Ugalla River National Park is found in three districts namely Tabora region and Mulele in Katavi Region, of west-central Tanzania, the park covers 3,865 square kilometers (1,492.28 sq. mi). It is bounded on the south by the Ugalla River. The National Park was established in 2019 after the Tanzanian parliament separated part of the Ugalla River Game Reserve to form a national park. Ugalla River National Park is a spacious landscape dominated by Miombo forests and high grassy savannas inhabited by the buffalos, elephants, leopards, giraffes, zebras and many others.
Climate and Rainfall of Ugalla River National Park.
Temperature ranges between 130 C to 410C depending on the area elevation.
Rainfall. The rain seasons are between Januarys to April. This is the wonderful time for birdlife watchers although accessibility through most of the roads becomes impossible because of heavy rains.
Attractions in Ugalla River National Park.
Wildlife.
Ugalla River National park has a variety of animal species namely; Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, leopard, lion, baboon, buffalo, bush pig, dik-dik, East African bush duiker, eland, hyena, impala, jackal, oribi, ostrich, Bohor, reedbuck, common reedbuck, warthog, sitatunga, wild dog, zebra and many others.
Vegetation.
Ugalla River National Park has got Miombo woodland, Hill-top miombo woodland and grassland in the flood plain cover most of the reserve, and the miombo woodland contains valuable timber species such as Pterocarpus angolensis and Dalbergia melanoxylon.
Ugalla River.
Ugalla River is located inside the Ugalla River National Park, the river runs through the middle of the park, acts as an attraction to the reserve also provides water to the wildlife in the park especially during the dry season. Ugalla River drains a vast land scape of shallow hills and valleys dominated by Miombo woodlands and tall grass savannas that are home to elephants, buffalo, lions, leopards, zebras and among others. Ugalla River also hosts the exciting water birds such as shoebill storks, wattled cranes, pygmy geese and others.
Bird species.
In the swampy stretches to the west are found the swamp dwelling inside the Ugalla River national park there is a host of exciting water birds such as the shoebill storks, wattled cranes, pygmy geese and many others especially allocated along the Ugalla River.
Activities done in Ugalla River National Park.
Game viewing.
Ugalla River National park offers game viewing to the tourists in that the activity is bestly done during the dry season from July to October, when these animals concentrate more and more on the Ugalla river and it becomes a place where exciting wildlife lies around almost every corner like the elephants, lions, buffalos, zebras, sable and roan antelope, leopards, giraffes, hippos and crocodiles abound in the river, where the Ugalla River has the largest crocodiles ever recorded in Africa.
Walking safaris.
Ugalla River National Park offers walking Tanzania safari to the tourists, here the tourists with the experienced tour guide move and explore the park’s wildlife while they are spotting many animal species like the elephants, lions, zebras, dik-dik and many more, also they explore water animals and water birds like the crocodiles, hippos, shoebill storks, pygmy geese in river Ugalla which gives them the great experiences.
Sport fishing.
Sport fishing is done in the park, where as the activity is practiced and done by the tourists in the River Ugalla where they use catch and release method as they are led by the experienced fishermen while catching many fish species.
Bee Keeping and photographic tourism.
Ugalla River National park contains the dotted thousands of miombo woodlands and grasslands where the bees pick nectar for making honey, hence making the tourists to carry out honey gathering during their visit in the park
Ugalla River National Park offers other amazing activity like the tourism hunting which offers the best safari to the tourists in Tanzania.
Where to stay in Ugalla River National Park.
The accommodation currently available is by the private camping arranged through Tanzania National Park Authority Headquarters in Arusha. On the other side the accommodation facilities available in Ugalla River National park some are within and others outside the park with the most best beddings as they range from the budget, Mid-range, luxury such as the deluxe Lodge, Kinday Lodge, Lupita Island Private Resort and Spa, and many others.
Entrance fees of Ugalla River National Park.
| Category | JUNE TO JULY | ||
| EA (Tshs) | Non EA Citizens (USD) | Expatriate/ Residents (USD) | |
| Of above the age of 16 years | 4000 | 20 | 20 |
| Between the age of 5 to 15 years | 2000 | 20 | 20 |
| Children below the age of 5 years | Free | Free | Free |
Best time to visit Ugalla River National park.
In the dry season lasting from July to October, that’s when the animal species accumulate more and more on the Ugalla River and it becomes a place where exciting wildlife lies around almost every corner.
How to get to Ugalla River National Park.
The park can be accessed by two ways from Dar es Salaam, Arusha to reach the Ugalla River National Park.
By Road means.
The park is accessible by 4-whell drive in the dry season from June to October. The distance between Dar es Salaam to the ark is 814km.
BY Air means.
Ugalla River national park is accessible at all the time, and air being the quickest means through using the private charter.
Ugalla River National Park is amongst Tanzania’s best tours thus being unique protected area, because it is a licensed reserve area for honey gatherers and fishermen. That is both the honey gatherers and fishermen are allowed to enter this reserve for harvesting honey and fish for just six months in a year.
