Since the completion of the paved road connecting the park’s gateway to Dar es Salaam, Mikumi National Park is set to become a hotspot for tourism in Tanzania. Located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango Mountains, Mikumi is the fourth largest national park in Tanzania, just a few hours’ drive from Tanzania’s largest city. The park is home to a wide variety of wildlife that is easy to spot and is also good for game viewing. The proximity to Dar es Salaam and the many wild animals that live here make Mikumi National Park a popular option for weekend visitors from the city or for business travellers who do not need to spend a lot of time on an extensive safari itinerary.

Most visitors come to Mikumi National Park with the aim of seeing the “Big Five” (cheetah, lion, elephant, buffalo and rhino) and they are not disappointed. At the hippo pools you can see the mud-loving animals up close, and bird watching along the waterways is particularly rewarding. Mikumi National Park borders the Selous Game Reserve and Udzungwa National Park, and the three sites make for a varied and enjoyable safari itinerary.

Opaque clouds of mist hide the advancing dawn. The first rays of sunlight adorn the fluffy grass heads undulating across the plains with a rusty-red glow. A herd of zebras, sure of their camouflage at this predatory hour, poses like a ballerina, heads aligned and stripes merging in a fluid motion.

Mikumi National Park borders Africa’s largest game reserve, the Selous, to the north and is crossed by the paved road between Dar es Salaam and Iringa. It is thus the most accessible part of a 75,000 square kilometre piece of wilderness that stretches almost to the Indian Ocean in the east.

The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Plains, the popular heart of Mikumi, are often compared to the more famous Serengeti plains.

Lions survey their grassy kingdom – and the herds of zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo that roam it – from the flattened tops of termite mounds or, during the rainy season, sometimes from high perches in the trees. Giraffes forage in the scattered acacia stands at the edge of the Mkata River, on shady islands also favoured by Mikumi’s elephants.

The Mkata Floodplain, criss-crossed by a multitude of game viewing roads, is perhaps the most reliable place in Tanzania to see the mighty Eland, the largest antelope in the world. The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope stay in the Miombo-covered foothills that rise on the park’s borders.

More than 400 species of birds have been counted, including such colourful residents as the lily-breasted roller, yellow-throated long-tailed claw and griffon eagle, joined by a host of European migratory birds during the rainy season. Hippos are the main attraction of the two pools 5 km north of the main entrance, supported by an ever-changing flock of waterbirds.

About Mikumi National Park

Size: 3,230 km², the fourth largest national park in Tanzania and part of a much larger ecosystem clustered around the uniquely large Selous Game Reserve.

Location: 283 km (175 miles) west of Dar es Salaam, north of Selous and on the way to Ruaha, Udzungwa and (for the intrepid) Katavi.

How to get there

A well-paved road connects Mikumi to Dar es Salaam via Morogoro, a journey of about 4 hours.

There are also road connections to Udzungwa, Ruaha and (in the dry season only) Selous.

Charter flight from Dar es Salaam, Arusha or Selous. Local buses run from Dar to the park headquarters, where game drives can be arranged.

What to do

Game drives and guided walks. Visit nearby Udzungwa or continue to Selous or Ruaha.

Accommodation

Two lodges, three luxury tented camps and three campsites.

Guest houses in the town of Mikumi on the park boundary. A lodge in Mahondo and a permanent tented camp in Lumaaga are planned.