Aperçu

Tanzania's Miniature Masterpiece

Arusha National Park is the Northern Circuit's best-kept secret é a park so ecologically diverse, so accessible, and so underused that visitors who discover it routinely describe it as the most surprising day of their entire Tanzania safari.

Covering 552 kmé in the shadow of Mount Meru (4,566m) é Africa's fifth-highest mountain é Arusha National Park sits on a 300-kilometre axis running from the Serengeti in the west to Kilimanjaro in the east, just 25 km northeast of Arusha city. En une seule journée, les visiteurs peuvent se déplacer à travers une forêt tropicale humide de montagne dense, une savane ouverte, un cratère volcanique, sept lacs alcalins multicolores et une forêt de montagne. é each harbouring completely different wildlife communities.

The park was originally gazetted in 1960 as Ngurdoto Crater National Park, protecting the ancient caldera and its surrounding forest. In 1967, the boundaries were extended to include Mount Meru and the Momella Lakes, and the park was renamed Arusha National Park. Today it is recognised as part of the UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme and lies at the heart of the Arusha ecosystem é a network of protected and community lands that together form a critical wildlife corridor between Kilimanjaro and the broader circuit nord system.

What makes Arusha genuinely unlike any other park on the circuit is not a single species or landscape é it is the freedom of experience it offers. This is le seul parc du nord de la Tanzanie où l'on se promène librement avec la faune: armed ranger-guided walking safaris in the Momella area allow you to approach giraffes, buffaloes, and zebras on foot. The canoe safari on the Momella Lakes is available nowhere else on the circuit. And the black-and-white colobus monkey é one of Africa's most dramatically beautiful primates é is more easily and reliably observed here than anywhere else in the region.

Park Statistics

Established1960

Park Area552 kmé

Mount Meru Summit4,566 m

Ngurdoto Crater3 km wide

Momella Lakes7 alkaline lakes

Large Mammal Species50+

Bird Species400+

Distance de Arusha25 km (40é45 min)

Distance de KIA~60 km (45é60 min)

Distance de Kilimandjaro60 km east

UNESCO Man & Biosphere Programme

Part of the broader Arusha ecosystem é a critical wildlife corridor connecting Kilimanjaro and the circuit nord.

Landscapes

Three Worlds in One Park

Arusha National Park is built around three dramatically distinct geological features é each shaped by the volcanic forces of the Great Rift Valley, and each supporting a completely different wildlife community.

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Mount Meru

4,566 m é Africa's Fifth Highest

Tanzania's second-highest mountain dominates the western park boundary é a massive dormant stratovolcano whose eastern flank partially collapsed in a catastrophic eruption approximately 8,000 years ago, creating the vast Meru Crater visible today. The resulting horseshoe-shaped mountain walls, the dramatic Ash Cone rising from the crater floor, and the knife-edge ridge leading to Socialist Peak make Mount Meru one of Africa's finest and most varied mountain climbs. Dense montane forest on the lower slopes gives way to heath and moorland, then alpine desert and lava formations near the summit.

Ascension de 4 joursColobus MonkeysMeru CraterViews of Kilimanjaro

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Ngurdoto Crater

3 km Wide é Miniature Ngorongoro

In the park's southeast, a 3 km-wide ancient volcanic caldera é sometimes called the "Little Ngorongoro" é sits enclosed by steep forested walls. Unlike Ngorongoro, vehicles are prohibited from descending to the crater floor, which remains an undisturbed sanctuary for buffalo, warthog, and forest wildlife. Visitors observe from viewpoints along the forested rim, looking down into a lush swampy bowl where large buffalo herds move undisturbed through the grassland below.

Rim ViewpointsBuffaloWarthogColobus Forest

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Momella Lakes

Seven Alkaline Lakes é Each a Different Colour

Seven shallow alkaline lakes é Big Momella, Small Momella, El Kekhotoito, Kusare, Rishateni, Lekandiro, and Tulusia é occupy the park's northeast, each fed by different underground springs and each carrying a slightly different mineral and algae content. The result is a palette of improbable colours: turquoise, green, grey, and pale gold, each shimmering differently in morning light. The lakes are famous for flamingos, hippos, waterbucks, and the extraordinary concentration of 400+ bird species they attract.

FlamingoHippoSafari en canoëWaterbuck7 Colours

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Serengeti Ndogo

Open Savannah é "Little Serengeti"

Between the crater and the lakes, the park opens into a stretch of open grassy savannah é the Serengeti Ndogo or "Little Serengeti." This is where the park's large herbivore community concentrates: zebra herds, giraffe moving across wide grassy slopes, impala sprinting through the scrub, and warthogs trotting with tails held vertical. This is also the walking safari zone é where you leave the vehicle and approach animals on foot with an armed ranger.

Safari à piedGiraffeZebraImpalaWarthog

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Montane Rainforest

Colobus Country é Dark & Dripping

The park's entrance zone plunges visitors into one of northern Tanzania's densest and most beautiful montane forests é a dark, dripping cathedral of massive fig trees, camphor, and East African cedar draped with epiphytes and Spanish moss. This forest is the domain of the black-and-white colobus monkey, found here in higher and more reliably observed concentrations than anywhere else on the Northern Circuit. Blue monkeys and vervet monkeys complete the primate trio.

B&W ColobusBlue MonkeyHartlaub's TuracoForest Birding

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Tululusia Waterfall

Northeast Slopes of Mount Meru

Deep within the park's northeastern forest, the Tululusia Waterfall cascades down the slopes of Mount Meru in a dense forest setting é a beautiful and rarely visited destination that rewards the short walk with cool air, forest birds, and the sound of running water in one of Africa's most serene natural environments. Accessible from the Momella gate area, it pairs naturally with a canoe safari on the nearby lakes.

Sentier pédestreForest BirdsCool & PeacefulPhotography

Key Species

Icons of Parc national d'Arusha

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Black & White Colobus

Northern Circuit's Rarest Primate

The black-and-white colobus monkey é dramatically patterned in flowing black and white, with a long white mantle and a white-fringed tail é is found throughout Arusha National Park's montane forest in higher numbers and with greater reliability than anywhere else on the Northern Circuit. They move in troops of 5é15, cover extraordinary distances through the canopy in single bounds, and can be heard approaching from a distance by the crashing of branches above. Their distinctive roaring call before dawn is one of Africa's great sounds.

Montane Forest é Entrance Zone é Year-Round

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Masai Giraffe

One of East Africa's Largest Populations

Arusha National Park is home to one of the largest giraffe populations in northern Tanzania é and uniquely, it is one of very few places in Africa where you can approach giraffes on foot. In the Serengeti Ndogo and Momella grasslands, walking safari rangers position guests within 30é40 metres of standing giraffes é a perspective that reveals their extraordinary scale in a way no vehicle encounter can replicate. Giraffes use their 45-cm tongues to strip leaves from thorny acacias, and watching this at close quarters on foot is among the park's finest experiences.

Serengeti Ndogo é Momella é Walking Safari

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Flamingo & Waterbirds

400+ Species é 7 Alkaline Lakes

The Momella Lakes are among northern Tanzania's finest bird habitats é concentrating an extraordinary range of waterbirds, shore birds, forest birds, and raptors in a compact, easily traversed area. Lesser flamingos feed along the alkaline shallows; African fish eagles call from waterside trees; grey crowned cranes display on the marshy margins; yellow-billed storks and marabou storks stalk the shallows; and the Narina trogon é one of Africa's most beautiful birds é inhabits the adjacent forest. The park's total species count of 400+ in 552 kmé makes it one of East Africa's finest compact birding destinations.

Momella Lakes é 400+ Species é Year-Round

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Cape Buffalo & Hippo

Crater Floor é Lake Margins

Large herds of Cape buffalo inhabit both the Ngurdoto Crater floor (observed from above) and the woodland areas surrounding the Momella Lakes, where they can be approached at close range on foot or encountered from the canoe. Hippos are present in the larger Momella lakes é though unlike the Nile's hippos, these are observed from the lakeshore rather than within wallowing pods. The combination of buffalo, giraffe, zebra, and hippo in a walking-safari environment é with no lions é creates one of Tanzania's most genuinely accessible and intimate wildlife experiences.

Ngurdoto é Momella Lakes é All Year

Haven Trails é Arusha National Park

"Most guests arrive at Arusha National Park expecting a footnote é a brief stop before the 'real' safari begins. Most leave describing it as the most personal, most intimate, and most surprising wildlife experience of their entire trip. A park this accessible should not be this wild. But it is."

é Haven Trails Adventures, Moshi, Tanzania

Faune

50+ Mammals é 400+ Birds

Arusha National Park supports over 50 large mammal species and more than 400 bird species é extraordinary numbers for a park of just 552 kmé. The ecological diversity created by the three major habitat types (montane forest, open grassland, alkaline lakes) supports wildlife communities that do not overlap, effectively making each zone a separate park experience within the same day's visit.

Notably, il n'y a pas de lions résidents dans le parc national d'Arusha é making it the only major park in the Northern Circuit where walking safaris can be conducted with minimal risk in open areas. This absence transforms the experience: you leave the vehicle, approach animals on foot, and observe wildlife from a fundamentally different and more personal perspective than any game drive provides. Leopards and spotted hyena are present but rarely seen. The park's predator community is primarily concentrated in the forest and nocturnal hours.

Elephant are present but rarely encountered é their movements take them mostly through the dense forest sections. The park's fame rests on its extraordinary primate diversity (three species), its giraffe population, and the remarkable accessibility of its birdlife across the seven Momella Lakes, the crater forest, and the open Serengeti Ndogo grassland.

400+

Bird Species

50+

Large Mammals

3

Primate Species

7

Momella Lakes

4,566 m

Mount Meru Summit

0

Resident Lions é Safest Walking Park

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B&W Colobus Monkey

Best on Circuit

Vu de manière plus fiable à la porte de la forêt

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Masai Giraffe

Large Population

Approachable on foot

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Plains Zebra

Herds

Serengeti Ndogo grasslands

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Cape Buffalo

Large Herds

Ngurdoto Crater & forest

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Lesser Flamingo

Momella Lakes

Alkaline shallows

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Hippo

Present

Larger Momella lakes

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Leopard

Rare sightings

Forest edge é elusive

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Blue Monkey

Resident

Dans toute la zone forestière

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Waterbuck

Lake Margins

Distinctive white ring rump

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African Fish Eagle

Momella Lakes

Africa's most iconic bird call

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Warthog

Common

Grassland é tails upright running

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Elephant

Rare

Dense forest é tracks common

Experiences

Que faire À faire dans le parc national d'Arusha

Safari à pied

The experience that sets Arusha apart from every other park on the Northern Circuit é a ranger-guided walk through the Momella grasslands alongside wild giraffes, zebras, and buffaloes. Without the barrier of a vehicle, the scale of the animals, the sound of the environment, and the connection to the landscape is completely transformed. Walking safari is included in all Haven Trails Arusha day-trip packages and is the most frequently cited highlight by returning guests.

Armed TANAPA ranger at all times

Maximum 8 guests é intimate & personal

Typically 1.5é2 hours through Momella grasslands

Excellent wildlife photography é close and unhurried

No lions é safest walking safari environment in the north

Canoe Safari é Momella Lakes

Paddle silently across the alkaline lakes past hippos submerged at the surface, pink clouds of flamingos, and waterbucks grazing the marshy margins é with Mount Meru rising behind and Mount Kilimanjaro visible on the eastern horizon on clear mornings. One of Tanzania's most peaceful and distinctive wildlife experiences. Life jackets and canoes provided; no experience needed.

Mount Meru Climb (3é4 Days)

Africa's fifth-highest peak and a magnificent mountain in its own right é dense forest, dramatic crater walls, a knife-edge summit ridge, and views of Kilimanjaro at dawn from the Socialist Peak crater rim. The standard 4-day climb begins at Momella Gate and ascends via Miriakamba and Saddle Huts. An excellent Kilimanjaro acclimatisation climb. Haven Trails operates all Mount Meru packages.

Game Drive é Full Day Circuit

The full park game drive circuit é forest entrance, Ngurdoto Crater rim, Serengeti Ndogo, and the full Momella Lakes loop é takes 4é6 hours and passes through every major habitat. Private Land Cruiser with pop-top roof. Haven Trails guides know every prime viewpoint and animal behaviour pattern in the park, maximising species variety across all habitats in a single day.

Specialist Birding Safari

Avec plus de 400 espèces réparties dans les forêts, les prairies et sept lacs, le parc national d'Arusha est exceptionnel pour l'observation des oiseaux en Afrique de l'Est. Les cibles spécialisées comprennent le Narina et le trogon à queue barrée (forêt), le touraco de Hartlaub, l'étourneau d'Abbott (endémique du Kilimandjaro), la grue couronnée grise et toute la gamme des oiseaux d'eau Momella. Haven Trails peut organiser des journées dédiées à l'observation des oiseaux avec des guides spécialisés depuis l'entrée du parc.

Tululusia Waterfall Walk

A gentle guided walk through the forest to the Tululusia Falls on Mount Meru's lower slopes é passing through colobus monkey habitat, crossing streams, and arriving at a cascading waterfall in a cool forest setting. Approximately 2 hours return. Pairs perfectly with a morning canoe safari on the adjacent lakes. A perfect family activity.

Quand y aller

Arusha é Rewarding Year-Round

L'accessibilité et la taille compacte du parc national d'Arusha en font une visite intéressante en toute saison. La saison sèche apporte des vues plus dégagées sur les montagnes et une faune plus concentrée ; la saison verte transforme le parc en un paradis ornithologique luxuriant et privé.

June é October

? HAUTE SAISON

Dry Season é Best Wildlife Viewing & Mountain Views

Clear skies é Mount Kilimanjaro visible from Momella Lakes
Mount Meru summit views at their clearest
Vegetation opens up é wildlife more visible in open areas
Walking safaris in optimal conditions é dry ground underfoot
All park tracks passable é no risk of vehicle bogging
Peak season é book Haven Trails packages 4é8 weeks ahead

November é March

? SAISON VERTE

Lush, Birdful & Quiet é Flamingos at Their Best

Les lacs Momella dans leur forme la plus colorée et la plus riche en oiseaux
Flamingo numbers at peak é wet conditions favour feeding
Des oiseaux migrateurs arrivent d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord
Forêt luxuriante, singes colobes actifs et vocaux
Far fewer visitors é essentially private park experience
Pluies courtes (NovéDec) et brèves averses l'après-midi uniquement

April é May

LONGUES PLUIES

Longues pluies é vertes, calmes et très bon rapport qualité-prix

Park spectacularly green é dramatic waterfalls on Mount Meru
Nombre de visiteurs le plus bas de l'année
Significant lodge discounts available
Singes colobes et oiseaux forestiers à leur plus actif
Some tracks slippery é 4WD required in wet conditions
Mount Meru summit cloud cover increases

Year-Round

PRÊT POUR UNE JOURNÉE

45 Minutes from Arusha é Always Worth It

Singes colobes et girafes visibles tous les mois
Safari à pied et safari en canoë disponibles toute l'année
Perfect circuit nord opener é brief drive from Arusha
Extension idéale d'une demi-journée après l'ascension du Kilimandjaro ou du Meru
Haven Trails propose des forfaits flexibles d'excursion d'une journée et de nuit
Best early-morning Kilimanjaro views: OctéFeb clear mornings

Conservation

Protecting Arusha's Ecological Heritage

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Colobus Monkey Protection

The black-and-white colobus monkey is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List é its forest habitat across Africa has been dramatically reduced by deforestation, and populations outside protected areas are under severe pressure. Arusha National Park's montane forest represents one of the most important colobus strongholds in northern Tanzania. TANAPA and conservation partners have been successful in restoring and protecting the park's colobus populations, and recent surveys indicate numbers are stable and recovering within the park boundaries.

IUCN Vulnerable é Forest Protection

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Mount Meru Ecosystem & Water Catchment

Mount Meru serves as a critical water catchment area for the entire Arusha region é its forested slopes capturing rainfall and feeding the rivers, springs, and groundwater that supply Arusha city, the surrounding farms, and the Maasai communities on the mountain's drier northern and eastern sides. TANAPA works with TAWIRI and local government to protect the forest belt from encroachment and to manage fire regimes that periodically threaten the upper moorland. The mountain's volcano monitoring programme also tracks seismic activity and fumarolic changes in the Meru Crater.

Water Catchment é Volcano Monitoring

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Elephant Corridor Management

Arusha National Park provides critical habitat and movement corridors for the elephant population that moves between the park, surrounding community lands, and the broader KilimanjaroéArusha ecosystem. Humanéelephant conflict on the park boundary is an ongoing challenge é elephants raiding crops in the adjacent villages create pressure that, if unmanaged, can lead to retaliatory killing. TANAPA's community education programme and early-warning systems for border communities have significantly reduced conflict incidents in recent years, supporting both human livelihoods and elephant population stability.

Corridor Management é HWC Mitigation

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Momella Lakes Ecological Monitoring

The seven Momella Lakes are one of East Africa's most significant inland waterbird habitats é and their alkaline chemistry makes them unusually sensitive to changes in groundwater input, rainfall patterns, and surrounding land use. TANAPA and TAWIRI conduct annual waterbird censuses and water chemistry monitoring to track long-term ecological trends. The re-introduction of giraffes to the park é part of a broader northern Tanzania giraffe conservation programme é has also been conducted in partnership with African Wildlife Foundation, with populations now fully established in the park.

Water Chemistry é Giraffe Re-introduction

Planifiez votre visite

Getting There & Essential Information

Getting There

25 km northeast of Arusha city é approximately 40é45 minutes
Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA) é approximately 60 km
Momella Gate is the main entry é game drives and walks begin here
Ngurdoto Gate (southern entry) é closer to Arusha town
Haven Trails provides all transfers é hotel/airport pickup available
Ideal circuit nord opener é visit en route from KIA to Arusha

Où loger

Arusha town lodges é most visitors day-trip from Arusha
Momella Wildlife Lodge é inside park boundary, from $100/night
Hatari Lodge (near park) é luxury, from $350/night
Rivertrees Country Inn é Arusha suburbs, from $120/night
Arusha Coffee Lodge, Arusha Hotel é city centre options
Haven Trails recommande la nuit aux grimpeurs du mont Meru

Entry Fees & Regulations

Visa touristique pour la Tanzanie: $50 USD (la plupart des nationalités)
Frais d'entrée au parc : 50 $ par adulte par jour (non-résident)
Safari à pied : frais supplémentaires pour les gardes armés par groupe
Safari en canoë : frais d'activité supplémentaires par personne
Mount Meru climbing: hut fees + guide fees per day
Tous les frais sont inclus dans les forfaits Haven Trails

FAQ

Common Questions

Le parc national d'Arusha vaut-il la peine d'être visité lors d'un safari en Tanzanie ?

Absolutely é and it is perhaps the Northern Circuit's most consistently undervalued park. Its proximity to Arusha makes it the ideal opening day or closing day of any circuit nord safari. The walking safari alongside giraffes and buffaloes is something no other park on the circuit can offer. The colobus monkeys, the Momella Lakes, and the views of both Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro create an experience that many guests describe as surprising é the park delivers far more than its modest size suggests.

Existe-t-il une expérience Big Five dans le parc national d'Arusha ?

Arusha National Park does not offer a reliable Big Five experience. There are no resident lions, rhinos are absent, and elephants and leopards are present but rarely seen. Buffalo are reliably encountered. The park's strengths lie elsewhere é in the extraordinary primate sightings, the unmatched walking safari experience, the birdlife, the Momella Lakes, and the Mount Meru climb. If Big Five is your primary goal, Ngorongoro and the Serengeti are the recommended parks. Arusha is the perfect complement, not the centrepiece.

Le mont Meru est-il une bonne ascension d'acclimatation pour le Kilimandjaro ?

Yes é Mount Meru is widely considered the finest Kilimanjaro acclimatisation climb available. Ascending to 4,566m over 3é4 days before attempting Kilimanjaro significantly improves acclimatisation, increases summit success rates, and familiarises climbers with the altitude effects, equipment, and camp routine they will encounter on Kilimanjaro. Haven Trails offers combined MeruéKilimanjaro packages specifically structured for optimal acclimatisation é with a 4-day Meru climb followed by a rest day and then a 7é8 day Kilimanjaro itinerary. Most guests who complete both mountains describe Meru as more beautiful and more dramatic than Kilimanjaro.

Combien de jours dois-je passer dans le parc national d’Arusha ?

One full day is sufficient for a comprehensive game drive, walking safari, canoe safari, and Momella Lakes loop. Two days allows you to add the Tululusia Waterfall walk, more forest time for colobus monkeys, and a deeper experience of the Ngurdoto Crater area. For Mount Meru, 3é4 days of climbing plus a recovery day is recommended. Haven Trails offers 1-day, 2-day, and multi-day packages é all can be combined with any circuit nord itinerary or as a standalone experience from Arusha.

Puis-je voir le Kilimandjaro depuis le parc national d’Arusha ?

Yes é on clear mornings (most likely October through February), Kilimanjaro's snow-capped summit is visible from the Momella Lakes area, just 60 km to the east. The mountain typically emerges from cloud in the early morning before cloud cover builds during the day. The combination of the seven Momella Lakes in the foreground, flamingos on the alkaline shallows, and Kilimanjaro's summit visible on the eastern horizon makes for one of Tanzania's finest photographic vistas. Haven Trails schedules lake visits in the early morning specifically for this reason.

Le parc national d’Arusha est-il adapté aux enfants ?

Yes é Arusha National Park is one of Tanzania's most family-friendly parks. The walking safari (minimum age 10 years with TANAPA guidelines), the canoe safari, the colobus monkey forest walk at the entrance, and the Momella Lakes game drive are all genuinely accessible to children and far more engaging for young visitors than a traditional game drive alone. The absence of lions makes the walking safari environment safe for families. Haven Trails designs specific family itineraries for Arusha National Park that balance activity, wildlife, and accessible adventure for all ages.

Explore Parc national d'Arusha

Marchez avec les girafes. Pagayez devant les flamants roses. Observez les singes colobes voler au-dessus de vous. Le parc le plus surprenant de Tanzanie se trouve à 45 minutes de votre hôtel.

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Arusha Parc national

Tanzania's Miniature Masterpiece

Three Worlds in One Park

Icons of Parc national d'Arusha

50+ Mammals é 400+ Birds

Que faire À faire dans le parc national d'Arusha

Arusha é Rewarding Year-Round

Protecting Arusha's Ecological Heritage

Getting There & Essential Information

Common Questions

Explore Parc national d'Arusha

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