The woods of Udzungwa are brooding and primeval, a green retreat of sunshine-dappled glades surrounded by 30-meter (100-foot) towering trees, their buttresses coated with fungus, lichens, mosses, and ferns.

Udzungwa is the biggest and most biodiverse of a range of a dozen massive, forested mountains that rise magnificently from eastern Tanzania’s flat coastal scrub. This archipelago of isolated massifs, known collectively as the Eastern Arc Mountains, has been called the African Galapagos for its treasure trove of rare flora and fauna, most notably the exquisite African violet.

Among the ancient ranges of the Eastern Arc, only Udzungwa has been designated as a national park. It’s also unusual in Tanzania since its closed-canopy forest stretches uninterrupted from 250 meters (820 feet) to over 2,000 meters (6,560 feet).

Udzungwa attracts hikers despite not being a traditional wildlife viewing area. The famous half-day hike to Sanje Waterfall, which plunges 170 meters (550 feet) into the wooded valley below, is part of an outstanding network of forest paths.

The two-night Mwanihana Trail climbs to the high plateau, which offers panoramic views of the surrounding sugar fields, before rising to Mwanihana peak, the range’s second highest point.

Ornithologists go to Udzungwa because of its bird diversity, which includes over 400 species ranging from the beautiful and easily found green-headed oriole to more than a dozen elusive Eastern Arc endemics.

Udzungwa is home to four unique bird species, including a forest partridge identified in 1991 that is more closely connected to an Asian genus than any other African fowl.

The Iringa red colobus and Sanje Crested Mangabey, two of the six primate species reported, are found nowhere else on the planet – the latter, incredibly, was unnoticed by scientists until 1979.

Without a doubt, this vast forest has yet to unveil all of its secrets: continuous scientific research will undoubtedly add to its rich collection of endemics.

Udzungwa Mountains National Park is located in Zambia’s Udzungwa Mountains.

Size: 1,990 square kilometers (770 sq miles)

Location: Five hours from Dar es Salaam (350 km/215 miles); 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Mikumi