Udzungwa Mountains National Park

The Udzungwa Mountains rise sharply out of the plains east of Ruaha, part of the Eastern Arc chain that stretches from southern Kenya through eastern Tanzania. The national park protects 1,990 square kilometres of tropical rainforest, montane forest, miombo woodland, grassland and steppe on the slopes of what biologists have called the Galapagos of Africa for its concentration of endemic species. Six primate species live in the park, two of which are found nowhere else on earth, the Iringa red colobus and the Sanje crested mangabey.

Unlike almost every other Tanzanian park, Udzungwa is not a driving destination. There are no game-drive roads. The park is explored entirely on foot, on a network of well-maintained trails that range from a two-hour flat walk to a five-day traverse. The signature hike is the Sanje Waterfalls trail, a four to six hour loop that climbs through primary rainforest to a viewpoint above a 170-metre triple-cascade waterfall, with a swim in the plunge pool below. Longer options include the Mwanihana Peak trek to 2,111 metres and the six-day Lumemo trail across the entire range.

Birdlife is exceptional, with more than 400 recorded species including rufous-winged sunbird and Udzungwa forest partridge, both endemic. Butterflies are abundant, thousands of plant species have been catalogued, and the forest itself, tall Parinari and Newtonia canopy dripping with lianas, moss and orchids, is a spectacle in its own right.

Udzungwa combines naturally with a Ruaha or Nyerere safari, adding two or three nights of walking to a driving-heavy itinerary. The gateway village of Mang'ula sits at the park boundary and has a small choice of eco-lodges and community-run guest houses, all within walking distance of the park headquarters.