MIKUMI

MIKUMI NATIONAL PARK
Mikumi National Park is only three to four hours drive from Dar es Salaam, north of Selous Game Reserve and lying along the main highway to Zambia. It is one of the most accessible parks in Tanzania and is the fourth-largest national park in the country.

Covering an area of 3,230 square kilometres, the main feature of the park is the Mkata flood plain, along with the Uluguru and Lumango mountain ranges that border the park on two sides. Open grasslands dominate in the flood plain, eventually merging with the miombo woodland covering the lower hills.

The park is rich in wildlife - buffalo, hippo, baboons, sable antelope, lions, wild dogs, wildebeest, zebra, impala, giraffe, warthogs, and elephants which can easily be viewed all the year round. Reptiles including crocodiles, monitor lizards and pythons are also resident in the park as are over 400 recorded species of birdlife. Among the bird species are the colourful residents such as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated long claw and bateleur eagle joined by a host of European migrants during the rainy season.

The Mkata Floodplain is perhaps the most reliable place in Tanzania for sightings of the powerful eland, the world¡¯s largest antelope. The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope haunt the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains that rise from the park¡¯s borders.

A tarmac road connects Mikumi to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro, approximately 4 hours drive. There are also road connections to Udzungwa, Ruaha and, in the dry season only, the Selous. There are a number of chartered flights from Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Selous.