- About
- Kenya
- Kenya + Tanzania
- Tanzania
- Rwanda
- Uganda
- Experiences
- Parks
- Travel Info
- Contacts
Arusha is Safari Central for the great national parks of Tanzania. From this busy, lush city, you can easily journey to the many nearby parks with their vast displays of colorful wildlife for which the country is so well known.
We’ve selected four exciting parks that are close enough to Arusha for a full day of safari action. Each offers dynamic landscapes and exciting varieties of animal life. From the giraffes of Arusha National Park to the elephants of Tarangire to the lions, leopards, and flamingoes of the Ngorongoro Crater, all of these one-day safaris promises an immersive experience of unfolding nature and wildlife right before your eyes.
Just 90 minutes from the city of Arusha, this park is known for its diversity of landscapes – lakes, mountains, moorlands, rainforest, savannahs – and variety of wildlife. It also holds an enormous population of giraffes!
In what other park can you climb an active volcano (Mt. Meru) and go on a canoe safari across several blue/green algae lakes? You’ll be looking for waterbuck, buffalo, warthog, dik-dik, and much more.
The great blue/green bowl of this immense volcanic crater is filled with wildlife – over 25,000 animals. Lions, leopards, elephants, and even pink flamingoes thrive in this other world, apart from the rest of the continent.
In your 4 x 4 Jeep, you’ll descend the steep crater walls to discover forests, lakes, springs, and grasslands in a place that time forgot but thrives in its own ecosytem. You’ll find thousands of wildebeests, zebra, gazelle, buffalo, and the big cats prowling here.
Tree-climbing lions? Blue monkeys? Pink flamingoes? If you’re looking for a colorful wildlife escape, Lake Manyara is your park. The blue alkaline lake attracts thousands of fuchsia flamingoes feeding along its shore. And yes, there are unique tree-climbing lions overhead, resting in the acacia trees.
Keeping those unique predators company are great troops of baboons, elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, impala, and warthogs.
If you’re really looking to get away to a place with few humans but lots of wildlife – the second-highest concentration of animals in Tanzania – take our day trip to Tarangire Park. Where else will you find 3,000 elephants and over 700 lions?
But the landscapes here equally enchanting – you’ll see large, dramatic stands of ancient baobab trees, some rising 30 m (98 feet) into the African sky. And large, startling termite mounds emerge from the park’s vast plains, a testament to the vibrant life all about in this unique reserve.
Please click on the tours below to learn more about each of these unique and adventurous one-day safaris. All include lunch and your own private 4 x 4 Land Cruiser Jeep.
Check also our Tanzania Safaris and Combined Tanzania & Kenya Safaris.
The closest park at just an hour and a half away from the city, Arusha National Park is a wonderland of alpine tracts, savannahs, mountains, and lakes.
Rainforests, Savannahs, Mountains, and Giraffes
Tour includes:What can you say about the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera? When safari-goers speak about the Ngorongoro Crater words like ‘gorgeous’, ‘astonishing’, and ‘breathtaking’ follow. For the Ngorongoro is a unique thriving world bursting with colorful habitats and home to over 25,000 large mammals.
This World Heritage Site and “Eighth Wonder of the World” is perhaps the best place to see all of Africa’s “Big Five” wildlife as they thrive in a relatively small area of just 264 sq. km (101 sq. mi). Get ready for an adventurous day perhaps like no other in Africa… if not the world.
Descend Into a Blue/Green World Thick With Wildlife
Tour includes:Compact but so inviting, Ernest Hemingway called it, “the loveliest I had seen in Africa”. A trip to Lake Manyara National Park is a perfect one-day getaway to a beautiful landscape filled with color and some very unusual wildlife.
Imagine great flocks of pink flamingoes nestled by the shore of a blue alkaline lake. And above, in the acacia branches overhead, the sight of lions! Yes, the park is home to some very unique tree-climbing lions not found elsewhere.
A Most Colorful Africa Safari
Tour includes:Tarangire National Park is a quiet surprise. Sometimes overlooked for the better-known parks, you’ll find the second-highest concentration of wildlife of any spot in Tanzania. Check out these numbers: over 3,000 elephants and more than 700 lions roam Tarangire’s fascinating landscapes.
This is an almost mystical reserve filled with dramatic stands of bizarre baobab trees and giant termite mounds. And yet, with its active populations of wildlife, the park projects a vibe of quiet and calm. A day spent here on your Africa Safari is one of fantastic visual displays tempered with the easy rhythms grounded in the natural world.
An Africa Safari of Epic Lions and Landscapes
Tour includes:The best time to go gorilla trekking in Uganda is during the dry season (December– February and June - August) when conditions are especially good for trekking to view mountain gorillas. Game drives in the national parks are also fruitful during this time.
Wear neutral colored, lightweight clothing on your Uganda safari. Dress in layers and bring a warm sweater for morning and nighttime game drives. For gorilla trekking, bring a waterproof rain jacket, hiking boots, long socks, hiking pants, bug repellant, and a daypack. A sunhat and gardening gloves are also a good idea; the jungle is dense and thick.
Natural World Kenya Safaris offers Gorilla Trekking Safaris in Uganda with basic accommodations starting at $96 per person, per day, plus the Uganda gorilla trekking permit which costs $700 per person per day (the permits are required, and those fees are non-negotiable.) Costs increase from there.
Natural World Safaris can provide basic, mid-range, and luxury trekking safaris and is eager to work with almost any budget.
Suggested tips range from $10 to $20 per person per day for a private guide and the same amount for your driver if that is a different person than your guide.
If you are on a guided safari or gorilla trek in Uganda, your chances of encountering problems are minimal. However, it is always a good idea to take precautions on your safari, particularly when traveling through urban areas or in regions close to the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The trek to spot gorillas can be strenuous. It could take anywhere from two to eight hours to find and observe the gorillas, depending on the time of year. Be prepared to hike for multiple hours through uneven terrain at high altitude. It is advisable to train before any gorilla trekking trip by walking uphill, or better yet, by taking day hikes.
When it comes to wildlife viewing, there are never any guarantees. There are no fences in the parks in Uganda and the gorillas are free to roam. However, our expert guides and gorilla trackers have years of experience taking guests to see these magnificent creatures. They know their favorite spots to congregate and work closely with park officials each day to provide the best possible chance of seeing gorillas in the wild.
Most mountain gorillas in Uganda live at between 4,900 to 7,500 feet. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to the country’s mountain gorillas, has a high point of 8,550ft.
The best time to go on a gorilla trek in Rwanda is during the dry season (June - September) when conditions are best for trekking to view the country’s highlight: the fascinating mountain gorillas.
Wear neutral colored, lightweight clothing on your Rwanda gorilla trek. Dress in layers and don’t forget a sweater for chilly morning and nighttime game drives. For gorilla trekking, bring a waterproof rain jacket, broken-in hiking boots, long socks, hiking pants, bug repellant, and a daypack. A sun visor and protective gloves – such as gardening gloves - are also useful.
Natural World Kenya Safaris offers Gorilla Trekking Safaris in Rwanda with basic accommodations starting at $720 per person, per day, plus the Rwanda gorilla trekking permit which costs $1,500 per person per day (the permits are required, and those fees are non-negotiable.) Costs increase from there.
Natural World Safaris can provide basic, mid-range, and luxury trekking safaris and is eager to work with almost any budget.
Suggested tips for your guide are $25 per person, per day for a private guide and the same amount for your driver if that is a different person than your guide.
Rwanda is one of the safest countries in Africa, particularly if you are on a guided safari or gorilla trek. Your chances of encountering problems are minimal. However, it is always a good idea to take precautions on your safari, particularly when traveling through urban areas. Cross-border travel into the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Burundi is not safe, however, so steer clear of this.
The trek to spot gorillas can be strenuous. It could take anywhere from two to eight hours to find and observe the gorillas, depending on the time of year. Be prepared to hike for multiple hours through uneven terrain at high altitude. It is advisable to train before any gorilla trekking trip by walking uphill, or better yet, by taking day hikes.
When it comes to wildlife viewing, there are never any guarantees. There are no fences in the parks in Rwanda and the gorillas are free to roam. However, our expert guides and gorilla trackers have years of experience taking guests to see these magnificent creatures. They know their favorite spots to congregate and work closely with park officials each day to provide the best possible chance of seeing gorillas in the wild.
Most mountain gorillas in Rwanda live at between 8,000 to 13,000 feet. Volcanoes National Park has a high point of 15,000ft.
Contact us for more information
For more information about our safari excursions, or to book your dream safari trip with Natural World Kenya Safaris, simply get in touch with our friendly travel advisors. Give us a call on +254 704 001 122 or leave your details on our contact us page, and we'll reply as quickly as possible.
© Natural World Kenya Safaris. Developed By MonkeyFish Marketing.
Book This Safari
Book This Excursion/Tour
Customize this Excursion
Customize this Safari
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
Manage your cookie preferences below:
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Google reCAPTCHA helps protect websites from spam and abuse by verifying user interactions through challenges.
Google Tag Manager simplifies the management of marketing tags on your website without code changes.
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Service URL: policies.google.com (opens in a new window)
You can find more information in our Cookie Policy.
