Arusha National Park
Arusha is a national park in Tanzania, established in 1960 and then occupying the lands of Ngurdoto crater and Lake Momella and was then called Ngurdoto Crater. Meru volcano joined the park later, and then the park got its current name, and the territory increased to 137 km2.
Arusha National Park lies between the mountains of Kilimanjaro and Meru, 25 kilometers from the city of Arusha. The city of Moshi and Kilimanjaro International Airport are also nearby. Arusha is divided into 3 zones: Ngurdoto Crater, Momella Lake and Mount Meru. Ngurdoto is closed to visitors, you can look at its territory from observation decks. Momella Lakes are a cluster of small alkaline lakes fed by underground springs. All the lakes have different colors from turquoise to emerald, and hundreds of pink flamingos and a large number of other birds have chosen their shores. Meri Volcano is the 5th largest mountain in Africa and the 2nd largest in Tanzania with a height of 4,565 meters. The name of the park and the city comes from the name of the Varusha tribe that inhabit these places, but before that, the Maasai lived here and almost all the names of objects in the district are Maasai.
Only a thick-bodied monkey lives in Arusha, in addition to them, in the shady forest near the entrance to the park, you can meet annoying blue monkeys, as well as bizarre black and white colobuses that love to jump between the trees. Warthogs can be observed near Ngurdoto crater, and large herds of buffaloes are quite common there. Arusha Park is also famous for its birds, of which there are more than 400 species. Among the guests it is worth noting: herons, woodpeckers, parrots, secretary birds. Many of them can be found in Momella Lakes, which look great when birds flock to them.
The landscape is quite unusual due to volcanoes and Mount Meru in particular, those who dare not climb will discover the pristine wildlife that complement the beauty of Mount Kilimanjaro and the Valley of Cracks.
Arusha Park is located in an overpopulated area where every piece of land is important. And the plans to increase the park's territory have one goal - to protect the surrounding lands from human buildings.
