Can you see Mount Kilimanjaro from Arusha National Park?
Arusha National Park, is a stunning and then overlooked attraction in Tanzania’s Northern Safari circuit, is a place of deep green forests, sparkling alkaline lakes, and dramatic volcanic peaks. While the park is famous for being the home of Mount Meru, Africa’s fifth-highest mountain, a major question for the visitors is whether they can also see its colossal neighbor, Mount Kilimanjaro. The short answer is a resounding yes, but with a few important details.
The Arusha National Park is strategically located just 70 kilometers9/43 miles) west of Kilimanjaro, a relatively close distance that allows you breathtaking views of the ‘’Roof of Africa.’’ However, because Kilimanjaro is a massive mountain that creates its own weather system, its peaks id often shrouded in clouds, particularly during the middle of the day.
Therefore seeing its iconic snow-capped summit it all about timing and then knowing the best viewing points within the park. The relationship between Arusha National Park and Kilimanjaro is a spectacular display of the geological closeness, where one mountain’s shadow Mount Meru provides the perfect frame for the world’s tallest free-standing mountain.
Mount Meru: The frame for the view.
The true star of Arusha National Park is Mount Meru, this is a magnificent dormant stratovolcano that dominates the park’s weather skyline. Meru is at 4,562 meters 914,967 feet) is Tanzania’s second-highest mountain and the topographic centerpiece of the park. It is the perfect natural obstacle and then viewpoint, greatly influencing the visibility of Kilimanjaro. As you travel through the lower sections of the park, Mount Meru often stands in the way, but its own slopes provide the best elevations for viewing its larger sibling. The best and then most reliable place to see Kilimanjaro is from a designated spot called the Kilimanjaro View Point, that is located on the lower slopes of Mount Meru within the park.
This picnic site offers a natural observation deck that juts out from the mountainside, providing a clear, elevated perspective. From this spot, or even better, from the higher trekking huts like Little Meru or the main socialist peak summit of Mount Meru, the view of Kilimanjaro becomes truly spectacular.
Climbers undertaking the three or four day trek up Mount Meru are consistently rewarded on the final summit push in the morning with the sight of the Kilimanjaro’s massive, distinct shape rising above the clouds, a truly unforgettable safari experience that makes the Meru climb a valuable alternative or preparation for the ascent of Africa’s highest peak.
When and where to catch the clear view.
The chance to photograph the perfect, postcard worthy image of Kilimanjaro from Arusha National Park depends almost entirely on the weather and then time of the day. As is common with large equatorial mountains, the best window for clear viewing is during the early morning hours, right around sunrise. At this time, the air is cool, and then the humidity that crates the cloud cover during the day not yet built up. The first rays of the sun hitting Kilimanjaro’s snow-covered Kibo peak, illuminating it against the dark sky, is a sight worth the early start. Conversely the view can also be beautiful though sometimes slightly hazy, in the late afternoon or evening as the sunsets. The clearest overall season is the dry season, which typically runs from June to October, and then again from December to February. During the long rains (March to May) or short rains (November) clouds are more frequent and persistent, making the view a matter of luck. The main location within the park to increase your chances are the already mentioned Kilimanjaro View Point, which is accessible by vehicle or a short hike; elevated areas near the Momella Lakes which can reflect the mountain on a calm day; and of course, the high points on the Mount Meru trekking route. For a safari visitor, an early morning game drive or a pre breakfast visit to a high point is essential for the best visual safari expiernce.
A park of rich diversity and unique habitats.
Besides its spectacular mountain view, Arusha National Park is a wonderful in its own right, boasting a striking diversity of the habitats within a relatively small area of about 552 square kilometers.
This makes it the best safari destination for a day trip or ales crossed, more intimate safari expiernce the park is broadly divided into three main zones; Mount Meru with its lush montane forest and then alpine areas; the Momella Lakes, a series of the seven shallow, alkaline lakes; and the Ngurdoto Crater, often called ‘’Little Ngorongoro’’ for its swampy, wildlife-filled floor.
This ecosystem supports a unique mixture of the wildlife. The park is renowned for having one of the highest concentrations of the giraffes in Tanzania which can be seen gracefully browsing on acacia trees in the open savannah areas.
Arusha National Park is also the best safari destination on the northern circuit to see the beautiful and then striking black and white colobus monkeys, whose long, white mantle makes them a photographer’s delight as they leap through the dense forest canopy.
While the park has the fewer large predators than the Serengeti national park, you can easily spot the herds of Cape buffalo grazing near water sources, and the lakes are a haven for the huge flocks of the pink and then white flamingos and other waterbeds, making the park a paradise for the birdwatchers.
The presence of these different habitats from the tallest forest on Meru’s slopes, where an armed ranger will accompany walking safaris, to the open plains of the Ngurdoto Crater offers a unique mixture of the safari activities, including game drives, canoeing on the Momella Lakes and then walking safaris, which allow the visitors a very close and then personal interaction with the African wilderness, all with the knowledge that the giant Kilimanjaro is waiting to reveal itself on the horizon with African Vacation Safaris.
For more information about the safaris about Mount Kilimanjaro do not hesitate to contact us at African Vacation Safaris, our tour experts will be ready to design for you a wonderful safari itinerary that will offer you unforgettable safari memories.