Destination guide

Iringa & Ruaha

A breezy highland town and gateway to Ruaha, Tanzania's largest national park, land of baobabs, big cats and huge elephant herds.

Iringa is a relaxed highland town perched at around 1,600 metres on the ridges above the Great Ruaha valley, its cool climate, colonial-era streets and lively market making it the cultural anchor of the Southern Circuit. Nearby are the Isimila Stone Age site and the Hehe historical centre of Kalenga, while to the west sprawls Ruaha National Park, expanded in 2008 to become the largest national park in Tanzania at roughly 20,226 square kilometres. Ruaha is a wild, uncrowded landscape of ancient baobabs, rugged escarpments and the mighty Great Ruaha River, famed for its lions, leopards, cheetahs and some of the country's greatest elephant concentrations.

By the numbers

~20,226 km²

Ruaha size

Tanzania's largest national park

~1,600 m

Iringa elevation

cool highland town

Largest herds

Elephants

in Tanzania, in Ruaha

570+

Bird species

recorded in Ruaha

Stone Age

Isimila

Acheulean tools & sandstone pillars

IRI

Airport

Nduli Airport, near Iringa

Best time to visit

The dry season from June to October is the prime time for wildlife in Ruaha, when animals gather along the shrinking Great Ruaha River and the bush thins out. The green season from November to April brings lush scenery, newborn animals and superb birding, though some tracks become difficult; Iringa town is pleasant year-round thanks to its highland climate.

Common questions

June to October, in the dry season, is best for wildlife, when animals concentrate around the Great Ruaha River; November to April is greener and excellent for birding and scenery but some tracks become harder to travel.

After its 2008 expansion, Ruaha covers roughly 20,226 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in Tanzania and one of the biggest in Africa.

Iringa is reached by road or bus from Dar es Salaam (via Mikumi) or by flights to Nduli Airport (IRI); Ruaha is usually accessed by light aircraft to its airstrips or by 4x4 transfer from Iringa town.

Mkwawa was the Hehe leader who fiercely resisted German colonial rule in the 1890s from his capital at Kalenga near Iringa; his returned skull is displayed at the Kalenga museum today.