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Arusha National Park covers
Mount Meru Mount Meru (Sanskrit/Pali: मेरु), also known as Sumeru, Sineru or Mahāmeru, is the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the centre of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritu ...
, a prominent
volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
with an elevation of 4566 m, in the
Arusha Region Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern ...
of north eastern
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
. The park is small but varied with spectacular landscapes in three distinct areas. In the west, the Meru Crater funnels the Jekukumia River; the peak of Mount Meru lies on its rim. Ngurdoto Crater in the south-east is
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
. The shallow
alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...
Momella Lakes in the north-east have varying
algal Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular micr ...
colours and are known for their wading birds. Mount Meru is the second highest peak in Tanzania after
Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and a ...
, which is just 60 km away and forms a backdrop to views from the park to the east. Arusha National Park lies on a 300-kilometre axis of Africa's most famous national parks, running from
Serengeti The Serengeti ( ) ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa, spanning northern Tanzania. The protected area within the region includes approximately of land, including the Serengeti National Park and several game reserves. The Serenget ...
and Ngorongoro Crater in the west to
Kilimanjaro National Park Kilimanjaro National Park is a Tanzanian national park, located south of the equator and in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. The park is located near the region of Moshi. The park includes the whole of Mount Kilimanjaro above the tree line and th ...
in the east. The park is just a few kilometres north east of
Arusha Arusha City is a Tanzanian city and the regional capital of the Arusha Region, with a population of 416,442 plus 323,198 in the surrounding Arusha District Council (2012 census). Located below Mount Meru on the eastern edge of the eastern bran ...
, though the main gate is 25 km east of the city. It is also 58 km from Moshi and 35 km from
Kilimanjaro International Airport Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) is an international airport located in Hai District, Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania. The airport serves the cities of Arusha and Moshi. The airport handled 802,731 passengers in 2014 and mainly serves reg ...
(KIA).


Wildlife

Arusha National Park has a rich variety of wildlife, but visitors shouldn't expect the same game-viewing experience they find in other national parks of Tanzania's northern circuit. Despite the small size of the park, common animals include
giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...
, Cape buffalo,
zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...
,
warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly con ...
, the
black-and-white colobus Black-and-white colobuses (or colobi) are Old World monkeys of the genus ''Colobus'', native to Africa. They are closely related to the red colobus monkeys of genus '' Piliocolobus''. There are five species of this monkey, and at least eight subs ...
monkey, the
blue monkey The blue monkey or diademed monkey (''Cercopithecus mitis'') is a species of Old World monkey native to Central and East Africa, ranging from the upper Congo River basin east to the East African Rift and south to northern Angola and Zambia. It ...
,
flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbea ...
,
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantida ...
,
bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ran ...
and many other African animals.
Leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, ...
populations are present, but rarely seen. Birdlife in the forest is prolific, with many forest species more easily seen here than elsewhere on the tourist route - Narina trogon and
bar-tailed trogon The bar-tailed trogon (''Apaloderma vittatum'') is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is a resident bird to central Africa that eats primarily insects and fruits. Description The bar-tailed trogon averages about long. The bill and ...
are both possible highlights for visiting birders, whilst the range of
starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...
species provide somewhat less gaudy interest.


Gallery

File:Zebra Arusha NP - 2015-01-10 - 07-06-08.jpg, Zebra Arusha NP 2015 File:Giraffe zebra and buffalo Arusha NP 2015 - 2015-01-10.jpg, alt=Arusha NP, Young giraffe with zebra and cape buffalo. File:Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis), Arusha National Park 2015 - 2015-01-10 - 02-26-26.jpg, Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis), Arusha National Park (2015) File:Arusha National Park Landscape.jpg, The Landscape. File:Arusha National Park- Jungle Road.jpg, A jungle road. File:Arusha National Park- Flamingos at Momella Lake.jpg, Flamingos at the Momella Lake. File:Arusha National Park- Flamingos at Momella Lake 2.jpg, The Lake Momella File:Giraffes Arusha Tanzania.jpg, Giraffes in the Arusha National Park. File:Arusha-NatPark-Ngurdoto-Crater.jpg, The Ngurdoto Crater. File:Colobus guereza Mantelaffen.JPG, The Colobus guereza. File:Directional sign within Arusha National Park 2015-01-10.jpg, Directional sign within Arusha National Park 2015


References


External links


Tanzania Parks

Field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Arusha National Park
{{Authority control Mount Meru (Tanzania) National parks of Tanzania Geography of Arusha Region Protected areas established in 1960 1960 establishments in Tanganyika Tourist attractions in the Arusha Region Important Bird Areas of Tanzania