Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park is small — around 550 square kilometres — but it packs in an unusual amount of variety, running from the Ngurdoto Crater's forested caldera through the Momella Lakes to the summit of Mount Meru at 4,566 metres, Tanzania's second-highest mountain. Because there are no lion resident in the park, activities that are prohibited almost everywhere else in northern Tanzania are permitted here: guided walking safaris, and canoeing on the Momella Lakes among waterbuck and, seasonally, flamingo. The forest holds black-and-white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys and abundant birdlife; giraffe, buffalo, zebra and bushbuck use the open glades. Meru itself is a serious three- to four-day trek and is often climbed as acclimatisation before Kilimanjaro. The park's real practical advantage is position: it lies between Arusha town and Kilimanjaro International Airport, which makes it the most useful first or last day on a northern-circuit itinerary.