Arusha National Park

Established in 1960 and just 137 square kilometres, Arusha National Park sits barely half an hour from the city and Kilimanjaro International Airport, which makes it a natural first or last stop on a longer trip. Despite its size it holds a remarkable variety of scenery.

The Momella Lakes, a chain of shallow alkaline lakes, draw flamingos and are one of the few places in Tanzania where visitors can canoe, paddling within sight of buffalo and hippo. The montane forest of the Ngurdoto Crater rim shelters troops of black-and-white colobus monkeys, while open grassland supports giraffe, zebra and warthog. The park is also the starting point for the three- to four-day trek up Mount Meru (4,566 m), Tanzania's second-highest mountain and an excellent acclimatisation climb before Kilimanjaro. On clear mornings both Meru and Kilimanjaro are visible from the park's viewpoints.