Ruaha National Park Safari itineraries, Tanzania

Mpululu – Northern Boundary
Usangu – South West Ruaha
Kilola Star – Western Ruaha
Ruaha River – Central Ruaha

Mpululu: June-October

Mpululu was the name of mighty chief from days gone by from which the area gets its name, and this extremely wild and remote section of Park is essentially as far away from civilisation as the crow flies as the mighty Ruaha/Rungwa ecosystem is able to provide.

Huge rock Kopjes, inselbergs and monoliths dominate this almost prehistoric landscape, you would almost expect a dinosaur to appear at any moment.

Loose yourself in complete wilderness along the banks of the Mzombe River, strewn with lava flows and rocky pools providing plentiful water deep in the dry season and supporting a vast portion of the Ecosystems Hippos.

Usangu: June-October

The Usangu area was essentially a gigantic Game Reserve in the past which
housed the Ihefu Marsh, a mighty swamp spanning several hundred square
kilometres and the source of the Great Ruaha River itself.

Only accessible later in the dry season, the Usangu wetlands could be likened to a mini Okavango delta and supports vast quantities of Hippos, Elephants and large herds of unique Antelopes for Ruaha such as Topi, Roan and Hartebeest.

The swamp itself provides vistas and views of water and life as far as the eye can see, and with only a 180 degree turn an entirely different world will greet you with open grassland and floodplain to essentially infinity.

The Usangu reserve joined the Ruaha as National Park 2 decades ago
doubling our size making us at the time the largest park in all of Tanzania.

Kilola Star : August-October

Kilola Star is the highest altitude point in all the Ruaha at around 1800M and therefore the most starkly “different” area to the rest of the Park.

Ruaha is famous for its “Miombo Woodland” habitat zone however even though it is the dominant vegetation over most the Park it is the least visited due to its inaccessible nature.

Kilola-Star, the junction of 4 mountain streams sits high on top of the Isunkaviola plateau deep within the most prime example of mature Miombo woodland perhaps in all Tanzania. This plateau is perhaps the most “inaccessible” section of “accessible” Ruaha and a mission to reach, however once there you will be met with an entirely different set
of Birds, Weather, Temperatures, Vegetation and of course therefore animals as well.

A journey here is truly like rediscovering completely “lost worlds” largely void of any past human impact.

Ruaha :  May – October

Ruaha is considered one of the most variable parks in all Africa, it is the undulating topography which contributes to this, 1800M above sea level in the West dropping to just 700M in the East. Every 20 minutes you drive in Ruaha the scenery totally changes, this variety is what gives us over 700 species of Birds and more species of Antelope than any other Park in East Africa. What better way to get acquainted with this diversity then by walking a vast transect of the main geographical feature and umbilical cord to the ecosystem – The Great Ruaha River itself!!

7 days of trekking this wonderful game rich resource, through pleasant Acacia forests, Palm groves, and over gentle rolling hills and intersecting sand rivers which give the Ruaha Park its fame and greatness. From Jongomero in the West to Lunda in the East we will pass through the prime viewing sections of Ruaha.

*Insider tip…if you book during May it will be AFTER the Ruaha rainy season, but when all other camps are still shut so we get essentially an entire National Park just to ourselves.

A trip to the Ruaha National Park in Tanzania is an exhilarating adventure into the unknown. Very few other wildernesses in Africa can convey the sheer isolation and expanse of this land that epitomises the Africa of ‘old’ that was felt in times gone by. Far far away from the ‘madding’ crowds which haunt the famous Northern Circuits, Ruaha lies in an untouched and incredibly remote area of Southern Tanzania, and is visited by relatively few tourists making it one of Africa’s wildest Parks for the safari enthusiast.

A GLANCE OF THE PARK OF THE ITNERARY

Ruaha’s stunning, variable landscapes and habitats have ensured that a wealth of diversity occurs at all levels in its flora and fauna. Its tremendous size which encompasses entire ecosystems also contributes to the wonderful abundance of life that Ruaha possesses.

Many creatures are of specialist habitats and unlike the more common generalists which scatter all of Africa’s National Parks, Ruaha boasts many near endemic, and uncommon species not seen in many other areas. This Park also contains one of the highest concentrations of Elephants
in the world and during the dry season vast numbers of these pachyderms can be encountered making Ruaha one Africa’s greatest Elephant parks.