Times in Tanzania: Kitulo National Park

Clouds coming in

This weekend we finally had the chance to visit Kitulo National Park, the first national park in sub-Saharan Africa to be gazetted primarily for its flora. Recently gazetted in 2005, the park is somewhat similar to Saadani National Park in that there are a few villages scattered throughout and the impact of humans is still visible across most of the landscape. However, it's a very unique area and even though we didn't visit during the flowering time, we still felt the park was well worth the visit for its unique montane grasslands and views from the plateau.

Kitulo National Park is located at 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) on a plateau and the majority of the park is montane grasslands. There are stunning views of forested mountains and valleys on the south side of the park as well. From the main highway we drove up a very steep road to the nearby village of Matamba. The temperature was extremely chilly and the area was largely dominated by agriculture with a variety of crops from maize to wheat. We found a comfortable guesthouse to spend the night and the next day drove about 20 minutes up even higher to the park gate.

Driving into the park provided a stunning view of the plateau and grasslands. We initially drove through the grasslands to the southern edge of the park and did some light hiking overlooking the mountains and villages below. The views were incredible and the clouds passed right in front of us. We then drove through the grasslands stopping at various points to check out the montane flora as well as the vistas. There was a small waterfall that we stopped at on the way to larger waterfall, though unfortunately we never made it to the larger waterfall due to the road being blocked and running out of time.

Kitulo National Park is known for its hiking and although we did some short hikes, we'd like to return during the flowering season to do a longer hike. It was unfortunate that the eastern part of the park is cut in half by an area that is quite developed with large cattle farms and expansive agriculture. There are also a steady stream of motorcycles and buses that go through the main park roads which can dampen the feeling of isolation and wilderness. There is only one other drivable road in the park that is not on the main roads and it's in quite poor condition.

Overall we quite enjoyed the park and hope to come back for a longer hike. The rains will certainly make the roads much more challenging. Getting to the village was difficult enough in the dry season and the roads in the park were also in very poor condition. It's unfortunate the park is so isolated as it requires a concentrated effort to get there and I wouldn't be surprised if people were disappointed since the wildlife is so sparse. We only saw two Mountain Reedbuck and although we saw some unique birds, there was also very sparse birdlife. However, if one is interested to take in the scenery and especially the flowers (in the rainy season), then the park does not disappoint!