Location: Morogoro
Area: 3230 km²
The Mikumi National Park (English Mikumi National Park) is a
national park in Tanzania (East Africa). It is located around 280 km
west of Dar es Salaam and was founded in 1964. With an area of
3230 km² it is one of the largest national parks in Tanzania. The
park is located in the north-west of the Selous Wildlife Sanctuary,
forming an ecosystem of almost 60,000 km².
Compared to other
national parks in Tanzania, such as Serengeti National Park and
Ruaha National Park, Mikumi National Park is smaller and less well
known. It is easily accessible from Dar es Salaam.
Location
and infrastructure
Located in central Tanzania, Mikumi National
Park is crossed by the road that runs from Dar es Salaam via Iringa
to Zambia and Malawi. It is between 200 and 800 meters above sea
level. The park stretches from the Uluguru Mountains in the north to
the Lumungo Mountains in the south. To the south it is bordered
directly by the Selous Game Reserve. Annual precipitation is 500 to
600 mm on the plains and over 1000 mm on the slopes.
In
contrast to many other national parks, Mikumi National Park can also
be entered in your own vehicle without a guide. The network of paths
is well developed and provided with numerous signposts for
orientation. Although there are regular charter flights from Arusha
or Selous direct to the Mikumi Park Authority airstrip and the park
is close to Dar es Salaam, it has relatively few foreign visitors
compared to others. The park has three campsites, an inn and a few
lodges of varying levels of comfort. The national park is open all
year round.
Fauna and Flora
The vegetation and landscape
is comparable to the Serengeti. The Northwest of Mikumi National
Park is dominated by the alluvial plain of Mkata. The rest of the
park is dominated by savannah, covered with acacia, baobab, tamarind
and some rare species of palm trees. Miombo forest grows on the
slopes to the east and west of the park. The plains are covered by
intermittently flooded grasslands and swamps.
There are many
different animal species such as leopard, giraffe, zebra, buffalo,
impala, red hartebeest, roan and African wild dog. For the eland,
the largest antelope species in the world, there are probably the
best observation opportunities in all of Tanzania in the Mikumi
National Park. The lion population is remarkable. The elephants
living here have free access to the Selous Reserve, making it part
of the largest contiguous population of African elephants. But the
paved main road through Mikumi National Park encourages poaching.
Mikumi National Park is particularly well known to
ornithologists as it is home to 370 species of birds. Hippos and
crocodiles live on a small, artificially irrigated lake. The animals
can be easily observed from the observation towers, some of which
are located in the lodges.