Arusha National Park

The closest national park to Arusha, Northern Tanzania's safari capital, Arusha National Park is a multi-faceted jewel, often overlooked by safari goers, despite offering the opportunity to explore an incredible diversity of habitats within just a few hours.
The entrance gate of the park leads into shadowy mountain forest inhabited by inquisitive blue monkeys and colourful turacos and trogons; the only place on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey is easily seen. In the midst of this forest stands the spectacular Ngurdoto Crater, whose steep, rocky cliffs enclose a wide marshy floor, dotted with herds of buffalo and warthog.
Further north, rolling grassy hills enclose the tranquil beauty of the Momela Lakes, each one a different hue of green or blue. Their shallows are sometimes tinged pink with thousands of flamingos; the lakes support a rich selection of resident and migrant waterfowl, and shaggy water bucks display their large lyre-shaped horns on their watery fringes. Giraffes glide across grassy hills, between grazing zebra herds, while pairs of tiny wide-eyed dik-dik dart into scrubby bush like overgrown hares on spindly legs.
Although elephants are uncommon in Arusha National Park, and lions absent altogether, leopards and spotted hyenas may sometimes be seen slinking around in the early morning and late afternoon. It is also at dusk and dawn that the veil of cloud on the eastern horizon is most likely to clear, revealing the majestic snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, only 50km (30 miles) distant.
But it is Kilimanjaro's unassuming cousin, Mount Meru – the fifth highest in Africa at 4,566 metres (14,990 feet) that dominates the park horizon. Its peaks and eastern foot slopes protected within the national park, Meru offers unparalleled views of its more famous neighbour, while also forming a rewarding hiking destination in its own right.
Passing first through wooded Savannah, where buffaloes and giraffes are frequently encountered, the ascent of Meru leads into forests aflame with red-hot pokers and dripping with Spanish moss, before reaching high open heath spiked with giant lobelias. Everlasting flowers cling to the alpine desert, as delicately-hoofed klipspringers mark the hike's progress. Astride the craggy summit of Meru, Kilimanjaro sometimes stands unveiled, blushing in the sunrise!