Day trip
Moshi, Arusha National Park (walking safari, Momella Lakes), Moshi
your journey
Arusha National Park is the closest park to Arusha town and one of the few in northern Tanzania where you can leave the vehicle and walk with an armed ranger. It is small, but it climbs from the forest and lakes of the lowlands to the summit of Mount Meru, Tanzania's second-highest mountain at 4,566 m, so a single day takes in a surprising mix of scenery.
The day starts with a walking safari. A park ranger leads you on foot through open glades and along the forest edge, where buffalo, giraffe, warthog and zebra graze and black-and-white colobus monkeys leap through the trees above. On foot you notice the tracks, the birdsong and the smells that you would miss from a vehicle.
After lunch you continue by 4×4 to the Momella Lakes, a chain of shallow alkaline lakes where flamingos gather in numbers that change with the season, along with ducks, grebes and herons. On clear days Kilimanjaro shows on the eastern horizon while Mount Meru rises behind you, and you are back at your hotel by evening.
Travellers with a free day in Moshi or Arusha, walkers who want to get out of the vehicle, birders, and climbers looking for a gentle outing before Kilimanjaro. The walk is at an easy pace, so anyone reasonably fit can join.
Parks visited
Arusha National Park
what makes it special
day by day
Your guide collects you from your hotel in Moshi after breakfast and drives west past Arusha to the park gate, where you meet the armed ranger who leads the walk. You set off on foot across open glades and along the forest edge, with giraffe, buffalo and warthog often in view, stopping to read tracks and droppings and to look at plants while the ranger explains how the park works. The pace is gentle and the walk is suitable for anyone reasonably fit.
Back in the vehicle you drive up through the montane forest, where black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys feed in the canopy, and stop for your lunch box at one of the park's picnic sites. Time and weather permitting, your guide takes you to the viewpoint over Ngurdoto Crater, a steep-sided, forested bowl whose floor is closed to visitors, where buffalo and elephant are sometimes seen grazing far below.
In the afternoon you drive the loop around the Momella Lakes. Each lake has its own colour, set by its minerals and algae, and flamingos, ducks, grebes and herons feed in the shallows. Hippos sometimes surface in the smaller lakes, and waterbuck and giraffe graze along the shore. With the crater wall of Mount Meru rising above you, you begin the drive back and reach your hotel in Moshi in the early evening.
the price
Price on request
before you ask
Most of our day trips start with a pick-up from your hotel. The Materuni Waterfalls and coffee farm trip includes a return transfer from Moshi. If you are staying in Arusha or elsewhere, ask your specialist about pick-up times and any extra cost.
The walk is easy to moderate and suits most people in reasonable health. The path to the waterfall goes down steps into a gorge and can be muddy and slippery after rain, so the walk back up takes a little effort. Your guide sets a gentle pace.
Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent and a light rain jacket. For Materuni, pack a swimsuit and towel if you would like to swim in the pool below the falls, and a little cash for tips or souvenirs.
Yes. Many climbers visit Materuni the day before they start their Kilimanjaro climb, or on the day after they come down. Your specialist can fit any day trip around your climb or safari dates.
Yes, families are welcome on our day trips. Tell us your children's ages when you enquire, and your specialist will advise whether a trip suits them, for example how long the walking sections are.
Not in a single day. Reaching the crater rim and summit of Mount Meru takes three or four days, with nights in the mountain huts. See our Mount Meru page, or ask your specialist to plan a climb.
Enquire
Every Honesha trip can be changed to suit you: the pace, the lodges, the number of days. Tell us your dates and who is travelling, and our team in Arusha will come back to you with a plan and a price.
Your journey
Price on request
Full day
also consider
karibu
Talk to our team in Arusha. We answer every message ourselves, usually the same day.
Price on request
Plan your trip
Enquiry about: Arusha National Park Day Trip
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