Mikumi

Mikumi National Park

The Mikumi National Park near Morogoro, Tanzania, was established in 1964. It covers an area of 3,230 km2 is the fourth largest in the country.

The park is crossed by Tanzania's A-7 highway. Mikumi National Park borders Selous Game Reserve on the south, the two areas forming a unique ecosystem.

Two other natural areas bordering the national park are the Udzungwa Mountains and Uluguru Mountains.

Malundwe Mountain is within the park, the highest of a belt of hills that run east and west through the park, connecting the Uluguru Mountains to the northeast with the Uvidunda and Udzungwa mountains to the west.

Most visitors come to Mikumi National Park aiming to spot the ‘Big Five’ (cheetah, lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhino), and they are always not disappointed.

Hippo pools provide close access to the mud-loving beasts, and bird-watching along the waterways is particularly rewarding.

The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, the popular centre piece of Mikumi, draws frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains.

Lions survey their grassy kingdom – and the zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo herds that migrate across it – from the flattened tops of termite mounds, or sometimes during the rains, from perches high in the trees. Giraffes forage in the isolated acacia stands that fringe the Mkata River, islets of shade favoured also by Mikumi’s elephants.

More than 400 bird species have been recorded, with such colourful common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated long claw and bateleur eagle joined by a host of European migrants during the rainy season. Hippos are the star attraction of the pair of pools situated 5km north of the main entrance gate, supported by an ever-changing cast of water-birds.