Ugalla River National Park was established in 2019,is found in Tabora Region, of west-central Tanzania. The safari park is one of the new national parks. It was before a hunting block.Though it is less famous compared to serengeti and other old National parks , It is now emerging to be a great place for safaris adventures. It covers an estimated area of over 3,865km² .
The National Park drew its name from the The Ugalla River which is a slow-moving with many sandbanks, pools, oxbow lakes , it flows through the middle of the park and is the main part of attraction to the visitors . The river has also recorded a very high number of crocodiles in Africa due to the river environment which provided a good number and better sandbanks for laying eggs and hatching. The park has many different animal species including the Hippo, Elephant sable, Lion, Topi, Roan, Wild dog, Greater kudu, Zebra and many more.
Park Attraction and activities
Game viewing
The Ugalla national park is one of the best places that offer game viewing experiences to the visitors. The game viewing activities are best conducted during the dry season commonly from July through October. This is the best season since the varieties of animal species concentrate around the Ugalla River and it becomes one of the best and exciting times for game viewing. There are many species of wildlife but not short of buffalos, elephants, leopards, giraffes, zebras,
Bird Watching:
Some of the most common birds you may see while bird watching in this park include the African fish eagle, the Marabou stork, giant kingfisher, African grey hornbill.
Walking Safaris
Ugalla River National Park permits guided nature walking safaris. You will grab an opportunity to explore the beautiful park while on foot and having a close look at the different forms at a very close distance and so personal. Walking safaris will aloe you to experience nature at its fin
Transport:
The Ugalla River National Park can be accessed by both AIr and Road.
By Road: During the dry season fro June to Early November the park can be accessed by road From Tabora town (170 Km), Kaliua town district (45 Km) and from Urambao town district (75 Km)
By Air: There are three airtrips which are within the park named Muhuha ,Siri and Kasense but can only be accessed during the dry season. Other nearby airports are Tabora, Urambo and Kaliua.
By Train:The nearby local train stations are Usoke and kaliua station for Tabora-kigoma route and other stations are Lumbe and Ugala for Mpanda -Kaliua route.
Climate:
The park experiences a seasonal tropical climate with rain season from November to the end of May with peak rainfall usually from April to May. The mean annual rainfall ranges with an average from 800 to 1000mm while the temperature ranges lies between 28 C- 30 C and 15 C – 21C respectively