Nyerere National Park

Nyerere National Park (formerly the northern part of Selous Game Reserve, pronunciation: “Seluu”) (Hifadhi ya Taifa ya Nyerere, in Swahili) is a national park of Tanzania and is the largest national park in Tanzania and also one of the world’s largest wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. The total area of the park is 30,893 km2 (11,928 sq mi) and covers the big part of Liwale District in western Lindi Region, south west Pwani Region, north eastern Ruvuma Region and a big part of south eastern Morogoro Region. The park is about the size of Belgium (Europe). Much of the area is in a wild state without being altered by human activities. The part of Selous game reserve is now running a hydro electric power. The park has a great river known as Rufiji River. Rufiji is Tanzania’s largest river and is home to many crocodiles and hippopotamuses. It is also one of largest mangrove forests in the world located at its delta.

Activities

Nyerere National Park offers a wide range of activities that give visitors opportunities to enjoy its beauty. Some of the most popular activities include game drives, bird watching, walking safaris and boat safaris. The many waterways in the park provide an excellent natural setting for boat safaris, both for big game viewing and bird watching

Getting there

Nyerere National Park can be accessed by road safari from either Dar es Salaam or Arusha.

The road distance varies from 184 km to 230 km depending on which gate or entry point of Nyerere National Park you want to access. In terms of journey time, typically you want to allow for 6 hours for most Park entry gates such as Mtemere and Matembwe, and up to 6 to 6.5 hours for gates on the northern side of Selous Game Reserve. Road conditions are poor in places with the last 75 km to the park being on a bumpy gravel road.

The park can also be accessed by air. There are daily scheduled flights from either Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar with a flight time of under an hour to a variety of different airstrips in Nyerere. There are several airlines serving this route, some of which includes Regional Air, Coastal Aviation, Safari Air Link and Auric Air. All these airlines have a reliable service and credible safety record