“Galapagos of Africa,” is the name given to this piece of paradise, Udzungwa Mountains National Park is a 770 sq. mile mountain range park with incredible diversity of tropical flora and fauna species. Udzungwa Mountains offers visitors the opportunity to explore the landscape on foot, with mountain ranges interspersed with rainforest and arid savannah. The biodiversity of this park is by far one of Tanzania’s most special features, harboring some plant species found nowhere else in the world, from a tiny African violet to 30-metre-high trees, mountain forests, tropical rainforests, Miombo woodlands, grasslands and steppe.

Udzungwa Mountains can conveniently be combined with game drives in nearby Mikumi National Park which will take hours’ drive to the north, or include Ruaha National Park which will take 4-5 hours’ drive and Selous Game Reserve. Although not a conventional game viewing destination, the park is a true hikers paradise. A half day tour to Sanje waterfall at a towering 170 meters (550 feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley is definitely an excellent idea and worth doing. The park is also home to 6 species of primates, which are found here and two are endemic species, namely the Iringa red colobus monkey and the Sanje crested mangabey monkey occur nowhere else in the world. It’s also a home to other primates including the small-eared galago, Sykes monkey, black and white colobus, vervet monkey, yellow baboon, matundu dwarf galago, mountain dwarf galago, grant’s galago, greater galago, highland Mangeby in the Ndundulu Forest. Mammals found in the park include elephants, palm civets, hippo, sable, leopards, greater kudu, duikers, sun squirrel, miombo genets, strew, bushbucks, hyenas and climbing mouse.