Morogoro Region & Tourism Industry in Tanzania

Morogoro Region & Tourism Industry in Tanzania

Msamvu

 

Morogoro lies in the agricultural heartland of Tanzania, and is a centre of farming in the southern highlands. Tobacco is grown in the region and consolidated here before going to the market. In addition to its agricultural importance, Morogoro is also the centre for missionary work that goes on in the country, and various missions and their schools and hospitals are a central feature of the town.

The town of Morogoro lies at the base of the Uluguru Mountains, part of the Eastern Arc chain. Its close location to the peaks makes Morogoro an important stop for hiking trips to the Ulugurus. The mountains are notable for their ancient forests, which botanists estimate to be around 25 million year old — some of the oldest forests on the continent. The ancient woodlands support an incredible array of bird and insect life, as well as diverse plant species. The indigenous Luguru tribe offers cultural tourism programmes around the Ulugurus and even outside Morogoro.

Udzungwa National Park

Udzungwa is the largest and with most biodiversity and a chain of a dozen large forest-swathed mountains that rise majestically from the flat coastal scrub of eastern Tanzania. Known collectively as the Eastern Arc Mountains, this archipelago of isolated massifs has also been dubbed as the African Galapagos for its treasure-trove of endemic plants and animals, most familiarly being the delicate African violet.

Brooding and primeval, the forests of Udzungwa seem positively enchanted: a verdant refuge of sunshine-dappled glades enclosed by 30-metre (100 foot) high trees, their buttresses layered with fungi, lichens, mosses and ferns.
Udzungwa alone among the ancient ranges of the Eastern Arc has been accorded the national park status. It is also unique within Tanzania in that its closed-canopy forest spans altitudes of 250 metres (820 feet) to above 2,000 metres (6,560 ft) without interruption.
Although not a conventional game viewing destination, Udzungwa is a magnet for hikers. An excellent network of forest trails includes the popular half-day ramble to Sanje Waterfall, which plunges 170 metres (550 feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley below.
The more challenging two-night Mwanihana Trail leads to the high plateau, with its panoramic views over the surrounding sugar plantations, before ascending to Mwanihana peak, the second-highest point in the range.
 

Ornithologists are attracted to Udzungwa for an avian wealth embracing more than 400 species, from the lovely and readily-located green-headed oriole to more than a dozen secretive Eastern Arc endemics.
Four bird species are peculiar to Udzungwa, including the forest partridge, first discovered in 1991 and more closely related to an Asian genus than to any other African fowl.
Of six primate species recorded, the Iringa red colobus and Sanje Crested Mangabey both occur nowhere else in the world – the latter, remarkably, remained undetected by biologists prior to 1979.
Undoubtedly, this great forest has yet to reveal all its treasures: ongoing scientific exploration will surely add to its diverse catalogue of endemics.
Location: Five hours (350 km/215 miles) from Dar es Salaam; 65 kms (40 miles) southwest of Mikumi.
Getting there
Drive from Dar es Salaam or Mikumi National Park.
What to do
From a two-hour hike to the waterfall as well as camping safaris.
Combine with nearby Mikumi or en route to Ruaha.
Accommodation
Camping inside the park.
Bring all food and supplies.
Two modest but comfortable lodges with en-suite rooms within 1km of the park entrance.

 






Selous Game Reserve


The Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest faunal reserves of the world, located in the south of Tanzania. It was named after Englishman Sir Frederick Selous, a famous big game hunter and early conservationist, who died at Beho Beho in this territory in 1917 while fighting against the Germans during World War I. Scottish explorer and cartographer Keith Johnston also died at Beho Beho in 1879 while leading a RSGS expedition to the Great Lakes of Africa with Joseph Thomson. The Selous was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 due to the diversity of its wildlife and undisturbed nature.
The reserve covers a total area of 54,600 km² (21,100 sq mi) and has additional buffer zones. Within the reserve no permanent human habitation or permanent structures are permitted. All (human) entry and exit is carefully controlled by the Wildlife Division of the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. Some of the typical animals of the savanna (for example African bush elephants, black rhinos, hippopotamus, Masai Lions, East African Wild Dogs, cheetahs, Cape buffaloes, Masai Giraffes and crocodiles) can be found in this park in larger numbers than in any other African game reserve or national park.
Most of the reserve remains set aside for game hunting through a number of privately leased hunting concessions, but a section of the northern park along the Rufiji River has been designated a photographic zone and is a popular tourist destination. There are several high end lodges and camps mainly situated along the river and lake systems in this area. Rather difficult road access means most visitors arrive by small aircraft from Dar es Salaam, though train access is also possible.
 
Interesting places in the park include the Rufiji River, which flows into the Indian Ocean opposite Mafia Island and the Stiegler Gorge, a canyon of 100 metres depth and 100 metres width. Habitats include grassland, typical Acacia savanna, wetlands and extensive Miombo woodlands. Although total wildlife populations are high, the reserve is large and densities of animals are lower than in the more regularly visited northern tourist circuit of Tanzania.
Walking safaris are permitted in the Selous, and boat trips on the Rufiji are a popular activity. A boundary change to allow the use of uranium deposits has been approved.The approval for the boundary change was given by the UNESCO and seriously criticized by environmentalists and organizations e.g., Uranium-Network and Rainforest Rescue.
In 1976, the Selous Game Reserve contained about 109,000 elephants, then the largest in the world. By 2013, the numbers had dropped to about 13,000 - including a 66% drop from 2009 to 2013. Sources blame corrupt politicians, officials and businessmen who help poachers.

Mikumi National Park

 

Mikumi is Tanzania’s fourth-largest national park. It’s also the most accessible from Dar es Salaam. With almost guaranteed wildlife sightings, it makes an ideal safari destination for those without much time.

Mikumi Park Map

Since the completion of the paved road connecting the park gate with Dar es Salaam, Mikumi National Park has been slated to become a hotspot for tourism in Tanzania. Located between the Uluguru Mountains and the Lumango range, Mikumi is the fourth largest national park in Tanzania and only a few hours drive from Tanzania’s largest city. The park has a wide variety of wildlife that can be easy spotted and also well acclimatized to game viewing. Its proximity to Dar es Salaam and the amount of wildlife that live within its borders makes Mikumi National Park a popular option for weekend visitors from the city, or for business visitors who don’t have to spend a long time on an extended safari itinerary.
 
Most visitors come to Mikumi National Park aiming to spot the ‘Big Five’ (cheetah, lion, elephant, buffalo, and rhino), and they are always not disappointed. Hippo pools provide close access to the mud-loving beasts, and bird-watching along the waterways is particularly rewarding. Mikumi National Park borders the Selous Game Reserve and Udzungwa National Park, and the three locations make a varied and pleasant safari circuit.
Swirls of opaque mist hide the advancing dawn. The first shafts of sun decorate the fluffy grass heads rippling across the plain in a russet halo. A herd of zebras, confident in their camouflage at this predatory hour, pose like ballerinas, heads aligned and stripes merging in flowing motion.
 
Mikumi National Park abuts the northern border of Africa’s biggest game reserve – the Selous – and is transected by the surfaced road between Dar es Salaam and Iringa. It is thus the most accessible part of a 75,000 square kilometre (47,000 square mile) tract of wilderness that stretches east almost as far as the Indian Ocean.
The open horizons and abundant wildlife of the Mkata Floodplain, the popular centre piece of Mikumi, draws frequent comparisons to the more famous Serengeti Plains.
Lions survey their grassy kingdom – and the zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo herds that migrate across it – from the flattened tops of termite mounds, or sometimes during the rains, from perches high in the trees. Giraffes forage in the isolated acacia stands that fringe the Mkata River, islets of shade favoured also by Mikumi’s elephants.
Criss-crossed by a good circuit of game-viewing roads, the Mkata Floodplain is perhaps the most reliable place in Tanzania for sightings of the powerful eland, the world’s largest antelope. The equally impressive greater kudu and sable antelope haunt the miombo-covered foothills of the mountains that rise from the park’s borders.

 

Wami - Mbiki WMA

Situated in central, eastern Tanzania between latitudes 06010'00" and 06030'00"S and longitude 37050'00" and 38015'40" E.

Major Ethnic Groups: Wakwere, Wazigua, Wamasai, Wagogo
Nearest Protected Areas: Saadani National Park
Number of villages allocated land to establish WMA 24
Significance
The wildlife density in the WMA has sufficient number and variety of animals that makes the WMA suitable for walking safaris and photo tourism, it also have potential non wood forests products such as medicinal plants and fruits. The villages surrounding WMA are mix of cultures which adds additional entertainment and learning forum for visitors.
Accessibility

WAMI RIVER

It is 200 km due west of Dar es Salaam, north of Dar-Morogoro Highway. Its southern boundary is located 14km from the main access along the Dar - Morogoro highway and the Mkongo Camp, is located 45km north of the 50 km peg from Morogoro.

Ukutu - Jukumu WMA

 

Ukutu WMA lie between 310000 - 435000 E and 9158000 - 9395000 N. The WMA extends from Mkulazi Forest Reserve in the East to Mikumi National Park in the West. In the North is bounded with Ruvu River and on the South by Selous Game Reserve.

Major Ethnic Group: Wakutu, Waluguru

Number of villages allocated land to establish WMA 21

Nearest Protected Areas: Mikumi National Park, Selous Game Reserve, Mkulazi Forest Reserve

Significance
The large part of UKUTU is open woodland which supports a high density of ungulates such as Wildebeest, Elephant, Buffalo, Zebra, Giraffe, Impala, Common Waterbuck, Bohor Reedbuck, Red Duiker and Sable Antelope, Hyena, Lion, Leopard, Wild dog, and Cheetah, Hippopotamus, Hartebeest, Bushbuck, Dik-dik, Bush pig, and Warthog.

Accessibility
All villages have fairly good road links to Morogoro Township, Moreover, Kinganguru and Matambwe are the closest airstrips to the WMA.