Udzungwa Mountains National Park

Located west of Dar es Salaam, the Udzungwa Mountains rise up from the western edge of the Selous Game Reserve. Udzungwa is the largest and most biodiverse chain of a dozen large forest mountains that rise majestically from the flat coastal scrub of eastern Tanzania, known collectively as the Eastern Arc Mountains.

It is a hot-house nurturing species found nowhere else on earth, a secret bank account of precious genetic stock. Of its six types of primate, two are endemic – the Iringa red colobus monkey and the sanje crested Mangabey, not discovered until 1979. Four previously unknown birds, including the rufous-winged sunbird and a new species of the partridge-like francolin make this Tanzania’s richest forest bird habitat and among the three most important bird conservation areas on the continent.

Udzungwa is a magnet for hikers. An excellent network of forest trails leads climbers to the peaks. There are five distinct trails covering the forests and mountain peaks and offer variying levels of difficulty for everyone from novices to experienced trekkers. The popular half-day ramble to Sanje Waterfall, which plunges 170metres (550feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley below. The Mwanihana Trail is more challenging.

From the peaks of the mountains you have an incredible view toward the Selous Game Reserve and to the distant Indian Ocean coast and it is well worth the effort. Ascending Mwanihana peak e.g., the second-highest point in the Udzungwa range, is a two-days-tour. Beside the trails there are no roads, so hikers have the area all to themselves.