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ARUSHA NATIONAL PARK The Arusha National Park covers 137 square kilometers. Because of it's close proximity to the city of Arusha, one would expect Arusha National Park to be crowded, but it is in fact, it is the least visited of the Northern National Parks. This does not mean that it is not worth the visit, just under appeciated, perhaps due to it's lacking of the large cats. This is not a large area, but this park does contain a variety of landscapes from miniature volcanic crater to mountain rain forests. A number of beautiful crater lakes can be seen with an abundance of hippos enjoying the cool clear mountain water coming from the slopes of Mount Meru, which is contained within the park. Traveling through the treed savannas, we reach the Gnurdoto Crater where many herds of buffalo reside. Many other game can be seen in the small park including the very rare Colobus Ape. This has been a popular park with film maker, including �Hatari� made in the 1950�s with John Wayne and �The Snows of Kilimanjaro� with Gregory Peack and Ava Gardener. There are some spectacular view of Mt Kilimanjaro from the park. It can be done as a daytrip from both Arusha and Moshi, but there is a campsite and a lodge located within the park. It's location makes it a a great add on to a Kilimanjaro climb or on a tight time schedule. |