Saanane Island
National Park · TANAPA
Tanzania's smallest national park, a short boat ride from Mwanza city.
- Area
- 2.18 km²
- Established
- 2013
- Region
- Mwanza Region, Lake Victoria
- Best time
- Year-round
Wildlife
- Impala
- Rock hyrax
- Vervet monkey
- De Brazza's monkey
- Waterbirds
At 2.18 square kilometres, Saanane is the smallest national park in Tanzania and one of the smallest anywhere — a granite island in Lake Victoria within sight of Mwanza. It was a zoo from the 1960s, became a game reserve, and was gazetted as a national park in 2013.
It is not a wilderness and does not pretend to be. What it offers is an hour or two on foot among the enormous balancing granite boulders that define the Mwanza shoreline, with impala, rock hyrax, vervet monkeys and a great many birds, and a view back across the water to the city.
It is the easiest national park in the country to visit — a short boat ride, no vehicle, no guide required for the walking trail — and a good illustration that the national park system covers more than safari.
The granite boulders
The balancing rock formations that give Mwanza its character.
Walkable in an afternoon
No vehicle needed; trails cover the island.
A short boat from the city
The most accessible national park in Tanzania.
Sunset over Lake Victoria
Looking back at Mwanza from the water.
A ten-minute boat from Mwanza city. No vehicle required.
Two travelling days for the vehicle and guide, plus fuel over distance.