The Mikumi National Park, set between the Uluguru Mountains to the north and the Lumango Mountains to the south-east, offers 3,230 sq km of terrain teeming with wildlife. It forms the northern border of Africa’s biggest game reserve – the Selous; together forming Africa’s biggest ecosystem at 75,000 sq km, stretching almost to the shores of the Indian Ocean.

Mikumi's unique combination of flora and fauna is due to its location at the intersection of four major distinct vegetation zones - the Miombo woodland from southern Africa, arid bushland from the north, the coastal zone to the east and the mountain ranges to the north and west, making it a unique eco-zonal area.

The main feature of the park is the seasonal flooded Mkata floodplains, along with the mountain ranges that border the park on two sides. Open grasslands dominate the floodplain, eventually merging with the moimbo woodland covering the lower hills. It is in this area that you can see the bulk of Mikumi's wildlife – lion, leopard, elephants, zebra, warthog, giraffe, wildebeest, a variety of antelope species, colobus monkey and African wild dogs. Mikumi is also known for its large herds of buffaloes, found along the Mkata floodplains. Also, more than 400 species of birds have been recorded within the Park including colourful common residents as the lilac-breasted roller, yellow-throated longclaw and bateleur eagle joined by a host of European migrants during the rainy season. Hippos provide the star attraction of a pair of pools situated 5km north of the main entrance gate to the park.

Most of Mikumi is wild and undisturbed and the southern two thirds of the Park is an unexplored wilderness. The only area in the southern part that has been studied is the afromontane forest on Malundwe Mountain. This area represents the only patch of undisturbed afromontane forest in Tanzania and is also an important water shed, which drains into the Wame River from the north and into the Ruaha River from the south.