Ruaha National Park

Since combining with Usangu Game Reserve, Ruaha now takes the title of being the largest National Park in Tanzania (2nd to the Serengeti National Park). It covers a massive area of 23,000km² and is located in south-west Tanzania.

Ruaha is regarded as one of Tanzania's wildest national parks and being one of the lesser visited in the country, it remains an isolated, peaceful and an unspoilt wilderness.

The parks gets it name from from the Great Ruaha River, the main feature, which rises in the swamps to the south and sweeps north and eastward through the park. Its deep pools, gorges and swirling rapids make for excellent fishing. The River features large numbers of hippos and crocodiles as well as the clawless otter.

Ruaha is famous for its abundance of elephant - boasting to have the highest population of any East African National park. It is a top destination for birdwatching, with over 530 different species of birds having been recorded in the region, many of which are not found in northern Tanzania.

Other wildlife found in the park include buffalo, Giraffe, Cheetah, Lion, leopard, African Wild Dog, Hippo, Crocodile, a wide variety of antelope including the rarer Greater and Lesser Kudu and the Roan, Sable and Eland antelope.

A visit to Ruaha National park is often combined with a safari in one of the other Southern Circuit National Parks, Selous, Mikumi, Saadani, or Udzungwa (Tanzania's newest National Park)

The best months to visit Ruaha National Park for a wildlife safariare from June to December and for bird watching during the wet season from the months of January through to April. The scenery is stunning during the raining season but the roads are often in very poor condition and sometimes impassible.

Note that the park may be closed during the heaviest rains (April and May)