Ruaha National Park

Ruaha National Park lies in the heart of southern Tanzania, west of Iringa, and at about 20,226 square kilometres it is one of the largest parks in East Africa. It sits where the miombo woodland of southern Africa meets the drier acacia bush of the east, so you find animals of both, and it sees only a fraction of the visitors who go to the Serengeti.

The Great Ruaha River is the park's lifeline, fed by the Mwagusi, Jongomero and Mzombe rivers. By the end of the dry season many of these are just sand, and elephants dig into the beds with their feet and trunks to reach the water underneath. The pools that remain in the Great Ruaha hold hippos and crocodiles, and the game that comes down to drink draws in the predators.

Ruaha is known for big lion prides, good leopard and cheetah sightings, wild dog and large elephant herds. It is one of the few places where you can see greater and lesser kudu together, along with sable and roan antelope, and giant baobabs stand over the rocky hills. Most visitors fly in by light aircraft, or combine Ruaha with Mikumi and Nyerere on a southern road safari.