trees. There are forests, grassy fields, swamps and seasonal lakes. In the rainy season, termite fields are flooded with water. These lands are the most fertile throughout the park. White acacias grow on the shores of Lake Katavi.
The study of primates
Gombe Stream is the smallest of all Tanzania's national parks. It is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Its area is only fifty-two square kilometers.
The park became famous thanks to the primatologist Jane Goodall, who has been studying primates for more than forty-five years. Once there was no reserve here. And Dr. Goodall organized a small chimpanzee vigilance monitoring station. This project is still in effect.
Gombe Stream is small, but nonetheless its ecosystem is quite diverse. There are hills covered with tropical dense forests, valleys, light forests, waterfalls, streams, bamboo groves. Plants of Tanzania are diverse in all regions of the country.
In addition to chimpanzees, other primates live in the park: red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, baboons, red colobus. Here you can find antelopes, snakes, leopards and hippos.
Gombe Stream is famous for birds. On such a small territory, two hundred species of birds nest: the paradise flycatcher, sparrow, screaming eagle, palm vulture, crowned eagle.
Tourists are primarily attracted by the large beaches of the reserve on Lake Tanganyika, excellent conditions for underwater swimming and walking tours that allow you to watch wild animals.
Arusha Park
What do you think is famous for Arusha National Park? Tanzania is generally famous for its nature reserves, each of which has its own unique zest. Arusha is known for the fact that, despite its small territory, it is densely populated by giraffes.
In addition, experienced travelers know that in many parks of Tanzania it is not even allowed to get out of the car during excursions, so as not to become, as they say, a dinner for predators. But in Arusha you can safely walk along special hiking trails and admire the animals.
In addition, more than four hundred species of birds nest here. White and black monkeys, baboons, elephants, hippos, buffalos, antelopes, leopards live. Elephants are very rare, but there are no lions at all.
All dishes in local restaurants and cafes are prepared exclusively from goat meat and bananas, they are unsweetened here and taste like our potatoes.
In the park there is the famous Mount Meru, which is Africa’s fifth highest point. Travelers will be surprised by the local nature. Plants of Tanzania are very diverse and unique, and here in the small territory of the park sufficient species richness has gathered.
Mahali mountains
Mahali Mountains - Tanzania National Park, located in the west of the country. He is famous primarily for the fact that the largest population of chimpanzees lives on its territory. The creation of a national park in Tanzania took place in 1979. This event was preceded by attempts to organize a hunting reserve.
The reserve is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. It is the second in depth and breadth after the famous freshwater lake Baikal. Tanganyika is a freshwater lake. However, its inhabitants are very similar to marine. This is due to the fact that the reservoir was formed in ancient times and never dried up, and therefore the fauna did not die, but only replenished with new species.
On the territory of the reserve is Mount Mahali. The flora and fauna of the park is not fully described and studied. It is only known that eighty-two species of mammals and three hundred and fifty-five birds are registered on protected lands. It is estimated that these data cover only eighty percent of the animals.
The fauna and flora of the park are represented by a combination of three zones. So, for example, in the forests not only monkeys live, but also squirrels with wild boars. In the savannah there are lions, giraffes, zebras. And antelopes settled in the forests. The reptiles of the region have been little studied, there are those that are completely new to the scientific world. The fourth part of the reserve is covered with miombo forests.
The Importance of Nature Reserves for Tanzania
What is Tanzania famous in the world for? National parks are its main wealth. Currently, there are sixteen of them in the country. Think about it, this is an impressive figure. The reserves have two main tasks. This is the protection of territories and the attraction of many tourists.
The National Park project in Tanzania plays a huge role for the country. On the one hand, protected areas were created to preserve and enhance natural resources, and on the other, there is a useful and destructive use of flora and fauna through tourism.
Currently, all parks protect the biodiversity of areas that are of importance to the World Heritage Site. Each of them is engaged in the restoration of disturbed biological balance in its territory. The creation of a national park in Tanzania was the solution to the vast problems caused by deforestation, the destruction of animals. Each nature protection zone has its own specific tasks.
Tanzania, whose national parks have become a symbol of the country, has given over them forty-five thousand square kilometers of its territory. In total, along with all reserves, reserves occupy one third of the entire country.
Tourism for Tanzania is an extremely important source of income. A significant part of them goes to maintain the same parks. In addition, this money allows you to conduct scientific research in the field of flora and fauna, so rich in this region.
The nature of the country is so diverse that there are still a large number of corners to which the hands of scientists have not yet reached. Representatives of the animal and plant world have not been fully studied, their complete census has not even been conducted. So there is still a lot of exciting work and new research.
