Dik Dik Hotel & Tours Tanzania & Zanzibar - Dik Dik Tours - Southern Tanzania

Size	412.9 km² ( 159 mi² )

Location	Southern Tanzania. The temporary park headquarters at Matamba are situated approximately 100 km (60 miles) from Mbeya town.

Getting There	4x4 only. From Chimala, 78 km east of Mbeya along the surfaced main road to Dar es Salaam, head south along the rough but spectacular dirt road - called Hamsini na Saba (57) after the number of hairpin bends along its length - to the temporary park headquarters at Matamba, from where it's another hour's drive to the plateau. Basic and erratic public transport is available.

the adventure starts here

Kitulo Plateau National Park

Locals refer to the Kitulo Plateau as Bustani ya Mungu - The Garden of God - while botanists have dubbed it the Serengeti of Flowers, host to "one of the great floral spectacles of the world". And Tanzania's newest national park is indeed a rare botanical marvel, home to a full 350 species of vascular plants, including 45 varieties of terrestrial orchid, which erupt into a riotous wildflower display of breathtaking scale and diversity during the main rainy season.

Perched at around 2,600 metres (8,500 ft) between the rugged peaks of the Kipengere, Poroto and Livingstone Mountains, the well-watered volcanic soils of Kitulo support the largest and most important montane grassland community in Tanzania. One of the most important watersheds for the Great Ruaha River, Kitulo is well known for its floral significance.

Big game is sparsely represented, though a few hardy mountain reedbuck and eland still roam the open grassland. Endemic species of butterfly, chameleon, lizard and frog further enhance the biological wealth of God's Garden.