Amani Nature Reserve

The Amani Nature Reserve in the Eastern Usambaras protects one of Africa's most biodiverse forest blocks. The reserve surrounds the old German research station at Amani — its stone buildings, planted specimen trees from around the world, and botanical garden create a peculiar, overgrown colonial atmosphere within the dense forest.

The birding here is exceptional: the Usambara akalat, the Amani sunbird, the East Coast akalat, and several endemic species are found in this reserve and almost nowhere else. Walking the forest trails requires permits from the reserve office; guides are strongly recommended and can be hired at the station. The accommodation at Amani is basic but the location — in the middle of ancient forest, with bird calls from before dawn — is memorable.

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A story
The Amani research station was established by the German colonial government in 1902 as a tropical agricultural research station — testing what could profitably be grown in East Africa. The botanists who worked here documented the extraordinary endemism of the Eastern Usambara forests, discovering hundreds of species new to science. When Tanzania became independent and the Germans left, the station fell into disuse and the surrounding forest was slowly encroached. The nature reserve now protects roughly 1,000 square kilometres of the most intact forest remaining.