Ruaha National Park - Ruaha Safaris and Where to Stay

The wide distances of Ruaha National Park have a drama and atmosphere quite unlike any other Tanzanian park. Covering 12,950sq km, Ruaha is the second largest National Park in Tanzania after the Serengeti.

It is an ancient place; its hilly distances are punctuated with distended elephant-battered girths of massive baobabs that live for a thousand years, and the combination of ochre-red earth, pale russet grasses and parched paths of wide sand rivers fulfill images of ancient African landscapes.

Remote and Unspoilt

The fantastically unspoilt reaches of Ruaha are a result of its location, requiring an expensive flight or a long drive to reach it. Despite recent new alternatives for staying here, Ruaha remains underdeveloped with major tracts still largely inaccessible.

Planning a Ruaha Itinerary

Such a vast and fascinating landscape makes it an ideal location for a longer safari, with between four and seven nights recommended, not least to make the flying costs worthwhile. Trips to Ruaha are often combined with the Selous Game Reserve, as the two locations are entirely complimentary for their differences, and part of the same scheduled flight route.

Ruaha Wildlife

The joy of Ruaha is that there are hardly any people there at all, but plenty of heavy duty wildlife lays claim to its hilly savannah and bush. Ruaha has one of the greatest populations of elephant in any African park, and the dry open hillsides encourage antelope and buffalo to gather into large herds. This terrain is particularly good for seeing predators, especially lion and potentially leopard, as well as packs of African hunting dog and numerous giraffe and zebra.

Ruaha is the only east African park with both Greater and Lesser Kudu, and sable and roan antelopes and, like the Selous, has an unusual combination of East and Southern African wildlife and birds.