Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park

 

Location: Morogoro

Area: 3230 km²

 

Description of Mikumi National Park

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.