Ugalla River

The park was gazetted by Government Notice 936 of 29 November 2019. It joined two older protected areas: the Ugalla North Game Reserve (1,811 km²) and the North Ugalla Forest Reserve (2,054 km²). The rest of the old Ugalla game reserve lies outside the park.

The Ugalla River flows slowly west in wide loops, with sandbanks, shallow pools, oxbow lakes and swamps. Beyond the park it runs into the swamps of the Moyowosi, and that water drains in the end into Lake Tanganyika. These wetlands, the Malagarasi-Muyovozi Ramsar Site, were Tanzania's first Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance, and Nature Tanzania counts Ugalla River National Park among the protected areas that make it up.

TANAPA's brochure describes two kinds of country: miombo woodland, including miombo on the hilltops, and Zambezian flooded grassland on the river's floodplain. Low termite mounds rise from the flat ground, and TANAPA says predators use them as lookouts.

Mammals. TANAPA's brochure lists elephant, sable and roan antelope, lion, leopard, African wild dog, topi, greater kudu, Lichtenstein's hartebeest, buffalo, eland, hyena, impala, jackal, oribi, bohor and common reedbuck, zebra and duiker. The swamp antelope sitatunga lives in the swamps to the west, and Cape clawless otters in the river.

Crocodiles. TANAPA says the river has some of the largest crocodiles recorded in Africa. We could not find a measurement to support that, so treat it as the park's own claim. It also says that in the wet season they feed mainly on catfish, and in the dry season they catch animals that come down to drink.

Birds. The wetlands hold shoebills, wattled cranes, African pygmy geese, blacksmith plovers, black-headed herons and many storks. In February 2025 Nature Tanzania counted 16 shoebills and 2 wattled cranes in a survey of the wider Ramsar site.

Game drives follow the river's loops, where most of the animals are in the dry season. Walking safaris go out early or late in the day, when it is cooler. There is birdwatching on the wetlands, camping by the river, and the fee schedule also lists cycling, hiking, night game drives and catch-and-release fishing.

History. TANAPA names a ritual site, Mfinula, at Ikunkwa, and two historical sites, Senga 11 and Ilyamchele, which matter to the communities around the park. It does not say more about them.

Staying. There are public and private campsites in the park, and TANAPA asks visitors to book ahead. Otherwise there are guest houses and lodges in Tabora and in the small town of Kaliua.

Getting there. The roads work only in the dry season, from June to early November. By road it is 170 km from Tabora, 45 km from Kaliua and 75 km from Urambo. By train, the Central Line to Kigoma stops at Usoke and Kaliua, and the Mpanda branch stops at Lumbe and Ugalla. By air, charter flights go to Tabora, Urambo or Kaliua, or to three airstrips inside the park, Muhuba, Siri and Kasense, which are also dry-season only.

Fees. Ugalla River has its own, lower band: USD 20 per non-East African adult per day and TZS 4,000 for East African citizens, all year, before 18 per cent VAT, so USD 23.60 in practice. The schedule lists USD 20 for children aged 5 to 15 as well. Other fees are also different here. Public camping is USD 30 per person per night, special or fly camping USD 50, a park guide USD 40 per group per day, a walk USD 20–25, cycling or hiking USD 20, a night game drive USD 100, and catch-and-release fishing USD 10 a day. A foreign-registered vehicle pays USD 50 a day (up to 2,000 kg).

When to go. The dry season, June to October. TANAPA's brochure gives rain from November to the end of May, 800 to 1,000 mm a year, heaviest in April and May. It gives daytime highs of 28 to 30 °C and night-time lows of 15 to 21 °C.