Arusha National Park is Tanzania’s most diverse and easily accessible wildlife site; it is located just twenty minutes from Arusha, Tanzania’s hectic city centre. The park is situated at the base of the magnificent Mount Meru, an active volcano. It consists of a variety of habitats, including lush montane forests and woodlands, savanna, lakes, and volcanic craters.
Arusha National Park is a small park (137 square km) compared to many other Tanzanian parks, but it offers abundant wildlife and scenic beauty. The park itself supports a wide variety of wildlife, such as giraffes, zebras, buffalo, and numerous species of monkeys (e.g., colobus). While large carnivores are not as prevalent in the park as in parks like Serengeti National Park and Others, the park is a marshy conservation area offering a peaceful, intimate experience, ideal for nature enthusiasts and first-time visitors to Tanzania.
One of the park’s most notable features is the Ngurdoto Crater, referred to as “Little Ngorongoro. This lush, wetland-type caldera is home to massive herds of buffalo and other animals and offers opportunities to see large numbers of animals in a scenic setting.
Join our Guided Tours of Arusha National Park to explore its diverse habitats
Arusha National Park is home to a varied group of wildlife and offers you an opportunity to view and study many bird species.
There exist many outdoor experiences to choose from, so you can appreciate whatever you encounter in Africa's wilderness.
The right timing to travel is key. Tanzania’s dry season, from June to October, is ideal for wildlife viewing, as animals gather around water sources, making them easier to spot. The Wet Season (March to May and November) transforms the park into a green paradise, which is ideal for birdwatching and scenic photography.
Weather, animal activity, and crowds all play into how your Safari will unfold. Animal trails during the dry months are much more accessible, and sightings are likely to be good, but in the Wet Season, there are fewer tourists, so you’ll get a more peaceful atmosphere on your trip! Regardless of when you go, you will enjoy the park’s many ecosystems, which offer year-round wildlife sightings.
Despite its small size, Arusha National Park’s habitat types host a wide variety of animal species, making the park’s biodiversity internationally recognised. Arusha National Park contains montane forests, savannas, and alkaline lakes, along with other habitat types that support different animal species.
When visitors from Northern Tanzania come to Arusha National Park, they can expect to see many wildlife species, including giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, and black-and-white colobus monkeys. In addition, the park is home to more than 400 bird species for birdwatching. Some highlights include flamingos near the Momella Lakes and a variety of forest- and water-related birds.
Another element contributing to the ecological features of Arusha National Park is the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, which serves as a wildlife sanctuary with a closed-system ecosystem-like effect due to surrounding lush vegetation and is therefore a natural habitat for a variety of wildlife. The towering Mount Meru can also be seen in the park, which contains an ecologically diverse range of flora from the surrounding woodland ecology.
Arusha National Park offers visitors an intimate, picturesque safari while conserving the area for future generations by maintaining unique and diverse biological systems and promoting ecologically based, sustainable tourism.
Location Tanzania
Location Tanzania
Location Tanzania
Arusha National Park is situated near the city of Arusha in northern Tanzania.
Arusha National Park experiences mild weather, with cooler temperatures in the highlands and warmer temperatures in the lowlands, as well as seasonal rainfall.
The area of Arusha National Park is roughly 137 square kilometres.
Some popular activities in Arusha National Park include game drives, walking safaris, canoeing, and hiking on Mount Meru.
Yes, there are pleasant hiking opportunities, particularly on the beautiful slopes of Mount Meru, at Arusha National Park.
An awesome safari tour with La Pisada ! - With many choices of Kenyan safari tour companies, it can be difficult to choose one. La Pisada was the best decision I made!! Communication is key for me and... read more La Pisada did not disappoint. All of my inquiries were met with a prompt response & an itinerary was set which met our needs. Our experienced tour guide was prompt, professional, enthusiastic and quite informative (we had many questions about wildlife). The open roof-top vehicle was clean, comfortable & even had a charging port !! We saw rhinos and were so lucky to see lions twice during our safari. Our guide made sure we had the best views & stopped in order for us to capture the perfect photo. I will be certain to use La Pisada again !
Nairobi National Park Tour - Each time I visit Kenya, myself and family always make a point to enjoy a Safari tour. Of my many tours, this recent tour with La Pisada is without a... read more doubt the best! Our tour guide was passionate and a wealth of knowledge of Kenyan wildlife; they were on time and professional. I plan to return to Kenya in the near future and will be using La Pisada to book our next tour.
Top quality Safari planner and an AMAZING trip! - Fred from La Pisada Africa Safaris planned two safaris for us in 2023: 3-days to Masai Mara, and 3-day in Amboseli. Those 6 days were amazing and every detail was... read more planned perfectly. Fred made the logistics smooth and simple so we could focus on just enjoying the safari. The driver guides were very knowledgeable and personable.
We were so impressed with how Fred arranged our trip that when we had the opportunity to visit Kenya a second time, we booked two more safaris through Fred. This trip had a small snag that was totally OUTSIDE of Fred’s control and NOT the fault of La Pisada Africa Safaris. As a true professional with years of experience, Fred jumped in to help solve the issue, even though neither he nor his company caused it! THAT is the quality customer service that Fred provides!
I highly recommend La Pisada Africa Safaris for anyone looking to have an awesome safari in East Africa.
Greatest experience in Kenya with Fred team - We spent 12 stunning days in Kenya. We are 2 families with kids 10-12 yo.
First if all, Fred designed for us the custom-made plan of the trip.... read more We added to the classical safari experience different activities - rafting, hiking, biking and even the horseriding and night safari! And All these providers were of very good quality.
Then Fred thought out the logistics to include all these activities in safari plan. We were in Masai Mara, Amboseli, Aberdare, Ol Pejeta, Lake Naivasha.
The choice of lodges was fabulous. We discovered so many beautiful lodges - tented camps, rooms, with views on nature, with animals, with observation points on animals, nature luxury lodges with no fences - sooo different impressions from our hotels. Wow!! And the lodges are very important in your experience, since you spend a lot if time there. All was great!
The guides Farah and Julias were so nice and friendly people and experienced professionals. They took care of us for our comfort and safety, and did extra effort for us to see animals. Kids were fans of Farah!
The safari in Kenya is just a MAGIC! 🪄 you need to come to experience it)))
Maruska_77
Thank you La Pisada - Our La Pisada driver showed up at our apt on time. He offered to drive us to get coffee, offerred us the use if his personal phone charger, and... read more gave us alot of personal attention and care. He explained alot about the different type of animals that we saw at Nairobi Game Park. You can tell that conservation of wildlife was a passion for our driver and we reallly connected and had a great time. Overall a great service by La Pisada.
Wonderful holiday - Fred arranged a fly-in Masai Mara safari for us, followed by five days on the beach at Diani. All of the arrangements, flights and transfers went smoothly with no problems,... read more and it was a pleasure to meet Fred in person at the end of our trip.
We stayed at the Royal Mara in the Mara North conservancy which was superb, and Sands at Nomad in Diani, which has a great restaurant on the beach and wonderful service. We will definitely use La Pisada again for future bookings.














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