Udzungwa National Park

The Udzungwa National Park is characterized by an exceptional, unspoiled and tree-lined mountain. It is considered one of the thirty-four world Biodiversity Hotspots and one of the 200 WWF Ecoregions of global critical importance.

This park, a real magnet for hikers and a real treasure box for the unicity of its plants and animals. The primordial forest of Udzungwa seems an enchanted place, a green refuge shaded by trees up to 30 meters (100 feet) made special by incredible mushrooms, lichens, mosses and ferns.

Tanzaniaflow tours is here to help you to enjoy amazing excursions and trekking, since the park has no roads but an excellent network of forest trails that vary in difficulty: from the Sonjo path that takes just one hour, to the 6-day treks, extremely demanding and needed to complete the Lumemo Trail.

The most appreciated walk by tourists is the path of the Sanje waterfalls which takes about four hours to complete, allows the visitor access to the splendid 170 m jump, includes a swim in the pools located at the base of the falls and offers landscapes of the valley suggestive and wild beauty below.

There is a quite a number of different activities that tourists can enjoy while in Udzungwa Mountains NP just as highlighted below:

Hiking Up the Mountain Trails

There are a number of different trails that span the forest floor that offer both long hikes (as long as 5 days expeditions), and short hikes (as short as just 20 minutes). The most popular of these is the hike to the Sanje waterfall – during which you will encounter monkeys and even get a chance to swim in the plunge pools. The other hiking trails include: Sonjo Waterfall Trail, Msolwa Waterfall Trail, Hidden Valleys Trail, Mwanihana Peak Trail, Prince Bernard’s Waterfall Trail and the Lumeno Trail.

Enjoy the traditional Ngoma Drumming Performance

A group of some local farmers came together and established a drumming group which performs the traditional Ngoma at Hondo Hondo Camp. The ‘ngoma’ is a Swahili word that means drums. This group normally performs at village celebrations such as wedding or at the close of the harvest. They have a number of instruments including drums, wind instruments, percussions and whistles which when combined together produce beautiful energetic rhythms. The words of the songs are normally created live during the performances and these are tailored to the current event. The performances at the camp are normally at night just beside a large fireplace and burning torches.

Bird Watching Expeditions

The park has more than 400 different bird species that can be seen during the forest hikes among which are some species endemic to this area such as Udzungwa partridge and Rufous winged sunbird. Other bird species living here include: green headed Oriole, malachite kingfisher, marabous, Rupells vultures, silver cheeked hornbill, crowned eagles, trumpeter hornbills, francolin and the woodland kingfishers.

Cultural Visits to the Villages

The Wadzungwa people who have lived in the mountain slopes for several years have a very rich culture. Tourists interested can visit these people them and get a chance to learn about the traditional custom and practices as well as participate in their day to day activities like making a stone fire, preparing food, cooking on firewood and fetch water from the traditional wells. They have local shops where you can buy some souvenirs from their wide range of locally made crafts.

There are over 400 bird species in the park including a number of endemic species such as the Udzungwa partridge and Rufous winged sunbird, in addition to other species like: green headed Oriole, malachite kingfisher, marabous, Rupells vultures, silver cheeked hornbill, crowned eagles, trumpeter hornbills, francolin and the woodland kingfishers.

There are six (6) different primate species living within this park five (5) of which are endemic to this area. The Iringa red colobus and the Sanje crested mangabey are some of the endemic species.

Other animals living in the park include: leopards, elands, elephants, wild dogs and buffaloes.

Best time to visit Udzungwa Mountains NP | When to go

The park can best be visited during the dry season which begins in June and ends in October. At that time game viewing is much easier, the trails are somewhat dry and can easily be maneuvered, and also the camping ground are dry enough and suitable for use. Book now with Tanzaniaflow tours for your trip to Udzungwa national park. You can also share your comment on our travel blog