Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park sits forty minutes from the town that gives it its name, on the lower slopes of Mount Meru, and packs more variety into 552 square kilometres than any park its size in Tanzania. In a single day you can canoe past giraffe on the Momella Lakes, walk through montane forest in the company of black and white colobus, drive along the rim of the Ngurdoto Crater and finish with a sundowner looking across to Kilimanjaro on the horizon.

The park has three distinct sections. The Momella Lakes in the north are a chain of seven alkaline crater lakes that hold seasonal flamingo flocks, large numbers of waterbirds and resident hippo. The central section is the Ngurdoto Crater, a smaller closed caldera ringed by forest and known locally as Little Ngorongoro, where buffalo, warthog and waterbuck graze on the floor and visitors only view from the rim. The southern section climbs into the rainforest and high heath of Mount Meru, and is the starting point for the three and four day treks to the summit.

Wildlife is less concentrated than in the larger parks, but the sightings are unusually intimate because vehicle traffic is light and walking is permitted with an armed ranger. Giraffe are everywhere, the Maasai giraffe of Tanzania, and Arusha is one of the best places in East Africa to watch breeding herds. Buffalo, warthog, waterbuck, bushbuck and dik dik are common, and the lucky encounter is leopard in the forest understorey at dawn or the rarely seen suni and red duiker.

Western Bridge Africa uses Arusha National Park as a soft start for guests arriving from a long flight, especially those continuing on to a Meru or Kilimanjaro trek. A half day in the park, with a canoe trip on the lakes and a forest walk, breaks the journey gently and starts the acclimatisation clock before any serious altitude. It also makes a satisfying final day for anyone with a few hours to fill before an evening flight out of Kilimanjaro International.