About Ruaha Safaris

Ruaha Safaris is an independent visitor guide to Ruaha National Park, the roughly 20,000 square kilometre park in the Iringa Region of south-central Tanzania. It was written to answer the questions travellers actually ask before they go, in more detail than a brochure manages and with fewer promises attached.

Dry season panorama over bush to distant hills in Ruaha National Park
Ruaha in the dry months, looking out over the bush toward the hills. One park, roughly 20,000 square kilometres of it.

What This Site Is

A reference library about one park. The planning side covers when to go, what it costs, how to get there from Dar es Salaam, which gate to use, where to stay and what to pack. The wildlife side covers which animals you can expect, the lion prides the park is known for, the African wild dogs that make it unusual, and the birds that keep a slow hour interesting. The landscape side covers the Great Ruaha River, the sand rivers, the ecosystems and the baobab country that make Ruaha look like nowhere else on the southern circuit.

There are also twelve worked itineraries, written day by day, from a three-night fly-in to a fortnight that finishes on the coast. They exist so you have something concrete to react to when you talk to an operator, not because we are selling them.

What This Site Is Not

  • Not a tour operator. We do not sell trips, take bookings, hold deposits or issue permits. Booking is done by the operators who run Ruaha safaris, and you pay them, not us.
  • Not affiliated with TANAPA. Tanzania National Parks sets the fees and the rules; we only report them. Where our figures and TANAPA’s disagree, TANAPA is right.
  • Not a lodge, camp or airline. Where a property is named, it is because it is relevant to the question, not because of an arrangement.

How the Guides Are Written

Three rules govern everything published here. Be specific: name the gate, the airstrip, the river, the month. Be honest about odds: wild dogs and cheetah are chance sightings and no amount of enthusiasm changes that. And be clear about which numbers move, because park fees, flight schedules and camp seasons all change, and a guide that pretends otherwise is worse than no guide.

If you find something out of date, the contact page explains how to flag it. Corrections from people who have just come back from Ruaha are the fastest way this site improves.

Where to Start

The Ruaha National Park: Complete Safari Guide is the overview and links out to everything else. If you already know roughly when you are going, Which Month Has the Best Wildlife Viewing in Ruaha? and How Many Days Should You Spend in Ruaha National Park? are the two that shape a trip most. The FAQ handles the short questions.