Arusha National Park

Most travellers drive past Arusha National Park on the way to somewhere bigger. It is small, green and hilly, and it does something the famous parks mostly don't: it lets you out of the vehicle. A walk with an armed ranger, a paddle on a lake, and Mount Meru over all of it.

It is close enough to fill the day you land or the day before you fly, without a long drive either side.

The park climbs from the Momella lakes, shallow alkaline lakes in shades of green and blue, through open glades and montane forest to the slopes of Mount Meru, Tanzania's second-highest mountain at 4,566 m. Ngurdoto Crater, a small forested caldera, is closed to vehicles and walkers, and seen from its rim.

On a clear morning, usually in the dry months, Kilimanjaro shows on the horizon to the east.

Walks go out with an armed park ranger, on foot through the glades and along the forest edge. Giraffe and buffalo look very different at ground level, and the ranger reads the bush for you as you go.

When the water level allows, you can canoe on the Momella lakes. We check before your date and tell you whether it is running, so the day is planned around what is actually possible.

June to October and December to February are the drier months, with easier walking and the best chance of clear views of Meru and Kilimanjaro. The long rains, roughly March to May, make the tracks muddy and the views unreliable; the park stays open and very green.

It is cooler up here than in Arusha town, especially in the forest and early in the day. Bring a warm layer.

Nights before or after the park are usually spent in or near Arusha. These are the lodges we book there, by level.

Best as the first day after a long flight, or the last before an evening departure from Kilimanjaro airport. Walkers often add a night at a lodge near the gate. Climbers sometimes use Mount Meru as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro.