The Complete Guide to Udzungwa Mountains National Park

Hiking to the waterfalls and forest: Hiking in the forest while enjoying watching most primates, waterfalls, birds, reptiles, and amphibians makes your day. Hiking is mainly done throughout the year, but is ideal during the dry season.

• Mountain climbing: The park offers a chance to summit the highest peaks of Luhomero and Mwanihana while enjoying the scenic view of the lower slopes and farms in the Kilombero valley.
• Photographing and Filming: This activity can be done throughout the year. During short rains, photographic safaris can be more exciting in the park as it is the time when wild flowers flourish and there are abundant butterflies. Moreover, most migratory birds can be seen during this time.
• Cycling Tour: Bicycle touring takes self-contained cycling trips for pleasure, adventure or independence rather than sport, commuting or exercise. This tour can be made successful in collaboration with the tourism office. The tour can range from single-day trips to multi-day trips. Cycling tourism also refers to leisure trips where cycling is the primary purpose. In this context, the bicycle is not just a means of transport but an integral part of the travel experience. The strength varies from soft cycling, enjoying the scenery while gently pedalling on a bicycle, to hardcore cycling, where physical fitness is the primary goal.
  Meanwhile, cycling tourism is considered soft adventure or sports tourism. The tourist can ride straight to the local market, Tanzania and Zambia Railway line (TAZARA), sugarcane, rice plantation, rubber plantations, villages and café to taste local cuisine prepared from the local products by the local communities neighbouring the park since the park’s inception. Bicycle riding can be organised from the park’s main entrance gate to the villages adjacent to the park, approximately 30 km away. It is governed by cycling tourists collaborating with their knowledgeable guides on topics such as first aid and bicycle repair, including the distance and direction to ride. They should also be able to share information about the local nature and culture of the communities living adjacent to the foot of the mountain ranges of Udzungwa Mountains National Park.
• Bird Watching: This can be done along designated trails and roads where most bird species (native and migratory) are seen, depending on seasonal variations, food availability, and nesting materials. Also, the endemic Udzungwa Forest Partridge and Rufous-winged Sunbird can be seen dwelling inside the forest.
• Cultural Tourism and Traditional Ngoma: Traditional Ngoma can be organised from the official local groups inhabiting this place; this activity can be prearranged by the Tourism Office in collaboration with your tour guide, wherever preferred to suit your visit at Udzungwa Mountains National Park at negotiated costs. The most famous and up-to-date traditional Ngomas around this place are (Sangula from Pogoro and Lindenda from Ndamba ethnic groups are the most famous conventional dancers who inhabit the area adjacent to the park boundaries in the eastern part of the park.) All can be organised in a whole package with a reasonable and affordable price. Again, Cultural Tourism can complement the nature-based tourism outside the park boundaries. Outside the park, there are local farms, mostly rice plantations, dress codes, traditional dances, local foods, rituals, and many other things; all these bring you to another world of your travel experience.
• Mbatwa Ruins: In the early 1970s, Mbatwa villagers built the Mbatwa road, village and primary school; a few years later, they moved to Mbatwa village outside the park. Construction supplies such as cement and rocks were head loaded 17 km to the site, and the town was then abandoned in 1975, apparently due to concerns about a lack of fresh water. Most of the inhabitants moved to Msosa Village. Mbatwa Ruins are the remains of a primary school and village on the site to this day. These are the prime sites for tourism activities and most importantly the myths and artefacts of the tribes dwelling around this place before the official establishment of Udzungwa Mountains National Park on 21st October, 1992.
• Village and Ethnic Groups Tour Universally villages act as the roots of a country, villages are the mirror of country’s culture, some local person art, foods and natural beauty; therefore, village tourism is crucial component and entertainment activity with a lot of dissection to collect info, see and taste number of local cuisine plus the diversity of the authentic culture and rich heritage of the nation and some tribes dwelling adjacent to the park. Thus, the activity can provide a unique experience to the travellers and tourists who visit the park, experience the daily life of villagers, and be a part of it. Villages are still the real soul of our country, and people live in villages.
• Local Handcraft Market: This is the market where the bordering communities can come in contact with visitors and sell their products to tourists to develop new economic opportunities in the area and tangibly uplift the economy of the local communities via the eco-tourism principle of Bottom-up Participatory Approach. In the local market, tourists can buy local merchandise to boost the multiplier effects of tourism and circulate the money to the adjacent communities to increase their economic well-being and improve neighbouring communities and stakeholders’ engagement in tourism and conservation activities.