View Tours
Ruaha National Park in the centre of Tanzania takes its name from the Hehe word for ‘river.’ The eponymous Great Ruaha River serves as a lifeline for the park’s wildlife. Although it’s the largest national park in the country and rich in wildlife, Ruaha is one of the least busy places to visit in Tanzania, so safaris here feel remote and exclusive.
Ruaha National Park is a national park in Tanzania. The addition of the Usangu Game Reserve and other important wetlands to the park in 2008 increased its size to about 20,226 km2 (7,809 sq mi), making it the largest protected area in Tanzania, as well as in East Africa.
The park is about 130 kilometres (81 mi) west of Iringa. The park is a part of the 45,000 square kilometres (17,000 sq mi) Rungwa-Kizigo-Muhesi ecosystem, which includes the Rungwa Game Reserve, the Kizigo and Muhesi Game Reserves, and the Mbomipa Wildlife Management Area.
The name of the park is derived from the Great Ruaha River, which flows along its southeastern margin and is the focus for game-viewing. The park can be reached by car on a dirt road from Iringa and there are two airstrips – Msembe airstrip at Msembe (park headquarters), and Jongomeru Airstrip, near the Jongomeru Ranger Post.
Ruaha National Park takes its name from the Ruaha River, which flows along its southeastern border. The river provides permanent water in the park, and during the dry season animal concentration along its banks is spectacular. Ruaha National Park is about two to three hours drive from Iringa, a famous town on the Dar es Salaam to Zambia highway. Covering an area of 20,226 square kilometers, Ruaha is the largest National Park in Tanzania. Its borders were extended in 2008 to include Usangu Game Reserve to protect the Ihefu wetlands and the Great Ruaha River catchment areas and biodiversity.
Therefore, this unspoilt wilderness is rich in flora and fauna. Moreover it contains a wide variety of animals. However it includes Greater and Lesser Kudu, roan and sable antelopes, which are rarely seen in most other game parks. So, Ruaha National Park is famous for its herds of elephant and buffaloes. Therefore, during the dry season the river attracts great quantities of game. That is to say, the wildlife including lions, leopard, hunting or wild dog, impala. waterbuck, warthog, giraffe, and elands. Moreover, In the plains ostriches, cheetahs and Grants Gazelles can be seen. So, the park is rich in bird life throughout the year, with over 450 bird species recorded. But, the best time for game viewing is during the dry season, from May to December. During the wet months from January to April some tracks become impassable.
In the dry season, visitors can expect to see golden savannah studded with baobabs and misty hills stretching along the horizon. With the annual rains, the grasslands become a lush green and the baobabs bloom.
Waterbuck, impala and gazelle come to the river to drink and predators are never far behind. You may spot lion or leopard prowling watchfully along the banks, or cheetah lying in wait on the plains, while skulking jackal and hyena are on the lookout for an opportunity to catch their next meal.
Ruaha is easily combined with a Serengeti safari or Zanzibar beach break. It also partners well with the Selous. Fly from Arusha or Dar es Salaam to one of Ruaha’s two airstrips.
Share this tourSafari27 is the Tanzanian based tour operator, located in northern part of Tanzania, it focuses in preparing safaris on the northern circuit and Zanzibar.