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Ruaha National Park
The name of the park comes from the Great Ruaha River, which flows along its South-Eastern margin and is the focus for game-viewing. The eponymous Great Ruaha River serves as a lifeline for the park’s wildlife.
Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania, and it has a truly wild atmosphere that all of our guests love. Relatively untouched, it’s a wilder and more remote park than its southern neighbor Selous Game Reserve and ultimately has the better wildlife, albeit without boating safaris. Safaris here offer superb value for money and some of the best you will find in the country. Located to the west of the Selous Game Reserve and south of the Serengeti, Ruaha’s relative inaccessibility means it gets far fewer tourists than the Selous and less than any comparable park in the Northern circuit. The rewards of traveling this far are a wild landscape with baobab studded hills and rocky escarpments, and with superb wildlife.
The lion viewing is especially rewarding and general predator concentrations across the park are better than many of the other parks in the country. The park is characterized by a semi-arid type of vegetation, baobab trees and acacia, and there are over 1,650 identified plant species. To sum up, Ruaha is an absolutely excellent safari destination and valuable addition to your great Tanzania Safari Holiday.
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WHEN TO Visit RUAHA National park
- June-Nov: Dry Season
- December: Annual Rains
- Jan-March: Green Season
- April-May: Closed
Like the Selous, Ruaha is a classic dry season park. The long, dry season between June and November is the best time to see large mammals and big cats. Game gets progressively better towards the end of the dry season as the water holes and rivers dry up and the game concentrates around water making them much easier to find. June is also breeding season for the Greater Kudu, so you’ll see lots of males with their elegant, twisted horns. In the dry season, visitors can expect to see golden savannah studded with baobabs and misty hills stretching along the horizon. Waterbuck, impala and gazelle come to the river to drink and predators are never far behind. You may spot lions or leopards prowling watchfully along the banks, or cheetah lying in wait on the plains, while skulking jackal and hyena are on the lookout for an opportunity to catch their next meal.
For birders, the best time to visit Ruaha is during the rains between February and March, when the migrant birds arrive. The wet season is a time when the park is at its lushest, with baobabs blooming and wildflowers peppering the rich, verdant grasslands. This is an excellent time for landscape photographers to visit.
Like the Selous, traveling to Ruaha out of season will virtually guarantee that you see no other people whilst on safari and there are pockets in the park where the game concentrations are good at any time of the year, so it is still a viable option to visit the park on the off season.
Activities in Ruaha
Avid bird watchers have an excellent opportunity to view different species of birds. With a sensational mix of southern and northern species, Ruaha’s birdlife is endearingly colourful. When in Tanzania witnessing the bird life is one of an experience. The park boasts of 580 bird varieties including fish eagles, Eleanora’s falcon, goliath herons, crested barbets and black-collared lovebirds. Ruaha also boasts endemic species such as the Tanzanian red-billed hornbill and serves as an important habitat for several critically endangered vulture populations.
Ruaha national park is home to 10% population of lions and is easier to see them when you choose to go on a game drive safari in Rhea. Game drive can be done both in the morning as well as in the evening allowing you to get up close and personal with the predator. Buffalo and elephant herds are found throughout the park but it is the park’s crazy combinations of species from east and southern Africa that excites wildlife enthusiasts. Get to know about the abundant flora and fauna of the Ruhua national park making the best safari destination in Africa.
One of the best things to do in Tanzania is wildlife photography of the endangered species and their way of living. Whether you are a professional of many years, or just a beginner, you will have ample opportunity to practice your technique while on safari. For those who are looking for perfect shots of the wild beasts, a telephoto lens is recommended, and you will see lenses of all lengths and sizes while on safari. To ensure stability sandbags are available in the vehicles, which also have charging facilities.
Tanzania is a land of many lakes and rivers traversing lands rich in wildlife. Exploring the aquatic wildlife on a boat is another level of experience. Boat safari in Tanzania offers an excellent opportunity to get close with the animals such as hippos as well as view a lot of game along the river as they come over for a drink of water. The waterways provide an excellent natural setting for boat safaris and canoeing which is one of the best things to do in Tanzania.
A bush walk safari is an excellent way to explore the wilderness of Africa. An expert ranger guides you along and gives you an insight about the flora, fauna and lush green scenery of Africa. The guiding is superb, and encountering game on foot gives you a fully immersive wilderness experience that is thrilling and memorable. To experience wild endangered species and nature both, bush walking in Tanzania can be an ideal choice to spend your South Africa tour.
Cultural tour in Africa gives you an opportunity to get to know more about the tribal people and their way of living. The villages in Tanzania have been made accessible to the visitors who may have a glimpse of the authentic lifestyle of the more than 120 tribes in rural Tanzania. The country is rich in local history and culture that showcases the visitors the true ethnicity of the people living in different parts. When in Tanzania, experience their habitat and way of living which increases tourism popularity.
Wildlife in ruaha National Park
Ruaha safaris have reliably exciting predator concentrations. The park is home to 10% of the world’s lion population (it’s not uncommon to find prides of more than 20 lions in the park), contains one of four cheetah populations in East Africa and has the third largest wild dog population in the world. Elephants are seen in high densities during the dry season, when they gather around the dry riverbed to dig for water with their trunks and front feet.
It is the park’s crazy combinations of species from east and southern Africa that excites wildlife and bird watching enthusiasts. It is not uncommon to see Grant’s gazelle, greater kudu and lesser kudu in the same area as east Africa’s common species such as zebra, defassa waterbuck, impala and giraffe. Put in the hours and travel across the park to find sable, roan, hartebeest and over 570 species of bird including the eponymous Ruaha red-billed hornbill! That’s why the park is also one of Tanzania’s top birdwatching spots.
Migrant birds from Europe, Asia, Australia and Madagascar arrive during the rainy season between February and April. The park also is home to a number of reptiles and amphibians like poisonous and non-poisonous snakes, monitor lizards, crocodiles, agama lizards and frogs.
