Orchid Travel A Remote Plateau In Southern Tanzania

A huge carpet of ground           not created for the protection of  orchid's bloom quite            fauna but for the protection of    unnoticed, every year, in a     the flora and in particular the    forgotten corner of Tanzania.         orchid.                            This area is the beautiful                                               Southern Highlands of Tanzania,       To get to Kitulo travel from       where the country borders with        Mbeya on the road to the Zambian   Zambia and Malawi. It is              Border - at a place called         forgotten as possibly it is as        Chimala turn south; this is about  far away from the Serengeti and       an hours drive from Mbeya town.    Kilimanjaro as you can get and        Then travel up the escarpment and  still be in Tanzania. Although it     pass through Matamba and arrive    is a pity it goes so unnoticed        at the plateau.                    but maybe the lack of people                                             helps protect this delicate           There are not many amenities here  ecosystem.                            and to be self sufficient is the                                         beast option. There are a few      This high plateau called the          local places to take up boarding   Kitulo Plateau and here high          close to the park. However, the    above the madding crowd is a          best option by far is to camp on   secret sea of orchids. This           the plateau itself.                National Park of wild flowers in                                         all its glorious color is a           This area, heralded as a           delight to anyone who appreciates     botanist's paradise, is the        and loves the orchid in its           larges and probably the most       natural setting. The Kitulo           important plateau grassland in     Plateau became Tanzania's             East Africa. The best time to      fourteenth National Park because      visit this area is from January    unlike the Serengeti and              through to May, during the long    Ngorongoro crater, this park was      rains. The area is transformed by  the rains with the flowering of       to protect the wild flowers on     over 45 species of Orchids many       from agricultural encroachment.    of which are endemic. Even-though                                        this is Africa be prepared for        The are also important breeding    cold on this highland; May to         colonies of birds in this area     November the temperatures can         including the blue swallow,        become quite cool with occasional     Denham's bustard, Njombe           frosts.                               cisticola and Kipengere                                                  seedeater. The striking variable   The Tanzanian Government in 2002      reed frog is common on the         declared 402 square kilometers of     plateau, with the very rare        the plateau to become a National      butterfly the Neocoenyra petersi   Park to ensure the protection of      seen in January and February.      this special area. This now helps      About the Author: For more information on safaris to see the Kitulo Plateau when the Orchids are flowering see http://www.betheladventure.co.uk Bethel Adventures uses tourism to improve the lives of the poorest communities in Tanzania. Using tourism to improve lives. Source: www.isnare.com