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Kitulo national park

Kitulo National Park is a protected area of montane grassland and forests on the Kitulo Plateau in the southern highlands of Tanzania. Locally referred to as Bustani ya Mungu (The Garden of God), botanists have dubbed it the Serengeti of Flowers. A floral kingdom with an elevation of 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) between the peaks of the Kipengere, Poroto, and Livingstone Mountains, the fertile volcanic soils of Kitulo support the largest and most important montane grassland community in Tanzania, lying in the regions of Mbeya and Njombe. Kitulo National Park is the first national park in tropical Africa to be established primarily to protect its flora. Protection of the Kitulo Plateau’s unique flora was first proposed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in response to the growing international trade in orchid tubers and increased hunting and logging activities in the surrounding forests.

The Kitulo Plateau lies between two parallel ridges. Its montane grasslands are home to 350 species of plants, including numerous ground orchids, geophytes, and other Afroalpine plants. Although sparse in the big game, this natural botanical garden is highly attractive to bird watchers, being the only attractive tourist site on the continent offering floristic visits compared to traditional wildlife and game viewing, and being unique as the only one of its kind in Africa for natural orchids and birds.

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