Explore Southern Safari Circuit with Focus East Africa Tours
Explore Southern Safari Circuit with Focus East Africa Tours : Are you looking forward to traveling to Tanzania for a Tanzania Safari? This lovely country is an off-the-beaten-track destination for any nature lover. This country has four divisions or safari zones which are the Northern Circuit, Western Circuit, Eastern Circuit, and Southern Circuit. Visitors coming to this wonderful country usually choose the famous Northern Circuit, which is home to spectacular attractions such as the endless plains of the Great Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Manyara National Park, Tarangire and the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro. Those who end up visiting the Northern Circuit only miss a lot from the Southern Circuit, which comprises of remote and unspoiled national parks and game reserves.
Which National Parks are found on the Tanzania’s Southern Safari Circuit?
Mikumi National Park, Katavi National Park, Selous Game Reserve, Odzungwa Mountains National Park, Kitulo National Park, and Ruaha National are among the most iconic national parks found in the southern safari circuit. Below is a brief description of these national park.
Ruaha National Park
Ruaha National Park is an incredibly magnificent park with the largest concentration of elephants in Tanzania. Apart from a huge concentration of elephants, Ruaha National Park is home to the largest concentration of Greater Kudu, Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, African Hunting Dog, Sable Antelope, and Blue Wildebeest. We also have a variety of other common but beautiful animals in Ruaha National Park such as giraffes, buffalos, zebras, antelopes, wildebeests, striped hyenas, cheetahs, elands and leopards. Apart from wild animals, Ruaha is also blessed with a number of other attractions. Ngalambulwa Mountain is among the leading attractions in Ruaha, a 1600 meters high destination for hiking safaris.
Kitulo National Park
Kitulo National Park is another splendid destination for African wildlife safaris, which is located in the southern circuit. It is home to over 350 species of vascular plants and over 45 species of terrestrial orchids where 16 of which are endemic to Kitulo and Poroto Mountains and three of them are found in Kitulo National Park only. Some off-the-beaten-path attractions in Kitulo include;
Flowers and flora species; whether you are a flower lover or not you will be thrilled by the colorful and beautiful appearance of Kitulo’s iconic vegetation. The beautiful appearance of Kitulo’s wildflowers is very remarkable between November and April. Some rare species of orchids include aloes, giant lobelias, lilies, proteas, geraniums, aster daisies, and yellow-orange red-hot poker.
Wildlife; Kitulo National Park hosts the rarest species of monkeys, Kipunji monkeys which are usually encountered in this stunning park. Other animals include waterbucks, colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, reedbucks, elands, and zebras.
Other attractions for you to enjoy while in Kitulo National Park are like Matema Beach, Nhumbe Valley, and Mount Livingstone.
Mikumi National Park
Mikumi National Park is located in one of the busy cities called Morogoro, a very close neigbour of Dar Es Salaam. Having been characterized by a large concentration of animals, Mikumi tends to attract thousands visitors each year. These animals include the unique African hunting dog, Sable antelopes, hartebeests, Greater kudu, warthog, hippos, giraffes, lions, elephants, waterbuck, baboons, impala, and reptiles like crocodiles, pythons, and monitor lizards.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Covering a total area of around 1990 square kilometers, Udzungwa Mountains National Park is another must-visit safari destination for nature lovers. Mountains, hills, valleys, and rainforest are superb when viewed on a hot-air balloon safari.
The Eastern Arc Mountains stretch through Udzungwa National Park and are incredibly perfect places for some endemic species of animals and birds. So, this park hosts some endemic species of birds such as Udzungwa forest partridge, Sharpe’s akalat, Uluguru violet-backed sunbird, Uluguru bushshrike, and Uluguru greenbul. Other birds encountered in Udzungwa include the White-chested lathe, Francolin, rufous-winged sunbird, and dappled mountain robin among others. Some commonly encountered wild animals are Abbott’s duiker, Kipunji monkeys, elephants, Iringa red colobus, Sanje crested mangabey, and the famous Kihansi spray toad.
Nyerere National Park
Nyerere National Park is arguably the largest national park in Africa with a total area of 54,600 square kilometers. Nyerere National Park is among the Tanzanian safaris destinations colored with beautiful evergreen vegetation. The beautiful cover makes this park a splendid destination for the best photographic safaris experience ever. The fact that it is both untouched and unspoiled makes you get the best photographs of the real nature.
Letting aside being a splendid photography safaris destination, Nyerere National Park is also a sweet home to the big five (lions, elephants, leopards and the African buffalos) as well as many other species of wild animals such as herds of zebras, and wildebeests, Thomson’s gazelles, antelopes and warthogs. All these animals can be spotted best during the dry season, where they can be easily seen around floodplains and any other permanent water sources.
The Rufiji River; This magnificent river is the largest among all rivers in Tanzania. It flows through Nyerere National Park nourishing the flora and fauna and dividing the park into two parts; the Northern part and the Southern part. Along this river, riverine forests grow well supporting the lives of colorful birds, hippos, crocodiles, and other stunning wildlife.
