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Experience · Arusha National Park

You can paddle here because there are no hippo.

That is the entire reason, and it is worth knowing. The Momella lakes are alkaline, which means no hippo and no crocodile, which means you are allowed on the water in a canoe — something you cannot do anywhere else on the northern circuit.

On the waterAbout two hours
WhereMomella · Lake Duluti
From ArushaThirty to forty-five minutes
Pairs withA walking safari
What it isThe two placesFrom the waterQuestionsAdd it to a trip
01

Three honest things about a two-hour paddle.

This is a small, lovely half-day and we are not going to pretend it is an expedition.

It is two hours, and gentle.

Two-person canoes, flat water, a ranger with you, and a pace closer to drifting than paddling. If you have never held a paddle you will be fine inside five minutes. If you were hoping for whitewater, this is not it.

No hippo and no crocodile — that is why it exists.

The Momella lakes are alkaline and shallow, and neither species lives in them. That single fact is what makes canoeing legal in Arusha National Park when it is impossible on almost every other body of water in Tanzania. Arusha also has no lion, which is why you can walk here too.

It does not replace a game drive. It sits beside one.

You will see waterbuck, giraffe, buffalo and a great many birds, and you will not see predators. The right way to use it is as half of a day in Arusha National Park — canoe in the morning, walk in the afternoon, or the other way round.

02

Two places, and they are not the same.

One is inside a national park under a mountain. The other is a small forested crater lake half an hour from town. Both are worth a morning; they are worth it for different reasons.

Arusha National Park

Momella Lakes

A chain of shallow alkaline lakes on the north-east side of Mount Meru, with the mountain rising directly behind you and Kilimanjaro visible to the east on a clear morning. Flamingo on the water, waterbuck and bushbuck at the edges, giraffe and buffalo on the open ground, and black-and-white colobus in the fever trees nearby. This is the better of the two by some distance.

Takes
About two hours on the water
From Arusha
Around 45 minutes
You need
Park entry, plus the canoe fee
Best with
A walk in the same park
A crater lake near Arusha

Lake Duluti

A small volcanic crater lake ringed by forest, thirty minutes from Arusha and outside the park system. Quieter, cheaper and easier to fit in: a paddle round the edge under overhanging trees, then a forest walk on the rim. Monitor lizards on the branches, cormorants and darters drying their wings, kingfishers, and no dangerous game at all. The right choice for an arrival afternoon when nobody has the energy for a park.

Takes
An hour or two, plus a walk
From Arusha
Around 30 minutes
You need
A site fee — no park entry
Best for
Jet lag, and families
03

What you actually see from the water.

Being at water level in a boat with no engine changes what will tolerate you, which is the whole quiet advantage of a canoe over everything else in this part of the country.

Flamingo, on the alkaline water

Both greater and lesser, in varying numbers depending on the water level and the season. Some months the Momella lakes hold very few and some months they are pink at one end. Nobody can promise you which.

Waterbuck at the edge

The commonest large animal you will pass, standing in the shallows, entirely unbothered by a canoe in a way they are not by a vehicle.

Giraffe and buffalo on the open ground

At a distance, on the grassland between the lakes. Arusha National Park has a lot of both, and seeing them from water with Meru behind is a better composition than the same animals from a road.

Colobus in the fever trees

Black-and-white colobus are one of Arusha National Park’s signatures, and the Ngurdoto forest edge is the place to look up. Not always from the canoe, but always on the same day.

The birds, which are the real list

Herons, egrets, African fish eagle, pelicans, ducks in numbers, kingfishers, and waders on the shallow margins. A pair of binoculars is worth more here than a long lens.

Two mountains, if the cloud allows

Meru directly behind you and, on a clear morning before the cloud builds, Kilimanjaro on the eastern horizon. Early is the only time you will get both.

The practical bits

You do not need to be able to swim, but say if you cannot. Life jackets are worn, the water is shallow and flat, and a ranger is on the water with you. Telling us in advance simply means we put you in the right boat with the right person.

Children are welcome and it is often the thing they remember. There is a minimum age, it is low, and a canoe with a parent is well within a settled seven- or eight-year-old. Tell us ages and we will confirm what the operator will take.

Take a dry bag, and expect to get slightly wet. Nothing dramatic — drips off the paddle and a wet seat. Cameras want a bag rather than a strap.

04

Questions we get asked.

Is it safe? There are hippo everywhere else in Africa.

That is exactly why this is one of the very few places you are permitted to do it. The Momella lakes have no hippo and no crocodile because the water is alkaline, and Arusha National Park has no lion. It is the safest water activity in northern Tanzania, which is why it is the only one.

How fit do I need to be?

Not very. Two hours of gentle paddling on flat water, and you can stop whenever you like. Shoulders that object to repetitive movement are the only thing worth mentioning in advance.

Can we do this and a game drive on the same day?

Yes, and it is the best way to use it. A morning canoe and an afternoon walk in Arusha National Park makes a genuinely good day, and you are back in Arusha for dinner.

Which is better, Momella or Duluti?

Momella, if you have the time and are happy to pay park entry. Duluti, if you have arrived that morning, are tired, and want something beautiful and undemanding half an hour from your hotel.

When is the best time of year?

It runs all year. Mornings are calmer and clearer, wind gets up later in the day, and the clouds usually take Kilimanjaro by mid-morning. Go early.

Is there anything like this in the Serengeti or the Crater?

No. There is no canoeing in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire or Manyara, and there will not be — it is a combination of hippo, crocodile, lion and park regulation. Arusha National Park is genuinely the exception on the northern circuit.

Use an arrival day properly.

Most people waste their first and last days in Arusha. Tell us your flight times and we will tell you whether a canoe, a walk or a lake fits into the gap, and what it would cost to put one there.

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DestinationMount MeruThe mountain behind the lakes.ExperienceWalking safariArusha National Park does both.ExperienceBirdingThe Momella waders are worth a morning.HubAll experiencesNine ways to spend a day.