Mikumi National Park (eng)

Mikumi National Park is the most comfortable and cheap opportunity for gaming in Tanzania. It is located just four hours driving from Dar es Salaam and is therefore accessible daily from the capital. This park can be safely visited with private vehicles since it’s crossed by roads in excellent condition and covered by a complete and accurate signage network. It is sufficient to purchase a map at park office to make sure to easily roam once inside the main gate.

The main feature of Mikumi is to be crossed, in its northern part, by a long segment (about fifty kilometers) of one of the main roads of Tanzania, leading from Dar es Salaam to southern Tanzania and then in Zambia.

Every time it happens to pass along this road there is the guarantee to see just on the edge of the tarmac the typucal savanna games: elephants, giraffes, zebras, impala, buffalo and baboons. In some cases the lucky ones could even admire lions asleep on the way.

The intersection of the road also leads to
very heavy traffic, buses and trucks, along this portion of the park and unfortunately accidents are not uncommon, especially during the evening and night. A sad picture gallery at the park reminds travelers to cross the Mikumi to a modest speed (the speed limits are set at 30 km / h) and pay great attention to possible animal crossing.

Despite the proximity to areas intensely frequented by men you can spot a very varied fauna. In addition to the animals already mentioned, are frequently seen wildebeest and several species of antelope, including eland, bushback and reedbuck. The sighting of the lions is frequently but not guaranteed. The park may reserve some surprises as leopards or as the albino buffalo born recently.

All those who see elephants Mikumi say: "I thought that elephants were greater than that." Given the proximity to the park Udzungwa and the consequent need to move through the dense vegetation elephants belong to the species of forest that is smaller but also tend to be more aggressive. At Mikumi indeed, it can happen that vehicles are chased by an elephant angry for some mistake unknowingly you may have committed.

During the dry season it is absolutely mandatory to visit the artificial lake, densely populated

with hippos and crocodiles. Waiting along Hippo Pool allows to witnes a continuous procession of thirsty herds in search of a place for drinking.

The vegetation is savannah woodland, with numerous tree species characteristics of this part of Africa as the sausage tree (Kigelia africana), the baobabs, acacias or palm borassus whose name Swahili, Mikumi , gives its name the park and the nearby town.

The variety of birds is remarkable. You can see a number of species sighted often higher than in other parks most famous or seemingly wildest.

The union with the ecological park Udzungwa and with the Selous Reserve provides Mikumi Park a large reserve of animals and a spectacular variety of landscapes.

M.L.