Visit Western Tanzania, Tanzania

Tanzania is a vast country and the two parks in the west, Katavi and Mahale, are a long way from any other parks in Tanzania.

Access is by flying in light aircraft, usually from Northern Tanzania and flights usually take around four hours or more.

Because of the remoteness of the camps, operating costs are high and these are some of the most expensive parks to visit in Tanzania. However, those that do explore Katavi and Mahale will find some of the most spectacular scenery and wildlife that there is on the entire African continent.

Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park is the wildest reserve in East Africa. It is best visited in the dry season when herds of up to 3,000 buffalo congregate on the plains. Lion and leopard are never far away. Cutting through the plains the Katasunga River has hippo pods of up to 600 and crocodiles of around 14 feet dug into damp mud holes in the river banks.

Mahale Mountains

The Mahale Mountains are on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and are Africa’s best place to track chimpanzees with a population of over 1,000 living in the mountains. The one camp in this area is perched between the dense rainforest and an idyllic sandy beach.

Visitors to Western Tanzania usually spend a week in the area, combining three days in Katavi with four in Mahale or vice versa, flying from one park to another.