Maps and navigation
Ruaha National Park map
An interactive map of the park, the official TANAPA map to download, and the coordinates worth saving before you lose signal.
Download the official park map
TANAPA publishes an official park brochure with a map inside. It is the most reliable printed reference for the road network, and worth downloading before you travel because you will not have signal to fetch it later.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Msembe | Park headquarters, airstrip, bandas and the park office | -7.6667, 34.9167 |
| Main entry gate | Great Ruaha River crossing, just downstream of Msembe | -7.7000, 34.9500 |
| Jongomero airstrip | Southern sector, serves Jongomero Camp | -7.9833, 34.5833 |
| Iringa | Nearest town: fuel, supplies, ATMs, 108 km from the gate | -7.7700, 35.6900 |
| Tungamalenga | Last village before the park, budget lodges and campsites | -7.5833, 35.1500 |
Getting a map that works offline
- Tracks4Africa is the standard for southern and eastern African parks: paid, but the track data is far better than anything free and it includes camps, fuel and distances.
- OsmAnd and Organic Maps are free and use OpenStreetMap data. Download the Tanzania region before you leave and you will have the main tracks.
- Google Maps offline areas work for the approach roads but are unreliable on the park's internal tracks.
- Whatever you use, also carry the printed TANAPA map. Batteries die and a paper map does not.
A note on accuracy
Coordinates here are approximate, good enough to navigate to but not survey-grade. Park tracks change between seasons, especially after the rains, and a track shown on any map may be closed or washed out. Ask at the gate what is currently passable.
Off-road driving is prohibited throughout the park, so treat the mapped tracks as the complete set of options rather than suggestions.