Welcome to Udzungwa
1.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park
Udzungwa Mountains National Park is one of
Tanzania’s most outstanding, pristine, paradise and unique exciting wilderness
mountains forested with greatest altitudinal range of forest. It is one of
thirty-four “World Biodiversity Hotspot” and one of 200 WWF Ecoregion of global
critical importance.
The park is home of primate and known from
the treasure of high biodiversity of plants and animals. The park has high
density of endemism species with some plants and animals that are only found in
these mountains nowhere else in the world can be found hence centre for
endemism in the eastern arc mountains.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park is part of
the Eastern Arc Mountains, which is a series of mountains ranging from Taita
Hil
ls in Southern Kenya to the Makambako Gap
in Southern central of Tanzania.
The mountain range sometimes is termed as
“The Galapagos Islands of Africa” Galapagos Islands found in southern America
has unique plants and animals. The eastern Arc Mountains are small and
fragmented mountains each block having a patch of remaining dance tropical rain
forests with high rainfall which seems as Islands in the sea of arid savannah
vegetation.
Location
and size
The Udzungwa Mountains National Park with its area of 1990 sq. km is part of unique Eastern Arc Mountains, which cover about 10,000 square kilometers. The park is centered on 30 41’ E and 70 48’ S in the Iringa and Morogoro regions of south central Tanzania.
Udzungwa Mountains National Park rises
between 250m asl Park and 2576m asl Lohomero at the highest peak.
Tourist
Attractions
The major attraction is biologically diverse plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, butterfly, and insects of which some of species are found nowhere else in the world. Udzungwa Mountains National Park is the only known National Park in Tanzania with a culturally important natural cave and has survived destruction before gazettement due to traditional taboos and beliefs.
Udzungwa is a magnet for hikers, not a
conventional game viewing destination. An excellent network of forest trails
will take you a popular half-day hike to the Sanje Waterfall, which plunges 170
metres (550 feet) through a misty spray into the forested valley below.
You can also go for the options for
overnight hikes, which increases your chances of spotting some of the wildlife
existing in the park, like elephant, buffalo, hippopotamus, lion and leopard.
On these hikes you will be with an armed ranger,
but still your chances of spotting the big game are small, you are more likely
to meet some of the smaller species like primates, antelopes and bushbaby’s.
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 a 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
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.
Culture and History
“Udzungwa” which is the name of the area is
probably a linguistic corruption possibly by the Germans of the word
“wadsungwa” one of the tribe who live on the slopes of the Mountains.
The park has Cultural and Historical sites
such as Bokela (mountain God), Mwanaruvele cave, Magombereka cave, Nyumbanitu
and Ndundulu mountains.
Video
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