Udzungwa National Park is another of Tanzania’s national parks from the
Eastern Arc Mountains
is part of south central Tanzania. The park covers about 1990 sq km on the slopes of
Udzungwa Mountains
at 250m altitude to 2,500m above sea level on
Lohomero Peak.
The park is considered to be another rich eco-system with several unique attributes as those of neighboring
Mikumi National Park
. Some of the unique plants species in the park include buttresses layers of fungi, lichens, mosses, ferns, forests.
Sanje waterfalls are a prime attraction, plunging 170m in a misty spray over a rock. The beautiful water falls are a fascination for Udzungwa tourists and hikers. The trail to Mwanihana peak is another challenging hiking trail that lead through sugar estates and into the high plateau- takes about 2 days to reach this peak that ranks as second highest on Udzungwa Mountains
Different primates are commonly seen in the forest while on nature trails and some of them include Sanje crested mangabey and Iringa red colobus that are endemic to this Tanzania park and found no
where else in the world. Other sights within the parks include different species of forest birds, butterflies, insects, amphibians, reptiles and other small mammals.
Getting there
Udzungwa mountains are reached en-route to Mikumi and
Ruaha
Tanzania parks. The park is 5hours drive from Dar-es-salaam (350km) and 65km south west of
Mikumi National park
. The best time to visit the park comes around June to October for the best hiking experience before the short rains come in to bring the plants to blossom.
Camping is allowed within the park but you are cautioned to take your camping supplies like water, firewood and food. The are two game lodges located near the park gates with comfortable accommodation such as Udzungwa Forest Tented camp.
