Ruaha National Park
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Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park

Remote Tanzanian national park on the Great Ruaha River, known for dry-season wildlife concentrations.

Ruaha is one of Tanzania's largest and least visited national parks — and many who make it here consider it the country's best. The park has a reputation for remoteness, but it is actually only 115 km from Iringa on an all-weather road, and there are charter flights from Dar es Salaam.

The Great Ruaha River is the park's lifeline. During the dry season it shrinks to pools and sand channels, concentrating wildlife in spectacular fashion — elephants, buffalo, kudu (both greater and lesser), giraffe, roan and sable antelope, and big herds of zebra gather along the river. Crocodiles and hippos survive in the remaining pools. The predator populations are strong: lion, leopard, cheetah, and African wild dog are all present.

The landscape is varied — baobab-studded savannah, riverine forest, and rocky kopjes — and the vegetation transitions from miombo woodland in the west to semi-arid scrub in the east. The dry season (June–October) is the best time for game viewing, when animals concentrate around water sources.

Guide

Getting There in Ruaha national park

Buses from Iringa run to Tungamalenga, 20 km from the gate. There is no public transport to the park itself. It is therefore necessary to hire a vehicle, which will anyway be mandatory inside the park. It is also possible to hire “all-inclusive packages” through the lodges in the park, all of which are, however, extremely expensive. Less wealthy visitors are recommended to stay the night in Tungamalenga. There are regular flights to the park airstrip.