Orchid Travel: Remote Plateau in South Tanzania

Huge rise in Ground orchid bloom quite seamlessly, each year spent in Tanzania corner. This area is a beautiful Southern Highlands of Tanzania, where the country borders with Zambia and Malawi. Forget how, maybe it is so far from the Serengeti and Kilimanjaro, as you can get and still in Tanzania. While it is regrettable that goes so unnoticed, but maybe the lack of people help protect this fragile ecosystem.

This high plateau known as the "Plateau Kitulo and there above the madding crowd the secret sea of ??orchids. All its glorious colors of wild flowers This national park is a treat for anyone who appreciates and loves her wild orchid. Kitulo Plateau became the fourteenth National Park in Tanzania, because unlike Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, this park was created in fauna and flora, but also, and especially orchids.

Get into Kitulo travel Mbeya Zambia border - on the road to a place called Chimala turn to the south, which is about an hour's drive from Mbeya town. Then go to the escarpment and through MATAMBA and come to a plateau.

There are not a lot of room here and to be able to own the beast option. There are a few local places occupied by climbing near the park. But by far the best option to camp on the plateau.

In this area, heralded as a botanist's paradise, grain and probably the most important plateau grasslands of East Africa. The best time to visit this area from January to May, during the long rain. The area is transformed with more than 45 species of orchids, many of which are endemic flowering of rain. Even-though this is Africa ready to be cold on the heights, from May to November temperatures can be quite cool, and sometimes frost.

Tanzanian government in 2002. Posted by 402 square kilometers plateau to become a national park, to ensure the protection of this special area. This helps to protect wild flowers from agricultural encroachment.

It is also important bird breeding colonies in this area, including the blue swallow, Denham "bustard, Njombe Cisticola and Kipengere seedeater. Percussive variable reed frog is a plateau, with a very rare butterfly Neocoenyra peter seen in January and February.

Even-though this is Africa ready to be cold on the heights, from May to November temperatures can be quite cool, and sometimes frost.

After a quick stop for lunch, we headed down towards the great watering hole, and that's what we saw next was unbelievable - the pride of lions spread out around the watering hole, camouflaged in their environment and under the shelter of trees - they were all bloody paws, and a pair of kills pedestrian the evidence was against us all the details of his glory.

It was also at the watering hole with a mud bath and take turns throwing their baby elephant into a large herd of elephants mud pool, it was one of the funniest sights, I have seen, and makes you realize how close to the elephants.