Kitulo National Park

Kitulo national Park also known as “ The garden of God” by the locals using a Swahili word “ Bustani ya Mungu” the park covers an area of 412.5 kilometers squared located in the highlands in the southern part of Tanzania, Kitulo national park was officially gazetted as a game park in 2005. Kitulo is one of the least visited Tanzania safaris places.

Kitulo national park is located between Poroto Mountains, Kipengere mountains and Livingstone rocky peaks. It’s approximately 2600 meters above sea level the park is majorly famous for it’s floral species, it is said to contain over 30 species , botanists have always referred to this park as “ Serengeti of flowers”. Its one of the most beautiful and affordable places to visit on your Tanzania holidays.

Kitulo national park also supports about 350 vascular plant species and 45 terrestrial orchid, during rainy seasons, the park offers outstanding views of natural beauty as the flowers blossom

Kitulo national park is going to be expanded in future to include the mount Rungwe forest, the park also boasts with one of the 25 endangered primate’s species in the whole world known as Kipunji in the local Tanzanian language.

During the rainy season, the volcanic soils support the growth of montane grasslands, examples of flowers on the Kitulo national park are; lilies, irises, aloes, proteas, giant lobelias and daisies among many others. Kitulo national park is one of most beautiful natural places endowed with flower spectacles in the world.

Kitulo national park does not habituate a big number of animals but some mountainous animals like Reed bucks, zebras, elands and other things to expect are numerous butterflies, lizards, chameleons and frogs. Riding above the Kitulo plateua is south Tanzania’s highest peak mount Mtorwi.

Some of the activities to be done at Kitulo national park can be seen as below;

Bird watching​: Tanzania is gifted with variety of bird species and the Kitulo national park has it’s portion of numerous birds the most common being Denham’s bustard which is not often seen in other parts of the country, cisticola, and kipengere seed eater to mention a few.

Hiking: Tourists can engage in hiking the montane grasslands that will expose you to various flower species, butterflies, chameleons, lizards, animals like elands and waterbucks. The whole montane grasslands provide an arena of a glorious view from the top it’s also a unique place for the photogenic lovers to take as many photos as they want.

Mountain climbing: Tourists can take a day hike on top of mouth Rungwe and see primates like the vervet monkeys, Kipunji monkey with a long Hong bark call, Columbus monkeys animals like Reed bucks and elands may also be seen at the mountain slopes. The mountain tops give more excellent views of the Kitulo national park.

Guided nature walks: Tourists can take guided nature walks to the Livingstone forested area and  come to lake Nyasa shorelines tourists can relax from here and enjoy lunch at the adorable Matema beach before getting back along the way tourists will see a lot o wildlife and other plant species.

Swimming: Apart from getting engaged in tourist’s attractions, tourists can engage in swimming in the Rauaha river and get refreshed in the wilderness.

The best time to visit Kitulo national park is in the dry season of May to October but the park can also be accessed in mid December to February.

The Kitulo national game park headquarters is found at Matamba in the Mbeya region of Tanzania, the park is n hours drive from Matamba. Tourists can use public transport, safari vehicles or their own private means. A railway can also be used to access the park from Dar- es Salam to Mpanda via Tobora then catch public transport to sitalike where tourists can get game drives from special hires.

Accommodation in Kitulo national park is available in campsites, a luxurious tented camp overlooking Lake Chada comfortable hotels are also in Mpanda and a rest camp at sitalike.

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