Known locally as Bustani ya
Mungu (God's Garden) and elsewhere as the Serengeti of Flowers,
The Kitulo Plateau is not just home to
orchids. For six months of the year it is covered with other
spectacular wild flowers as well, and is home to many species of
birds, including the blue sparrow. The plateau has an enormous variety of rare
flowers (with 350 species of vascular plants documented to date),
including many species of ground orchid, and is one of the great
natural flower gardens of the world.
It is the first
protected areas in tropical Africa to be gazetted primarily on the
merits of its floral significance.
From October to April the
flowers are in full bloom, creating an amazing carpet of color.
Comprising 273 km2 of Afromontane and Afroalpine grassland, perched
2,600m above sea level, it is the most coldest part of southern
highlands
Orchids belong to a family of
non-woody perennials with more than 20,000 species worldwide.
Celebrated for their attractive colors and shape, some are known to
produce flowers that closely resemble female insects, an adaptation
that turns male insects into pollinators
The wide expanses of the
Southern Highlands region of Tanzania where the orchids occur remain
unexplored biologically; the region contains a significant portion
of the nation's biodiversity, much of it in the form of plant life.
The plateau is also home to
important animal species including national and regional endemics.
Breeding colonies of Blue Swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea) and
Denham's Bustard (Neotis denhami), as well as species such as Lesser
Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus), Njombe
Cisticola (Cisticola njombe), and Kipengere Seedeater (Serinus
melanochrous), contribute to the plateau being an Important Bird
Area. The Kitulo plateau holds the only remaining viable
population of Ardeotis denhami in the Southern Highlands of
Tanzania
The safari this far
is rewarding, it involves walking and hiking. from a scenic route via
Chimala to Matamba. the 9 kilometers long road up the mountain side has
52 hairpin bends
the botanist
paradise
It is experiencing
8˚C south of the equator, the plateau is reminiscent of the Scottish
highlands and similar areas in northern Europe. Kitulo is one of the
great flower gardens of the world
