Tanzania renovates 38km road heading to Mahale National Park  

KIGOMA: THE Tanzanian government has begun improving a 38-kilometer road connecting Rukoma Village to Mahale Mountains National Park in Uvinza District, Kigoma Region so as to ease accessibility and increase the number of domestic tourists visiting the park.

The Kigoma Regional Commissioner, Simon Sirro made the statement during his visit at the park where he had the opportunity to look at the tourism activities in the areas as well as engaging with investors.

The RC noted that the poor condition of the road has been a major obstacle to tourism development, as tourists currently take between five to six hours to reach the park from Kigoma town.

“Improving infrastructure is a key step in promoting tourism and local development,” he stated.

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Moreover, he directed the Uvinza District Council leadership to take immediate action to rehabilitate the road for the benefit of both tourists and residents of the villages connected by it.

Speaking earlier, the Chief Park Warden of Mahale Mountains National Park, Assistant Park Commissioner Halid Mngofi, said the number of tourists has increased from 210 in 2020/2021 to 923 in 2023/2024.

Elaborating, the commissioner noted that the biggest challenge facing the park is the poor road condition, especially during the rainy season where tourists are forced to use air transport to access the park.

He further mentioned other challenges as, encroachment into park areas, poaching, and attacks on people by dangerous animals when they enter the park illegally.

Mahale contains at least the world’s largest protected population (approx. 700-1000) of the eastern subspecies of Chimpanzee.

The area contains at least 337 bird species , many of which are rare and endemic to the Albertine Rift. Eg Pel’s fishing owl.

One of the unusual things about mahale is the wide variety of habitat types that it contains. The park is a mosaic of overlapping rainforest, woodland, bamboo forest, Montane forest and mountain grasslands, meaning that mahale can support a unique mix of flora and fauna that rely on the various different habitats.

Mahale contains 8 (Possibly 9) primates in addition to chimps; these are yellow baboons, blue monkeys, red colobus, pied colobus, and vervet monkeys, two or three species of Galago.