Southern Parks
Ruaha
It is Ruaha’s wild and untrammelled feel that sets it apart, and that has made it the favourite of many regular East African safari-goers.
https://www.bradtguides.com/destinations/africa/tanzania/ruaha-national-park/
One of East Africa’s most biodiverse and rewarding safari destinations, Ruaha also now ranks as the largest national park in Tanzania, protecting a wild 20,220km² tract of wooded rocky slopes, open plains and seasonal wetlands that drain into the Great Ruaha River.
Famed for its large numbers of elephant, which are still substantial despite recent poaching, Ruaha only ranks a short way behind the Serengeti-Mara when it comes to lion and other big cat sightings, and it is one of the few places anywhere on the continent to a support a viable population of the endangered African wild dog.
Other attractions include an unusually varied selection of ungulates, and some excellent birdwatching. But above all, perhaps, it is Ruaha’s wild and untrammelled feel that sets it apart, and that has made it the favourite of many regular East African safari-goers. This wilderness feel is reflected in the park’s limited accommodation, which comprises half-a-dozen small and exclusive permanent camps and a few semi-permanent ones, scattered far more widely than their counterparts in Selous.
Ruaha’s remote location – more than 600km from Dar es Salaam, including a rough and dusty 100km drive west from Iringa – means than the overwhelming majority of visitors fly in to one of these camps, which generally offer all-inclusive upmarket packages incorporating expertly guided game drives and in some cases guided walks.
But Ruaha is also becoming a popular target for more budget-conscious travellers thanks to a proliferation of small lodges that lie between the main entrance gate and Tungamalenga 18km to its east and offer day safaris into the park.
Ruaha is best visited between July and November, when animals concentrate around the river. Internal roads may be impassable towards the end of the rainy season (March to May).
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At 20,226 square kilometres, Ruaha National Park is the largest park both in Tanzania and East Africa. It forms part of the 45,000 square kilometre Rungwa-Kizigo-Muhesi water basin, a lifeblood for the region, of which the great Ruaha River is a key geological feature. With a conservation history going back almost 110 years and being formed on ancient bedrock of the Great Rift Valley, some 450-650 million years ago, we think it is quite a special place!
Given Ruaha’s geographical location on a transition zone between eastern and southern African ecosystems, the park is a true biodiversity hotspot. Varied vegetation zones include marshlands, open grassland savannah, Combretum and Acacia woodlands and palm fringed riparian areas. Miombo woodland makes up 40% of the park, largely in the remote western and northern areas; where drainage lines create seasonal lake beds that form their own separate ecozones, especially for birdlife. As you journey through the park, you will also notice a continued presence of majestic baobab trees – undoubtedly one of Ruaha’s iconic features.
With over 1650 plant species, 580 species of bird, over 200 species of mammal and 50 amphibian and butterfly species, it is little wonder the World Wildlife Fund for Nature consider it as one of the key ‘Global 200’ regions on the planet.
Ruaha is a place of many wonders, it is one of just a few places where both greater and lesser kudu antelope can be seen, as well as rare antelopes such as sable and roan. Predators are in abundance with 10% if Africa’s lions; one of just six populations in the world numbering over 1000 individuals. It is also home to the third largest population of endangered African wild dogs. The leopard and cheetah found here are one of four places in East Africa with populations over 200. Both striped and spotted hyena exist within the park in healthy numbers. As well, large herds of buffalo numbering into the hundreds, and approximately 15,000 elephants roam the savannah together with giraffe, zebra and a wide variety of other herbivores.
Conservation in Ruaha is going really well and Ikuka support the Ruaha Carnivore project / part of Lion Landscapes and they have researchers in camp and all their own guides feed into the research.