List of protected areas of Tanzania


Protected areas in Tanzania are extremely varied, ranging from sea habitats over grasslands to the top of the Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. About a third of the country's total area is protected to a certain degree as a national park, game reserve, marine park, forest reserve or the like.
The following list gives an overview on the various protected areas in Tanzania including their predominant habitat, wildlife and flora. Especially remarkable species are set in bold.

National parks

All 16 national parks together comprise an area of more than 42,000 km2. They are administered by the Tanzania National Parks Authority. Names like Arusha and Serengeti are well known, partly due to films about African wildlife.
National ParkHabitatFlora/FaunaCommentsPicture
Arusha National Park
established: 1960
renamed: 1967
enlarged: 1973
area: 137 km²		dense forest, swamp, grassland, lakes, alpine highland, rocks
1,525–4,565 m		giraffe, Cape buffalo, elephant, zebra, dik-dik, hippopotamus, waterbuck, warthog, leopard, eland, spotted hyena, klipspringer, baboon, blue monkey, black-and-white colobus, greater flamingo, lesser flamingo, sacred ibis, Maccoa duck, Egyptian goose, turaco, Narina trogon, red-hot poker, giant lobelia400 bird species
Gombe Stream National Park
established: 1943
gazetted: 1968
area: 52 km²		miombo woodland, gallery forest
750–1,500 m		chimpanzee, olive baboon, red-tailed monkey, red colobus, diademed monkey, leopard, bushbuck, buffalo, waterbuck, barbet, palm-nut vulture, Forbes' plover, African fish eagle, Peters's twinspotJane Goodall worked here
Jozani Chwaka Bay National Park
established: 1940s
gazetted: 2004
area: 50 km²		swamp forest, mangrove, sea grass bed, salt marshZanzibar red colobus, Aders's duiker
Katavi National Park
established: 1951
gazetted: 1974
area: 4,471 km²		miombo woodland, river, lakes, floodplain
900 m		eland, sable antelope, roan antelope, hippopotamus, crocodile, lion, leopard, elephant, zebra, buffalo, topi, pelican, waterfowlmore than 400 bird species
Kilimanjaro National Park
established: 1910s, 1921
gazetted: 1973
world heritage: 1987
area: 753 km²		montane forest, moorland, alpine desert
1,830–5,895 m		Abbott's duiker, grey duiker, red forest duiker, bushbuck, eland, elephant, leopard, buffalo, small antelope, blue monkey, black-and-white colobus, galago crassicaudatus, Kilimanjaro tree hyrax, Abbot's starling, raven, papilio sjoestedti, giant lobelia, moss, lichenhighest freestanding mountain in the world, world's tallest summit that can be climbed without technical equipment.
Kitulo National Park
gazetted: 2002
area: 412.9 km²		montane grassland at 2,600 mred-hot poker, aloe, protea, pelargonium geranium, giant lobelia, lilies, asters, Denham's bustard, blue swallow, mountain marsh widow, cisticola njombe, Kipengere seedeater, mountain reedbuck, eland, chameleon, lizards, frogs350 species of vascular plants among which 45 varieties of terrestrial orchid, many bird species
Lake Manyara National Park
established: 1957
established: 1960
area: 325 km²
enlarged: 2009
area: 644 km²		lake, forest, grassland
960–1,478 m		elephant, Cape buffalo, lion, hippopotamus, impala, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, bushbuck, leopard, baboon, lesser flamingo, greater flamingo, white pelican, yellow-billed stork, white-breasted cormorant, palm-nut vulture, Ayres's hawk-eagle, Nile monitor, cobragreatest biomass density in the world; tree-climbing lions
Mahale Mountains National Park
gazetted: 14 June 1985
area: 1,613 km²		miombo forest, Kasoge forest, montane rainforest
773–2,460 m		chimpanzee, red colobus, red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, giant squirrel, red-legged sun squirrel, brush-tailed porcupine, bushy-tailed mongoose, Angolan black-and-white colobus, Sharpe's grysbok, red-collared widowbird, speckled mousebird, crowned eagle, bee-eater, roller, crested guineafowl, Ross' turaco, white-browed robin-chat, red-winged starling, violet-backed starling, parrotssavanna and forest adapted species, 90% of 193 fish species in the lake are endemic
Mikumi National Park
established: 1964
extended: 1975
area: 3,230 km²		floodplain, grassland, wooded savanna, miombo covered hills
550–1,257 m		eland, greater kudu, yellow baboon, vervet monkey, serval, sable antelope, hippopotamus, zebra, lion, wildebeest, impala, buffalo, giraffe, elephant, lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated longclaw, bateleur eagle, waterbirdsmore than 400 bird species
Mount Meru
See Arusha National Park		part of Arusha National Park
Mkomazi National Park
established: 2006
area: 3,254 km²		semi–arid savannaoryx, kudu, African wild dog, black rhinoceros, also big mammalsfamous for African wild dog and black rhinoceros
Ruaha National Park
established: 1910
gazetted: 1964
area: 20,226 km²		miombo woodland, savanna
750–1,830 m		elephant, hornbill, kingfisher, sunbird, white stork, African wild dog, sable antelope, greater kudu, crested barbet, yellow-collared lovebirdmore than 400 bird species, high diversity of antelopes
Rubondo Island National Park
established: 1977
area: 240 km²		humid forest, lakeside papyrus beds, open grassland
1,134 - 1,381 m		yellow-spotted otter, Nile perch, African fish eagle, hippopotamus, vervet monkey, genet, mongoose, bushbuck, sitatunga, grey parrot, malachite kingfisher, paradise flycatcher, herons, storks, spoonbills
Saadani National Park
established: 1969
gazetted: 2002
area: 1,062 km²		coast, river, forest, savannagiraffe, buffalo, warthog, waterbuck, reedbuck, hartebeest, wildebeest, red forest duiker, greater kudu, eland, sable antelope, yellow baboon, vervet monkey, elephant, lion, leopard, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, hippopotamus, crocodile, mangrove kingfisher, lesser flamingo, green turtleonly sanctuary bordering the sea
Saanane Island National Park
established: 2013
gazetted: 2013
area: 2.18 km²		located within the city
Serengeti National Park
established: 1929
gazetted: 1951
world heritage: 1981
area: 14,763 km²		grassland plains, savanna, riverine forest, woodland;
920–1,850 m		wildebeest, zebra, lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, buffalo, cheetah, gazelle, giraffe, spotted hyena, jackal, aardwolf, serval, agama lizard, rock hyrax, secretary bird, ostrich, black eaglemost visited park in Tanzania; famous for massive migration of ungulates; more than 500 bird species
Tarangire National Park
established: 1970
area: 2,850 km²		grassland, savanna;
1,000–1,500 m		oryx, gerenuk, elephant, baobab, lesser kudu, African wild dog, lion kori bustard, ground hornbill, ostrich, yellow-collared lovebird, rufous-tailed weaver, ashy starling, dwarf mongoose, red-and-yellow barbet550 bird varieties; largest concentration of wildlife behind Serengeti
Udzungwa Mountains National Park
established: 1994
area: 1,990 km²		tropical rainforest, mountain forest, miombo woodland, grassland, steppe
250–2,600 m		rufous-winged sunbird, Udzungwa partridge, sanje crested mangabey, Iringa red colobus, rungwecerbus kipunji, matundu dwarf galago, mountain dwarf galago, reptiles and amphibians, hyrax, squirrel, also big mammalsmore than 400 bird species, 2,500 plant species; many endemics ; second-largest biodiversity in Africa

Game Reserves and Other protected areas

Marine Parks and Reserves

Forest Nature Reserves

Forest Nature Reserves are a designation under the National Forest Act of Tanzania which offers the highest level of protection. FNRs are state-owned and are managed by the Tanzania Forest Services Agency. No extraction of timber or animals is permitted in forest nature reserves, and activities are generally restricted to research, education, and nature-based tourism.