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Home/Day trips/Arusha National Park & the Momella Lakes
Day trip · Full day · From Arusha

Arusha National Park & the Momella Lakes

The park on Arusha’s doorstep: montane forest with colobus monkeys, the Ngurdoto crater from its rim, giraffe and buffalo in the glades and the Momella lakes below Mount Meru — back at your hotel by late afternoon.

ArushaArusha National ParkArusha
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LengthFull day · about 7–9 hours
ParkArusha National Park
Pick-upYour hotel in Arusha
ActivityEasy — seated, short stops on foot
Best monthsJune–October, January–February
OverviewThe routeThe dayRatesIncludedAdd-onsWhen to goGetting thereFAQEnquire
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IOverview

A real park, forty-five minutes from your hotel.

Arusha National Park is small, green and close: forest on the lower slopes of Mount Meru, the Ngurdoto crater, and a chain of shallow alkaline lakes at Momella. It is the easiest real park day from Arusha, and a good first day in Tanzania or a last one before a flight.

What it is not: a big-game park. There are no lions to speak of and no great herds. What you get instead is giraffe and buffalo in open glades, black-and-white colobus monkeys in the forest, waterbirds on the lakes and, on a clear day, Meru standing over all of it. It is also one of the few places near Arusha where you can walk with an armed ranger or paddle a canoe, as add-ons to the day.

Major attractions · 4
  1. 01The Momella lakes
  2. 02Ngurdoto crater viewpoint
  3. 03Montane forest and colobus monkeys
  4. 04Views of Mount Meru
Trip detailsPrivate
Length
Full day · about 7–9 hours
Pick-up
Your hotel in Arusha
Start / end
Your hotel in Arusha, both ways
Activity level
Easy — mostly seated in the vehicle
Group size
Maximum per vehicle
Meals
Picnic lunch in the park
What to bring
Warm layer, sun hat, binoculars, camera
Best period
Jun–Oct · Jan–Feb
Minimum age
Ask us
Request a free quote →Questions? WhatsApp +255 762 914 714
IIThe route

Out to the gate, a loop through the park, and back.

About 45 minutes each way from Arusha, mostly on tarmac, then a slow loop on the park’s own tracks. The solid line is the way there and back; the dotted lines are other roads nearby.

Route map: Arusha to Arusha National Park and the Momella lakes, and back N Arusha Arusha NP
  1. 01Arusha → Arusha National Park → Arusha~1½ h road · ~5 h game
Overnight stopPassing throughSchematic, roughly to scale
IIIThe day

The day, hour by hour.

The whole day as it usually runs, from pick-up to drop-off. Times are approximate and bend around the traffic, the weather and how long you want to stay.

Black-and-white colobus monkey in the montane forest, Arusha National Park — 1600×1200
Arusha National ParkADD IMAGE · Black-and-white colobus monkey in the montane forest, Arusha National Park
01/ 01

About 45 minutes each way, and most of the day on the park’s tracks.

03°22′S 36°41′EDay 1 · Arusha → Arusha National Park → Arusha

Forest, crater and lakes below Meru

Travel
~1½ h road
Game viewing
~5 h
Meals
Picnic lunch
Sleep
Homeward
  1. About 08:00

    Your guide collects you from your hotel in Arusha. East on tarmac, then north towards the park gate, with Meru ahead if the cloud allows.

  2. About 09:00

    Through the gate and into the forest. This is where the black-and-white colobus monkeys live; your guide will stop wherever they are moving in the canopy.

  3. Mid-morning

    Up to the viewpoint over the Ngurdoto crater. You look down into it from the rim; vehicles do not go down. Buffalo are often on the crater floor far below.

  4. Midday

    Picnic lunch at a site inside the park, then on through open glades where giraffe browse and buffalo lie up.

  5. Afternoon

    The Momella lakes: shallow, alkaline and each a slightly different colour. Waterbirds, often flamingos, and Meru’s summit above if the afternoon stays clear. A walk or a canoe, if you have added one, fits here.

  6. About 16:00

    Out of the park and back to your hotel in Arusha in the late afternoon.

Weather on Meru

The mountain makes its own cloud. Mornings are usually clearer than afternoons; if you want the photograph, tell your guide and he will plan the lakes for early.

IVRates

Priced by group size, because the vehicle is shared.

Park fees, accommodation, vehicle, guide and meals as listed — per person, no booking fees. Rates move with the month and lodge availability; your quote is fixed once you book.

Private · price per person, sharing
Group size1 person2 people3 people4 people5 people6 people
From yearraterateraterateraterate
Single supplementamount
Children

Child policy: ages, sharing discount, lodge minimum ages

What moves the price

What changes itHow much

  • How many share the vehicle

    The vehicle and guide cost the same for one person or a full vehicle, so the per-person price falls as the group grows.

  • Park fees

    Set per person per day by the park authority, the same whoever you book with. We show them as their own line.

  • What you add

    A ranger-led walk or canoeing adds its own fee on top of the drive.

  • Where we collect you

    Arusha hotels are the standard pick-up. Moshi, the airport or a lodge further out adds driving time.

Not sure which level suits you? Tell us your dates, group and budget and we will send an itemised quote with named properties.

Request a free quote →
On request
On request
VThe fine print

What is in the price, and what isn’t.

✓Included

  • Private 4×4 safari vehiclePop-up roof, a window seat for everyone
  • A professional driver-guideYours for the whole day
  • Hotel pick-up and drop-offAnywhere in Arusha
  • Arusha National Park entry feesCurrent park fee per person — itemised on your quote
  • Picnic lunchEaten at a picnic site inside the park
  • Drinking water in the vehicle

–Not included

  • Tips for your guideWe send guidance with your booking
  • Drinks other than water
  • Walking safari with an armed rangerOptional add-on; ranger fee itemised if you add it
  • Canoeing on a Momella lakeOptional add-on; ask us
  • Travel insuranceRecommended for any trip
VIAdd-ons & changes

The plan is a starting point, not a package.

The changes people ask for most, each with what it costs you in days or hours. Not in the standard price — arranged on request, and most can be combined.

Same dayprice

Walk with an armed ranger

Leave the vehicle for a walk in the park with an armed park ranger, among giraffe and buffalo. The ranger is required because the buffalo are real.

Makes senseYou want to be on foot, not behind glass
Walking safaris →
Same dayprice

Canoe on a Momella lake

Swap part of the afternoon drive for a paddle on one of the lakes, with waterbirds at eye level.

Makes senseThe water is high enough and you like being on it
Canoeing →
+1 dayprice

The Momella waterfall hike

Come back to the same park on another day and walk through the forest on Meru’s lower slopes to the waterfall.

Makes senseYou want a proper walk, not a drive
Momella waterfall →
+1 dayprice

Tarangire in a day

Elephants and baobabs, about two hours south-west of Arusha. The contrast with today could not be sharper.

Makes senseJune to October especially
Tarangire day trip →
+2 nightsprice

A short safari instead

Three days take in Tarangire, the Ngorongoro Crater and Lake Manyara, sleeping in the Karatu highlands.

Makes senseYou have a little more time
The three-day express →
VIIWhen to go

Rated for this route, not for the country.

The park is open all year and makes a good day in every month. The dry months, June to October and roughly January to February, give the clearest views of Meru and the easiest tracks. In the long rains, April and May, the forest is at its greenest but the mountain often hides in cloud and some tracks turn to mud.

Jan
Dry spell, green plains
Feb
Calving in the south
Mar
Rains building
Apr
Long rains
May
Rains easing
Jun
Dry season begins
Jul
Dry, busy, cool
Aug
Dry, busy
Sep
Dry, Tarangire at its best
Oct
Dry, dusty
Nov
Short rains
Dec
Green, quieter
Three bars — the route at its bestTwo — good, with trade-offsOne — possible, and quiet
VIIIGetting there

Getting there.

From your hotel

Pick-up anywhere in Arusha

Your guide collects you from your hotel in the morning and brings you back in the late afternoon. Staying in Moshi or further out? Ask us; it adds driving time.

From the airport

Kilimanjaro International (JRO)

The park is on the road between the airport and Arusha, so it can fill the day you land if your flight arrives early, or the day you leave if it departs in the evening. Ask us about luggage and timing.

With a safari or climb

The first or last day

It makes a gentle first day before a longer safari, or a way to use a spare day before or after Kilimanjaro or Meru.

What else to budget.

Not part of the safari price, in order of how much they matter.

  • TipsYour guide, for the day
    Guideline
  • Walking safariArmed ranger fee, if added
    Current fee
  • CanoeingOn a Momella lake, if added
    Current price
  • Personal spendingDrinks, crafts
    Varies
IXWhy book with us

Only what we can prove.

01

Arusha, since 2010

A Tanzanian company, locally owned, running safaris and climbs from Arusha for more than fifteen years.

02

Licensed and registered

TALA-licensed through the Tanzania Tourist Board and registered with BRELA. Ask us for the numbers; we will send them.

03

One guide, one vehicle

The same guide drives you from the first day to the last. Nobody else joins your vehicle.

04

Every fee on its own line

Park, conservation and concession fees are shown separately on your quote, so you can see exactly what goes to the authorities.

XQuestions

The ones we are asked most.

No, and we would rather say so now. Arusha National Park has no lions to speak of. It has giraffe, buffalo, zebra, colobus monkeys, waterbirds and a mountain; for lions and elephants in numbers, Tarangire or the crater are the day trips to choose.

Sometimes, on a very clear morning, from the higher ground. Meru is the mountain you will see; Kilimanjaro is further away and more often in cloud.

It is led by an armed park ranger, which is the park’s rule for walking where there are buffalo. You walk slowly, in single file, and do what the ranger says. Ask us about age limits before booking.

If your flight lands early in the morning, yes: the park is on the way from Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha. Tell us your flight time and we will say honestly whether it works.

Yes, a picnic lunch eaten at a picnic site in the park. Tell us about any diets when you book.

Begin here

Send us your dates. We will send you the real version.

Named camps, the right direction of travel for your month, every fee on its own line — and a straight answer if another plan would suit you better.

Rather talk it through?WhatsApp us+255 762 914 714
Safari request Arusha National Park & the Momella Lakes One day · 7–9 hours · private
01When, and what for?
How fixed are the dates?
What do you want from it? Pick any
02Who’s coming?
Travelling as
03How you like it
Style of camp

Not a commitment. It lets us send something realistic instead of something you have to reject.

04Where to reach you
We need a name to write back to.
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Step 1 of 4
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