Udzungwa Mountains National Park

Location of the Udzungwa Mountains

Rainforest in the Udzungwa Mountains

View over the national park and adjacent terrain

One of the many mangabenes that inhabit the park

The Udzungwa Mountains National Park is a 1,900 km² nature reserve in central Tanzania south of the Ruaha and west of the Kilombero .

The Udzungwa Mountains represent the largest mountain range in the chain of the geologically very old (around 200 million years) Eastern Arc Mountains . They are among the most species-rich regions on earth and are home to a high proportion of endemic species.

history

The park was formally opened by Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands in October 1992 , making it the youngest of the Tanzanian national parks to date (2006) . The name means in German "Land of the Dzungwa ", a subgroup of the Hehe who temporarily settled the western slopes of the Udzungwa Mountains after they were driven out of the area around Iringa in disputes with other subgroups about the leaders Munyigumba and Mkwawa .

Ecosystem

The very old massifs of the Eastern Arc Mountains contain remnants of rainforests that were formed about 30 million years ago. Both the mountain massif and the forest portion of the Udzungwa Mountains are particularly large. The Udzungwa Mountains border in the east on the Selous Game Reserve, in the northeast on the Mikumi National Park and form a small part of the 740,000 km² Selous-Niassa ecosystem, which extends into the neighboring states of Zambia , Malawi and mainly Mozambique .

The eastern areas of the park at altitudes of 250 m in the Kilombero valley include partly tropical rainforest with trees up to 50 meters high, the central and southern areas of the park at altitudes of up to 1,000 m are covered by grassland , miombo forest and a few mountain forests. In the west there are steppes and steppe forests. The highest point at 2,576 m, the Luhombero, is located in the southwest of the park.

Due to the long development times, the isolation (due to the surrounding steppes) and the diversity of habitats , the Udzungwa Mountains are among the areas with the highest biodiversity in the world . Over 25% of the plant species are endemic. Among the mammals, the Udzungwa colobus monkey , the Sanje mangabe (a species of monkey), the Udzungwa dwarf galago and the gray-faced elephant dog are only native to the Udzungwa Mountains.

tourism

The park is one of the seldom visited destinations in Tanzania. Since there are no passable paths in the entire park area, only safaris on foot are possible on guided hikes on paths through the rainforest and to Mwanihana , the second highest mountain in the park at 2,150 m.

On the edge of the park, on the road from Morogoro to Ifakara , the B127, there are some simple accommodations from which the park can be visited. The only access is located in the village Mang'ula , where there is also the headquarters of the rangers and the park headquarters are located.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b http://www.easternarc.or.tz/eastarc ( Memento from February 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund, Tanzania. Retrieved January 11, 2011.

↑ ^a ^b Archived copy ( memento of the original from May 26, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Udzungwa Mountains National Park. Retrieved April 7, 2011. @1@ 2