Maps and navigation
Udzungwa Mountains National Park map
An interactive map, coordinates for headquarters and the trailheads, the official TANAPA brochure map to download, and how to navigate a park where every route is a footpath.
Download the official park map
TANAPA's Udzungwa brochure is the closest thing to an official park map and includes a schematic of the trail network. There is no downloadable topographic trail map published by the park, which is a real gap for anyone planning a multi-day trek: your guide is the navigation system here, not a sheet of paper.
Key coordinates
Save these before you go. Mobile coverage inside the park is patchy at best, and a set of waypoints in an offline app will get you out of trouble faster than anything else.
| Place | What it is | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|
| Mang'ula | Park headquarters, Visitor Information Centre, registration and every trailhead | -7.8569, 36.8962 |
| Sanje village | Trailhead for the Sanje Waterfall climb, 6 km round trip and 450 m of ascent | -7.7685, 36.9162 |
| Mwanihana trail | Start of the 38 km, three-day route to the 2,150 m Mwanihana Peak | -7.8095, 36.8239 |
| Kidatu | Junction town on the approach from Mikumi, and a TAZARA railway point | -7.7042, 36.9523 |
| Msolwa station | Railway halt and the name shared with one of the two charter airstrips | -7.7989, 37.0406 |
| Ifakara | Exit point of the five-day Lumemo Trail, where you need a vehicle waiting | -8.1321, 36.6848 |
| Mikumi National Park | The natural pairing, about 60 km and 1 to 1.5 hours north | -7.3701, 37.2275 |
Navigating Udzungwa
- Download the Tanzania region in OsmAnd or Organic Maps before you arrive. It covers the approach roads and Mang'ula properly.
- Do not plan to navigate the trails yourself. Guides are compulsory, the forest routes are not signposted in any useful way, and a GPS track is no substitute for someone who knows where the river crossings are.
- Coordinates below are for the road-accessible points: headquarters, the trailheads and the towns you pass through. They are approximate and intended for planning your drive, not your walk.
- Register at Mang'ula headquarters and the Visitor Information Centre first. That is where you pay, get assigned a guide or ranger, and sign in.
- Ask at registration which routes are currently open. In the long rains the upper tiers of Sanje and the plateau routes may be closed on the day, and that decision is made locally.
The thing a map cannot show you
Every distance on this site is a walking distance, not a driving one, and that changes how you plan. Sanje Waterfall is six kilometres round trip and takes four to five hours because of 450 metres of climbing. The Hidden Valleys walk is fourteen kilometres and takes six to eight hours. Mwanihana is thirty-eight kilometres over three days. Read the trail table on the things-to-do page before you decide what fits into your stay.
Your vehicle stays at Mang'ula headquarters for the duration. There is nowhere inside the park to drive it, and fuel in Mang'ula is available but inconsistent, so arrive with a full tank from Mikumi or Morogoro.