Destinations
Arusha National Park
Mount Meru, the Momella Lakes and safari on foot
Size
552 km²
Best time
Year-round; clearest mountain views June–October and January–February
Getting there
40 min by road from Arusha town or Kilimanjaro Airport
How long to stay
A day trip on arrival or departure day
The place
Arusha National Park sits under Mount Meru, half an hour from town, and is the most underrated stop in the north. There are no lions, which is precisely why you can walk here. Giraffe on green hillsides, colobus monkeys in the forest, flamingos on the Momella Lakes and Kilimanjaro floating above the horizon on a clear morning.
The perfect first day
Most guests land at Kilimanjaro tired and lose a day to rest. Arusha NP is the antidote — a gentle half-day of walking and game viewing that shakes off the flight and starts the safari immediately.
Walking and canoeing
Armed-ranger walking safaris cross open glades and forest edges, and canoes go out on Small Momella among waterbuck and waterbirds. Both are rare in northern Tanzania and both are genuinely memorable.
Ngurdoto Crater and Mount Meru
The Ngurdoto rim viewpoints look down on a green, buffalo-filled bowl. For the ambitious, Mount Meru is a three- to four-day climb and the best possible acclimatisation for Kilimanjaro.
Highlights
What people remember
Walking safaris
On foot with an armed ranger, in a park with no lions or rhino.
Black-and-white colobus
Easily seen in the montane forest along the Ngurdoto road.
Canoe safaris
Paddling the Momella Lakes with giraffe on the shoreline.
Mount Meru
4,562 m, a spectacular trek and ideal Kilimanjaro preparation.
Suggested journeys
