Just a short drive from Kilimanjaro International Airport, we’ll be starting our mega trip at Arusha National Park. It’s a beautiful park, that hosts a wide variety of landscapes, ranging from vast savannah and rainforest through to acacia woodlands and up to alpine vegetation on the higher reaches of Mount Meru. On arrival, we’ll be transecting the park in our safari vehicle and birding along the way. We’ll also be doing some on-foot birding in certain areas of the park, which will be a highlight. With a lovely mix of both wildlife and avifauna, it’ll be a great way start the tour.

On Day 3, we will be visiting the beautiful Tarangire National Park. Bursting with large game and avifauna, we’ll be having a lot of fun here! The park itself, is named after the perennial Tarangire River, a life source to the all the surrounding wildlife – especially in the dry season, where large congregations of wildebeest and zebra come, among others. It’s a gorgeous park teeming with birdlife (over 500+ species recorded), so we hope it get a large list here over a short period.

Day 6 – Transfer to Arusha (birding along the way)

On Day 6, we’ll make a U-Turn and head back to Arusha, as we prepare for the next leg of our journey – the endemic-rich Northeastern Tanzania. We’ll take our time driving to Arusha and birding along the way.

Day 9, 10 & 11 – Usambara Mountains, Western Usambara Range

Our ninth day takes us to the impressive Usambara Mountains, where we’ll start on the West Usambara range. This mountain range was formed 2 million years ago and are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, which stretch all the way into Kenya. They are one of the most important sites on the African mainland for the conservation of globally threatened birds holding and incredible 7 endemic species (Usambara Eagle-owl, Usambara Hyliota, Usambara Thrush, Usambara Weaver, Usamabara Akalat, Usambara Greenbul and Usambara Tailorbird) and 7 near endemics (Sokoke Scops Owl, Long-billed Tailorbird, Amani Sunbird, Usambara Double-collared Sunbird, Taveta Golden-Weaver, Spot-throat & Dapple-throat).

Expect scenic tropical rainforest paths and lots of fun!

Day 15, 16 & 17 – Pemba Island

The next morning, we’ll drive to Tanga, where we’ll be taking a domestic flight to the tropics of Pemba Island. On arrival, by midday, you’ll be treated to some of the best white sand beaches in the world. Unlike Zanzibar, its neighbour down south, Pemba Island receives a lot less visitors per year, and as such remains relatively unspoilt. You’ll feel as if you have the whole island to yourself at times. It’s also loaded with endemics, so you’ll love your time spent here.

Our time on the island, will be relaxed as we search for two other endemic species – Pemba Sunbird, Pemba White-eye and Pemba Scops Owl in a variety of different habitats. We should also get to see the endemic Pemba Vervet Monkey, which is recognised as a subspecies from its relative from the mainland. We’ll also be visiting Ngezi Forest, where we’ll be on the lookout for the gorgeous Pemba Green Pigeon, along with a good chance of seeing the Pemba Flying Fox, a rare fruit bat endemic to the island.

Day 21 & 22 – Ukaguru Mountains & Rubeho Mountains

Next stop is visiting the huge plateau of Ukaguru Mountains.  This enormous plateau, covering an expanse of 1258 km2 (480 m2), is exceptionally diverse and is an area of high endemism of flora, fauna and avifauna. It’s an IBA and hosts two bird endemics which we will be targeting – Rubeho Warbler and Rubeho Forest Partridge. The habitat found here is diverse comprising of Miombo woodlands, montane forest, montane grassland and open woodland. No doubt, we’ll have a fun day transecting this large plateau.

 The next morning, we’ll be visiting the nearby and infrequently visited Rubeho Mountains, which is ‘next door’ to the Ukaguru Mountains so to speak, with Mkondoa River separating the two ranges. Also, sighted as IBA, this range hosts 4 endemic species – Rubeho Akalat, Rubeho Double-collared Sunbird, Rubeho Warbler and Rubeho Forest Partridge, among many near endemics and localised species. This will be our target of the day to add to our ever-expanding checklist.

Day 24 & 25 – Udzungwa Mountains National Park

Over the next couple of days, we’ll be transecting across Udzungwa Mountains National Park. An impressive park that holds the title of Africa’s second most diverse national park. An IBA in the eastern arc, 400 bird species (2 endemic species – Udzungwa Forest Partridge and Rufous-winged Sunbird, plus many more near endemics) have been recorded, along with 2,500 plant species (25% of which are endemic), 6 species of primates (5 endemic species, with 2 only found here – Sanje Mangabey and Udzungwa Red Colobus). The typical habitat here varies from tropical rainforest, montane forest, grassland, steppe and Miombo woodlands.

The birdlife of Udzungwa Mountains is unrivalled and is an absolute must visit for any serious birder. If time allows, we will also visit the nearby Magombera Forest to look for the Fishing Owl and Lesser Seedcracker.

Day 28 & 29 – Mikumi National Park

Our final days of the tour, sees us head back up north to Tanzania’s fourth largest national park – the stunning Mikumi National Park. The park borders Selous Game Reserve on the south, with the two areas forming a unique and important ecosystem It also border the Udzungwa Mountains and Uluguru Mountains, from where we have just visited.

The landscape of Mikumi is often compared to that of the Serengeti, with sweeping savannah and grasslands. It is jam-packed with large mammals and many photogenic bird species, so is perfect for the photographer amongst you. It’ll be a lovely way to end this unforgettable birding tour of Tanzania.

*There is an option of extending this tour by spending a few days in the outstanding Selous Game Reserve, so please do let us know if this is something that appeals to you.