Mikumi National Park is one of the most amazing destinations of Tanzania, it is most sought after by travellers who have a busy schedule and yet would like to experience a game, it is commonly compared to the Serengeti National Park due to its animal composition, it is the second largest national park of the country covering an area space of approximately 3230 square kilometres, it used to be a difficult place to access until the construction of the A-7 high way which directly passes through the national park, for this reason, there is a high population increase in visitors to the destination, it closest to one of the busiest towns of Tanzania Dar-es-Salaam a busy business centre.
Mikumi National Park is one of Tanzania’s amazing destinations, it forms a large biodiverse environment together with Selous Game Reserve where many wildlife species roam from one point to another, the park has an all-year guarantee of sightings of wildlife species, with populations of wild dogs, antelopes, grater kudus, sable antelopes, hartebeests, hippos, yellow baboons, giraffes, lions, elephants, crocodiles, leopards, warthogs, to mention a few, these can be sighted briefly as you drive through the national park, the animal population is more concentrated in the Mkata flood plains, the region is dominated with ridges and great wild animals.
Wildlife in Mikumi National Park includes the many bird species present in the ecosystem over 400 bird types have been recorded, for example, little eagles, cattle egrets, guinea fowls, straw-tailed whydah, bee-eaters, Malachite kingfishers, black-bellied bustard, open billed stork to mention a few. Birds are best seen during the wet season when the park receives migratory species. The hippo pool and Mwanambogo Dam are great places to see wildlife in the national park
Wildlife in Mikumi National Park is seen during the major activity of the park Game viewing, which is conducted using 4×4-wheel car drive with an open rooftop to enable visitors’ clear views of animals, through the well-distributed trails of the park expect to see animals. The park is one of the few places in Tanzania where doing night game drives is allowed.
Wildlife in Mikumi National Park can be seen all year round but best during the dry season between December-February and June -September when the trails of the forest are much drier and easy to access. Vegetation of the park is thinner and animals gather around waterholes to drink water and along river banks. Despite these seasons being the best, it is possible to reach the national park even during the wet season.
While considering viewing wildlife in Mikumi National Park, there are available accommodations in the national park ranging from the best budget to Luxury, these offer places to stay for travellers and mouth-dropping meals, Examples of facilities include Stanley’s Kopje camp, Vuma Hill tented camp, Mikumi Safari lodge, Angalia tented camp among other facilities.
Mikumi National Park can be accessed by road from Dar-es-salaam, it takes approximately 280 kilometres, it is amazingly placed in between mountains and the backdrop is so thrilling to experience.