Largest national parks/reserves in Tanzania
Largest national parks/reserves in Tanzania : The different national parks and reserves around Tanzania include the following;
- Selous game reserve
Selous game reserve is the largest protected game reserve of Tanzania and is located in the southern part of the country.
The reserve covers about 54,600 square kilometers and is made up of savannah, lakes, forest, and a wilderness filled with different wildlife species. june to October is the time of the year which is recommended for a visit to Selous game reserve.
Selous game reserve consists of the northern Selous and southern Selous and some of the attractions in the reserve include River Rufiji. Wildlife species include buffalos, lions, leopards, impalas, hyenas, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, waterbucks, elands among others. Different bird species can also be seen around Selous game reserve.
The destination can be accessed from Dar es Salaam and during safaris, tourists can access Selous game reserve by flight, driving and also by rail.
A number of lodges and tented camps are found in Selous game reserve and they include Amara Selous, Selous tented camp, Selous Serena camp, Selous wilderness camp, Siwandu camp, Lake Manze camp, Sand river Selous, Sable mountain lodge among others.
- Ruaha national park
Ruaha national park is the largest national park of Tanzania and is part of the southern circuit of Tanzania and it covers 20226 square kilometers.
The national park can be accessed during safaris by charter or scheduled flights from Dar es Salaam. Ruaha national park can also be accessed by driving from Dar es Salaam.
Ruaha national park consists of savannah, baobabs, hills and grasslands and the different wildlife species which can be spotted in the national park include waterbucks, impalas, gazelles, jackals, hyenas, buffalos, elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, giraffes among others.
Different activities are carried out during safaris around Ruaha national park such as game drives, nature walks, and bird watching among others. The national park can be visited all year round for safaris.
- Serengeti national park
Serengeti national park is located in the northern part of Tanzania and it covers 14750 square kilometers.
The national park is home to numerous wildlife species such as elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, buffalos, wildebeests, zebras, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, waterbucks, hartebeests, hyenas, warthogs among others.
Serengeti national park consists of western Serengeti, northern Serengeti and the Serengeti plains. The national park can be accessed by different means of transport such as driving from Arusha and another way to get to the national park is by flying to the airstrips in the national park.
The wildebeest migration also takes place in Serengeti national park and is the annual movement of over 2 million wildebeests across the savannah plains of the national park. There are also acacia woodlands, riverine forests, grassy plains and rock outcrops in Serengeti national park.
- Kigosi game reserve
Kigosi game reserve is a private protected game reserve in Tanzania which covers 8,265 square kilometers.
The reserve consists of miombo woodland, riverine valleys, springs, rock outcrops and is also made up of swampy terrains. Different bird species can be seen in Kigosi game reserve such as shoe bill stork, pelicans and many others.
Wildlife species in Kigosi game reserve include lions, buffalos, kudu, topi, leopards, waterbucks, hippos among others. The best time to visit the game reserve is during the months of June to September which is the dry season.
Kigosi game reserve can be accessed by air from Dar es Salaam and also by road.
- Burigi chato national park
Burigi chato national park covers about 4707 square kilometers and is the 4th largest national park of Tanzania.
The national park was recently gazetted and it consists of 3 game reserves of Tanzania. Burigi chato national park is made up of savannah grasslands where wildlife species such as buffalos, antelopes, zebras, elephants, elands, giraffes, lions and many others can be spotted. There are also different bird species in the national park and they include papyrus gonolek, shoe bill stork, fish eagles and many others.
Burigi chato national park is located close to Lake Victoria and other water bodies near the national park include Lake Burigi and Kagera River.
- Katavi national park
Katavi national park is another large national park of Tanzania which is located in the western part of the country.
The national park covers about 4,471 square kilometers and is home to wildlife species such as elephants, lions, hippos, elands, giraffes, zebras, buffalos and many others. Over 400 bird species can also be seen around Katavi national park.
Grasslands and woodlands make up Katavi national park which can be accessed by different means of transport during safaris such as scheduled flights and also chartered flights.
- Ugalla river game reserve
Ugalla river game reserve is located in the western part of Tanzania covering about 3,865 square kilometers.
A major attraction in Ugalla river game reserve is Ugalla river which is a seasonal river. There are also grassy floodplains, miombo woodlands in the reserve. The different wildlife species which can be seen at Ugalla river game reserve include lions, elephants, hyenas,
- Ugalla river game reserve
, duikers, hartebeests among others.
Different bird species can also be seen during a safari to the Ugalla river game reserve which is made up of unique landscapes. Ugalla river game reserve can be accessed by flight to the airstrips and also during the dry season by driving to the destination.
- Mkomazi national park
Mkomazi national park is located in the north eastern part of Tanzania and covers about 3,234 square kilometers.
The national park used to be a game reserve and is situated close to the Kenyan border. Mkomazi national park can be accessed by driving via Same which is a town on the border with Kenya and also by charter flights to Kisima airstrip.
Wildlife species which can be seen during safaris to Mkomazi national park include giraffes, elands, zebras, hartebeests, buffalos, elephants, kudu and many others. There are also over 450 bird species in the national park.
- Mikumi national park
Mikumi national park covers 3,230 square kilometers and is situated near Morogoro.
There are over 300 bird species in Mikumi national park and wildlife species of a variety can also be seen in the national park and they include hippos, wildebeests, impalas, buffalos, zebras, giraffes, hyenas among others.
Getting there during safaris to Mikumi national park is possible by driving from Dar es Salaam and also be accessed through scheduled flights.
- Tarangire national park
Tarangire national park is located in the northern part of Tanzania and it covers about 2,850 square kilometers.
The national park is crossed by a river called Tarangire river and Tarangire national park is named after it. The national park also consists of grasslands, baobabs and swamps.
A big number of elephants can be seen during safaris around Tarangire national park and other wildlife species in the national park include giraffes, zebras, warthogs, lions, impalas, lesser kudu among others.
Tarangire national park can be accessed by different means of transport such as driving from Arusha and also by flights to Kuro airstrip.
