Mount Meru, the Momella Lakes and Ngurdoto Crater in a green, cool park close to Arusha, ideal for walking and canoeing
Arusha National Park is often overlooked by travellers racing to the Serengeti, which is exactly its charm. Within a short drive of the city, the park climbs from open glades and lakes to the summit of Mount Meru at 4,566 metres, taking in mountain forest, the steep-sided Ngurdoto Crater and the shallow alkaline Momella Lakes along the way. On clear mornings Kilimanjaro appears on the eastern horizon.
The wildlife is different from the big savannah parks. Black-and-white colobus and blue monkeys are common in the forest, giraffes browse across the glades, buffalo and waterbuck graze near the lakes, and the Momella Lakes attract flamingos and many other water birds. Big predators are scarce, and that is part of what makes the park one of the few in northern Tanzania where you can walk with an armed ranger or paddle a canoe.
The area was originally home to Meru and Arusha people. The Hungarian explorer Count Sámuel Teleki passed through the Momella area in the nineteenth century, and in 1907 the Trappe family settled at Momella; Mrs Trappe later gave much of the estate for a game reserve that was eventually incorporated into the park.
The park was created in 1960 as Ngurdoto Crater National Park, mainly to protect the crater. Mount Meru and the Momella Lakes were added in 1967, when it was renamed Arusha National Park. Mount Meru, Tanzania's second-highest peak, is an old volcano, and the climb leads through misty forest and alpine meadows to bare ridges and volcanic ash cones near the top.
The slopes of Mount Meru are farmed intensively by the Meru people, and the roads to the park pass through villages, coffee and banana plots and small markets around Usa River and Ngarenanyuki. Many rangers, guides and porters come from these communities. Cultural tourism programmes in villages around Arusha offer walks through farms and homesteads, a good way to see daily life beyond the park.
A day visit typically combines a game drive around the Ngurdoto Crater rim and the Momella Lakes with a walking safari. TANAPA notes that walks must be arranged at one of the two gates and that canoeing on Small Momella Lake is by prior arrangement. The Serengeti Ndogo, or Little Serengeti, grassland is a good place for zebra, buffalo, warthog and giraffe.
Mount Meru is climbed from Momella Gate using the Miriakamba and Saddle huts, with porters and an armed ranger escort. The final ridge to the summit is steep and exposed, and on clear days the summit looks east towards Kilimanjaro. Many trekkers use Meru to acclimatise before Kilimanjaro, as TANAPA suggests.
The park is open all year. For climbing Meru, the drier months, roughly June to October and December to February, give the best chances of clear views, which TANAPA also lists as the peak seasons. The long rains from March to May bring cloud to the mountain and slippery forest trails, but the park is very green. Mornings are usually clearest for views of Kilimanjaro.
Checked against the sources on 28 October 2026. Opening times and fees can change — confirm before you go.
General guidance from our specialists, not official information.
Arusha city, with its markets and museums, is less than an hour's drive away, and Kilimanjaro International Airport is about 40 kilometres from the park. Usa River, on the main Arusha to Moshi road, has lodges and coffee farms, and Lake Duluti, a small crater lake nearer the city, is popular for short walks. Moshi and the Kilimanjaro trailheads lie further east.
Tanzania · 10 nights5★ LodgeTanzania · 8 nights5★ LodgeTanzania · 5 nights5★ LodgeThis guide was researched from the sources below and reviewed by our team on 28 October 2026. Facts under “Verified information” link to the page they were checked on; travel tips are general guidance. Photos are credited on each image. The ambient recording’s author and licence are shown in the sound player.
