Away from Tanzania’s main safari circuit in the south, Ruaha National Park is a vast and untouched wilderness area that’s home to an abundance of wildlife. Before the establishment of Nyerere National Park in 2019, Ruaha was Tanzania and East Africa’s largest protected area, due to the assimilation of the Usangu Game Reserve and other important wetlands in 2008. The Ruaha National Park takes its name from the Hehe word for ‘river’, and is named for the Great Ruaha River, which provides an essential lifeline for the park’s wildlife and forms the dramatic focal point of the park. It is also rumored to offer excellent tiger fishing. This beautiful landscape features dramatic river gorges and wide open plains dotted with ancient Baobab trees.
“This beautiful landscape features dramatic river gorges and wide open plains dotted with ancient Baobab trees.”
Similar to Nyerere National Park, Ruaha is a far less visited area than other well-known Tanzanian parks like the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area. However, it offers intrepid visitors an exceptional wildlife experience. In addition to large numbers of elephants, buffalo, and zebras, the park is home to many of the continents’ great predators. These include roughly 10% of the world’s population of lions (it is not uncommon to come across prides numbering more than 20 members). In addition leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, African wild dogs, and black-backed jackals are also present in good numbers. Bird watching and photography are also excellent in this park which is home to 570 species of endemic birds and receives many migrating birds during the summer months.
