Eastern Arc Mountains Forests of Tanzania

If there is one site that should be designated as a World Heritage Site as soon as possible, it is this one. During my visit to Udzungwa Mountains National Park, I was greatly impressed by the natural beauty of the area. I stayed at the Hondo Hondo camp and went on a 4-hour trek to the Sanje Waterfall, which is a very popular tourist attraction. The exceptional value of the site lies in the many species that are unique to this area, including two endemic birds (the Udzungwa Forest Partridge and the Rufous-winged Sunbird) and two species of monkeys (the recently discovered Sanje Crested Mangabey and the Udzungwa Red Colobus).

In my opinion, this area should be given the highest level of protection, if only for the Udzungwa Red Colobus, which is a beautiful monkey with impressive playful behavior. Unfortunately, on the east side of the park, the villages with large rice and sugarcane plantations are encroaching on the border of the national park, which detracts from the natural beauty and disrupts the peace with loud music.

It is concerning to hear the park ranger talk about how good the Udzungwa Forest Partridge tastes, as it is a red-listed species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Additionally, it is surprising for Dutch visitors to see many pictures of the late Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands around the visitor center, and even waterfalls named after him, as he officially opened the park in 1992.

I …

I visited the Amani forest reserve in januari 2019. I traveled by bus from the coastal town of Tanga and changed in Muheza. There is a daladala (local small bus) up to Amani around 13.00h. The daladala does not depart from the main road but a bit further. A motorbike taxi brought me to the daladala. I thought I was lucky to have caught the daladala just on time but luggage and goods kept being stocked into the daladala. It was not until 15.00h before we started moving. There was a discussion and two women were left behind, looking very upset. I just hoped the discussion was not about me for occupying their seat.

The road up was very bumpy and it seemed quite miraculous how the full daladala was able to make it's way up so steadily. Going up, the oppressive heat started to give way to a fresh coolness and a beautiful green forest.

Up in Amani, I stayed in the Amani Rest House, next to the Conservation Centre. I had contacted them before (details are on reviews on Tripadvisor). The wooden resthouse is pleasant and clean enough, just the room was not used for a long time and the bathtub was full of leaves. The one time entrance fee to the forest was USD 10 and the half board stay was around USD 20, the food was basic but plentiful and tasty. Guides could be hired for USD 15 a day but I did not …