Following its recent expansion, Ruaha is currently East Africa’s biggest national park and the second-largest on the African continent. It is also Tanzania’s most sizeable elephant haven and home to a profusion of bird species, including kingfishers, plovers, egrets, hornbills and sunbirds. Crocodiles and hippos thrive in the Great Ruaha River, which flows along the sanctuary’s eastern border and in the dry season between July and November, animals flock to the last remaining water sources, presenting an exceptional wildlife spectacle. There are a number of accommodation options available but some close for the wet season in March and April.
Ruaha National Park is the largest national park in Tanzania, covering an area of
about 13,000 square kilometres (5,000 sq miles) in what's called "the southern
circuit”. It's in the middle of Tanzania and part of an extensive ecosystem which
includes the Rungwa Game Reserve, Usangu Game Reserve and other protected
areas.
The great Ruaha River runs through the park, flowing along its south-eastern
margin; it's here where the game viewing is at its best with the river being the main
source of water at certain times of the year. The landscape is vast and wild with
hills dotted with baobabs, rocky escarpments and open savannah; it also has less
camps and lodges than most other parks, despite its size.
Ruaha is famous for its large population of elephant, with about 10,000 roaming in
the park, and this is believed to be the highest concentration of elephant in East
Africa . You can also see both the Greater and Lesser Kudu here, Sable and Roan
antelope, as well as other plains game like giraffe, zebras and eland. Other
animals in the park include lion, leopard, cheetah, bat-eared foxes and jackals and
you might see the endangered wild dog. Crocodiles inhabit the Ruaha and
Mzombe rivers, as well as a number of other reptiles.
It is a paradise for birders, with more than 571 species, some of them known to be
migrants from within as well as outside of Africa. Migrating species from Europe,
Asia, the Australian rim and Madagascar have been recorded in the park.
