Top 6 Best Things To Do In Mikumi

Top 6 Best Things To Do In Mikumi National Park

Here are the top 6 best things to do in Mikumi National Park and they include game drives, cultural visits, birding, and hiking among others.

Mikumi is one of the most popular parks in Tanzania. Mikumi national park animals include elephants, giraffes, buffalos, Burchell’s zebras, sable elands, Liechtenstein’s hartebeests, lions, leopards, hippopotamuses, spotted hyenas, and jackals. Birds found include marabou stork, red-billed ox peckers, francolin, cattle egret, guinea fowls, hornbill, and malachite kingfisher.

Mikumi National Park is found in Tanzania. It is near Morogoro covering a total land area of 3,230 square kilometers and was established in 1964. This is the fourth largest park in the country and is crossed by Tanzania’s A-7 highway. Because of its accessibility,

Here are the top 6 best things to do in Mikumi National park;

1. Game Drives

A game drive is an expedition through wild areas to spot various iconic animals such as lions, giraffes, buffaloes, rhinos, hyenas, jackals, elephants, waterbucks, zebras, bushbucks, elands, Jackson’s hartebeest, Johor reedbucks, oribi, warthogs, kudus, leopards, cheetahs, impalas, vervet monkeys, patas monkeys, and others. A game drive is an adventure whereby tourists are moved around a game park in a vehicle usually a 4×4 open-sided safari vehicle that gives a tourist a very good view of the animals.

Game drives take place both at night and in the morning at Mikumi National Park. Morning drives are carried out between 6:30 am and 9:30 am. At this time the weather is still expected to be a bit cold so one has to be clad in warm clothes. But for afternoon game drives, light clothes are a better option. Most animals that are grazers can be spotted during these game drives like elephants, buffalos, and giraffes, and predators such as tree-climbing lions.

Night game drives are carried out to clearly spot the nocturnal animals that prey during the night. Animals like lions and leopards have sharp eye sights during nighttime that enables them to spot their prey and hunt for them. The night game drive is carried out by an expert tour guide that knows the routes properly and a ranger for security. One should carry torchlights, a good camera, mosquito repellant, and be clad in long sleeves during a night game drive.

At Mikumi National Park, game drives are carried out during the day, afternoon, and night. Mikumi National Park reviews are high due to its diverse wildlife.

2. Birding 

Refers to seeing birds in their natural habitats as a hobby, project, leisure activity, or fun. This is done in game parks where most bird species are found. Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves characterized by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, and the laying of hard-shelled eggs. So this activity is called birding because the tourists go to observe those birds.

Famous birding spots in Tanzania include Serengeti National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha National Park, Ruaha National Park, Rubondo Island National Park,  Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, Selous National Park, Mikumi National Park, Lake Manyara Safaris, Mahale Mountains National Park to mention but a few. Bird species found in these game parks include lilac-breasted roller, hamerkop, grey crowned crane, kori bustard, oriole finch, secretary bird, village indigobird, woodland kingfisher, crab-plover, marabou stork, vitelline masked weaver, African fish eagle, Village weaver, African paradise flycatcher, pied kingfisher, white-fronted bee-eater, grey go-away-bird, hadada ibis, white-tailed cisticola, Northern white-crowned shrike, yellow-necked spurfowl, kilometers cisticola, Asian openbill, rufous-tailed weaver, and others.

Mikumi National Park is known as a birding paradise because it has over 400 bird species featuring both Resident and European Migratory birds. The commonest species of birds one will come across at this park are Zanzibar red bishops, long-tailed fiscal, black-bellied bustard, cattle egret, yellow-throated long claw, and lilac-breasted roller. Birds can be found at Mkata River Flood Plain, Hippo Pool, and Mwanambogo Dam. For birds, one would need binoculars to see them.

3.Cultural  visits 

Cultural visits are also reffered to as Cultural Tourism. Cultural tourism refers to when a tourist’s or visitor’s essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience, and consume the tangible and intangible cultural attractions or products in a tourism destination. World Trade Organization categorizes cultural tourism into six different categories which include handicrafts and visual arts, gastronomy and visual arts, social practices rituals and festivals, music and performing arts, oral traditions, and expressions, knowledge and practices concerning nature.

Cultures found around Mikumi National Park include; Masaai Culture, Choma Culture, Madole Culture, and Kinole Culture. The park has two Community-Based Tourism in the surrounding villages namely; Mikumi Eco and Cultural Tourism Enterprise. These organize activities for tourists such as cultural dances and songs, cultural foods, cultural exhibitions of art created by the community, telling tourists about the history of the culture, and many others. Cultural tourism promotes sustainable tourism because the money collected is used for the betterment of the community for example construction of schools and hospitals.

4. Nature Walk 

Nature walk refers to an outdoor activity where tourists explore the park on foot. It is usually done with the presence of a tour guide who leads the tourists and keeps pointing out important features in the park that the tourists would need to know about for example tree species and others and a game ranger for security purposes.

Due to the presence of beautiful scenic nature and landscape, Mikumi national park is easily a place to go for a nature walk. The paths take about 4 to 5 hours to complete and the nature walk can be done across Vuma, Miombo woodland, Mikumi wildlife resort, and Kikoboga. Nature walk provides tourists with an up-close view of certain creatures such as colourful colorful butterflies and birds. Up-close view of plant species is also an advantage of nature walks where one can take beautiful and clear pictures.

5. Hiking

Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. One encounters elevation change when hiking as compared to nature walks.

The park has a variety of hiking trails that include the Hippo pool and the Mkata plain trail and the Kikoboga Trail. Just like a nature walk, this also provides a chance to explore Mikumi National Park and take a look at its beautiful scenery.

 

6.Photography

This refers to the art of taking photos using a camera. Tourists usually carry cameras with them to take pictures of themselves, people they find while on tour, animals, houses and others to go and show their family and friends back at home and memory.

Mikumi National Park is an amazing photography site as it has a beautiful scenic view and also has several bird and animal species. Various scenic views include Uluguru mountains, Choma waterfalls, savannah vegetation, Miombo woodland and many others.

The Best time to visit Mikumi National Park

The best time to Visit Mikumi National Park is undoubtedly the dry season. This season runs from mid-June to early October. During this season, various outdoor activities take place such as hiking, game drives, picnicking, birding, camping, nature walks, photography, and many others. During this season, the vegetation thins out making it easy to spot the animals, and also the animals concentrate around water holes and the hippo pools making it very easy to find them.

Attractions at Mikumi National Park

Uluguru mountains, the Hippo pool, Choma waterfalls, Lupanga peak and others.

• Ulunguru Mountains; The Uluguru Mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. It is a collection of peaks and Mikumi National Park lies between Uluguru mountains and Lumango ranges.
• Choma Waterfalls; Choma is a village about eight kilometers from Morogoro town. The waterfall can be seen from It is situated among the Uluguru mountains. The waterfalls are a hiking place that takes six to seven hours to return. Choma waterfalls have  cool waters that is suitable for swimming.
• Lupanga Peak; Lupanga peak lies about 2150 meters above sea level and it is the second highest peak of Uluguru mountains. It takes about ten to twelve hours to walk to the peak.

How to get to Mikumi National Park

One can fly to Julius Nyerere National Airport found in Dar es Salaam. Because the park is located near the city of Dar es Salaam, its entrance is easy to find and almost all safaris of Mikumi National Park start from Dar es Salaam.

The Dar es Salaam-Morogoro route is the most popular road option for visiting Mikumi National Park.

• By road: Mikumi National National Park can be accessed by a direct highway that starts from Dar es Salaam through Mikumi National Park. The drive takes from 4 to 5 hours if using private means and if using public means it may go beyond due to frequent stops by buses. The advantage of using road transport is that the drive is more scenic and enjoyable especially if you use private means where you can make stopovers at significant tourist attractions and enjoy the views. Some attractions you can see on your way include the Udzungwa mountains. The roadway divides the park into two halves which is the Northern which is known for its accessibility, particularly for game drives over the Mkata Flood Plains. The park is only a few kilometers from Morogoro town.
• By air: one can fly into Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport and be picked up by their pre-arranged tour company which will transport the tourist straight to the park. There is also an airstrip serving the park which is called Kikoboga Airstrip. Safari Air Link, which flies to Ruaha, Selous, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar daily is the only airline that flies to Kikoboga Airstrip.
• By train: Also, Mikumi National Park can be accessed by railway transport. The train travels through the park’s interior as well as other bushy areas from Dar es Salaam. The train’s sluggish speed makes it one of the best ways to view the region because it allows you to spend more time looking out the windows and taking in the beautiful scenery.

Accommodation at Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park has luxury accommodations,  mid-range accommodations, and budget accommodations.

Luxury accommodation is for those tourists seeking luxurious services such as luxurious rooms with elegance, amazingly comfortable beds,  conference and event facilities, in-house restaurants, excellent room service, spa facilities, bar spaces, excellent amenities, onsite services, 24/7 room service, gym, and pool facilities. Examples include  Serena Mivumo River Lodge, Vuma Hills, Lemala Manyara, Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge, Escarpment Luxury Lodge, Ol Tukai Mayara, Lake Manyara Tree Lodge, and Stanley’s Kopje Camp.

Midrange accommodation is for tourists seeking all the comfort an average tourist would expect from a hotel. It provides the perfect basis for the value of money and comfort. Features of mid-range hotels include comfort, room service, and amenities such as wifi, gym facilities, and bar, and restaurant facilities. Examples include Mikumi Wildlife Camp, Mikumi Safari Cottages, Mikumi Adventure Lodge, Angalia Tented Camp, Camp Bastian Mikumi, Mikumi Adventure Lodge, and Mikumi Wildlife Camp.

Budget accommodation is for tourists on a fixed budget. They are usually small or mid-size rooms that offer basic facilities and services for a low price. Features of budget hotels are basic facilities without any luxurious features such as clean beds, clean bathrooms, and security. Examples include Mikumi Safari Lodge, Mikumi Resort, Tan Swiss Lodge, Vamos Hotel, Mantis Lodge and Camping, Graceland Hotel, New Hotel Aquiline Arusha, The White House of Tanzania, Marimba Palm Hotel, Safari Inn, Mkomazi Hotels and Camping, Camp Atupele, and Voyage Village.

Camping

Camping refers to an outdoor activity that involves spending the night in a protective shelter known as a camping tent and sleeping bags out in nature.

Mikumi national park has got two camping sites or grounds offering public camping and private camping. They include Vuma Hills which is a private campsite and Mkata Plains which is a public campsite. Vuma Hills tented camp is a permanent camp situated in the southern part of the Mikumi National Park on Vuma Hill. Overlooking the glimmering plains of Mikumi. Vuma Hills overlook the Mkata Plain and offer a magnificent view of the lower lands and beautiful nature surrounding the hill where it is perched. Full board at Vuma Hills is rated at 205 dollars per person sharing, 100 dollars per child, and 80 dollars for a single supplement.

Mkata Plains is an open space where any tourist in the park that wants to camp can camp. One has to set up a tent and have a sleeping bag to have a comfortable sleep.

Frequently asked questions

1.What is unique about Mikumi National Park?

Mikumi national park was gazetted in 1964 and is the fourth largest park in Tanzania. Mikumi is named after spindle-shaped Borassus palm trees and has over 400 bird species and different wildlife including four of the big five like lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, and other animals such as impalas, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, spotted hyenas among others. The park is also a paradise to photographers because it is endowed with a fantastic colorful scenic environment that provides a fantastic background.

The most unique to Mikumi is its African wild dog population and its large land population. The largest member of the antelope family cuts a striking figure as it grazes on the open fields.  The man-made pool which is five kilometers northwest of the main entry gate is also a unique feature at Mikumi National Park. It is known as the hippo pool and animals gather here, especially during the dry season to drink water.

2.Why visit Mikumi National Park?

This park has a wide range of wildlife including part of Africa’s Big Five which is lions, buffaloes, elephants, rhinos, and other wildlife such as giraffes, jackals, spotted hyenas, and many others. It also has a variety of birds such as marabou stork, red-billed ox peckers, francolin, cattle egret, guinea fowls, hornbill,  malachite kingfisher, black-bellied bustard, long-tailed fiscal, Temminck courser, saddle billed stork, spur-winged goose,

3. When should I visit Mikumi?

For adventurous tourists, the best time for them to visit is during the dry season which runs from June to October. During this season, several activities take place for example nature walks, hiking, game drives, birding, cultural visits, camping, and others. If you are a budget traveler, the best time to visit Mikumi National Park is in April. It is the cheapest month to travel in as flight rates are low, hotel room rates are low and hotels and lodges usually offer a discount and also it is the best month for birding as the migratory birds start arriving.

4.How big is Mikumi National Park?

Mikumi National Park covers a total land area of 3230 square kilometers and is the Fourth largest park in Tanzania. The largest Game park is Serengeti National Park that covers a total land area of 14,763 square kilometers followed by Ruaha National Park that covers a total land area of 12,226 square kilometers and Katavi National Park that covers a total land area of 4,471 square kilometers then Mikumi National Park.

5.Animals in Mikumi National Park

Several animals in Mikumi National Park are both grazing and preying animals but the grazing makes up a larger percentage. The animals present there include the following; lions, leopards, buffaloes, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, Burchell’s zebra, sable, eland, Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, spotted hyena, jackals, wildebeest, impalas, hippos, gazelles, topis, sable antelopes, waterbucks, African hunting wild dog, zebras, baboons,

6.When was Mikumi National Park established?

Mikumi National Park was established in 1964 and gazetted as a park.

You can’t afford to miss out on the above activities in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania.