Despite the park’s small size (552 sq km/212 sq miles), on your safari there, you discover a lush landscape with a breathtaking geology. Along with the park’s spectacular topography, you encounter a diverse variety of game including primates, migrant waterfowl, grazing herds, giraffes and much more.

Following breakfast, your safari guide picks you up at Tusker’s hotel in Moshi.  After an hour and a half drive you arrive at the park entry gate.  The park sits at the foot of Mount Meru, a freestanding volcano and Africa’s fifth highest peak (14,900 feet/4,566 meters)- which provides the backdrop for the park’s stunning terrain.

In the southern corner of the park, nestled on
the fertile slopes beneath the Ngurdoto crater are rich forests, swamps and grasslands. Here you’ll see inquisitive black-and-white colobus monkeys, African buffaloes, and warthogs.  After a picnic lunch at a scenic spot in the park, you continue your game drive.

The turquoise Momela Lakes lie in the northeast section of the park. Along the water’s edge, waterbucks display their lyre-shaped horns among flocks of stilt-legged flamingos. If you are lucky, you may also catch a glimpse of the park’s hyenas and elusive leopards.

At the end of the day, your guide returns you to your hotel in Moshi, or drops you off at Kilimanjaro airport for an onward flight.