Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park: Background Info

Mikumi National Park is the fourth largest park in Tanzania covering an area of 3,230 sq kms (1,225 sq miles). It lies to the west of Dar es Salaam and is easily accessed from the city being on the main Mororgoro and Iringa road and is an easy 4 hour drive from Dar es Salaam. The main road runs through the park.

Located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range, Mikumi National Park has a wide variety of wildlife that is easy to spot and well acclimatised to game viewing. Its proximity to Dar es Salaam and the amount of wildlife that live within its borders makes Mikumi National Park a popular option for weekend visitors from the city, or for business visitors who don’t have long to spend on an extended safari itinerary.

Mikumi National Park: Destination Preview

The Experience: Mikumi National Park

Mikumi is stunning in the early morning and late afternoons when its panoramic views are enhanced by the light and its wildlife is at its most active. Game drives around the Kisingura Circuit, Hippo Pools and Vuma Hill are among the most rewarding.

The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, the most visited part of the park, draws frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti plains. Criss crossed by a good circuit of roads, the Mkata Floodplain is perhaps the most reliable place in Tanzania for eland, the worlds largest antelope. Greater kudu and sable antelope live in the miombo (mostly brachystegia trees) covered foothills of the mountains that border the parks.

Other trees that occur in the park and are not to be missed are the giant Baobabs especially one in the south of the park which is considered to be the largest in the area. Hyphaene and Borassus palms are dotted through the park and along the water courses. Mikumi is the Swahili word for the borassus palm. Look for the sclerocarya whose fruit is favoured by elephant.

Wildlife

Mikumi National Park is endowed with spectacular concentration of wildlife which are rarely seen in other parks like magnificent Sable antelope, African hunting dog, blue wildebeest, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest and others. The gentle foothills and vast miombo woodland savanna in the southern parts of the park are quite spectacular. A unique feature of Mikumi is their elephants, which tend to be noticeably smaller than other African elephants with much shorter tusks, making them less attractive to poachers. Another great reason to head to Mikumi is that it is very much off the beaten path Tanzania. The park only gets a small fraction of the visitors who travel to Tanzania each year, compared to the 200,000 tourists that visit Serengeti National Park annually.

Birdlife

More than 400 bird species have been recorded, with such colorful common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated longclaw and bateleur eagle, joined by a host of European migratory birds from November to April. The hippo pool and Mwanambogo dam are a good place to see some of the water-associated birds like African fish eagle, African spoonbill and hamerkop, and the Mkata river offers great views of African openbills fishing.

Birdlife is good throughout the whole year, but at its best from November through April. At this time, resident birds are in breeding plumage, and migratory birds from north Africa and Europe can be found. Wildlife viewing is best during the Dry season (June to October).