Gombe Stream National Park

Hike through lush forests to see chimpanzees in the wild.

Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe Stream National park is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in the Northern Kigoma region in Western Tanzania. It is the smallest National park in Tanzania and was established in 1968. Gombe is one of the two parks in Tanzania where Chimpanzees can be found.
The park’s terrain is steep, and the vegetation forest varies from grassland, woodland to tropical rainforest. The park is famous because of Jane Goodall’s behavioural research that was conducted on Chimpanzees here. Jane Goodall is a primatologist who spent several years in Gombe Stream National park studying these beautiful primates. Gombe Stream National park is a home to the Kasakela Chimpanzee Family that featured in Jane Goodall’s various books and documentaries. Despite being small, the park has a good mix of landscapes covered with grasslands and evergreen steep slopes. There are no roads in the park meaning it can only be accessed on foot.

Species diversity:
Apart from Chimpanzees, Gombe Stream National Park also harbours other primates like the red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys and the blue monkeys. Over 200 species of birds such as jewel-like Peter’s twinspots, African fish eagle, African Paradise Flycatcher, among others.

Size and accessibility:
The National Park covers an area of 52 square Kilometres and is the smallest among the National parks in Tanzania.

By car:
The roads are rough and can be impassable mainly during the wet season, so a 4WD vehicle is a must have. You will need about 2 to 3 days to travel from Arusha to Kigoma. From Kigoma to Gombe, you use a speed boat which takes about 4 to 5 hours.

By air:
The quickest way to access Gombe is via a flight to Kigoma and then a boat to the park.

Activities:
Chimpanzee tracking
Bird watching
Guided bush walks
Boat rides
Swimming
Kayaking
Cultural visits to Mwamgongo village

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Arusha National Park

Hike Mount Meru or spot wildlife on a scenic drive near Arusha town.

Arusha National Park

Arusha National Park is in North Eastern Tanzania and is a legendary tourist viewing area. Established in 1960, it is the second oldest park in Tanzania. The name Arusha comes from the local Warusha people who originally were occupants of this area. However, being on the border with Kenya, it overlaps with some areas where the Masai people lived.

Arusha National Park covers Mount Meru which is an outstanding volcano with an elevation of 4,566m. Mount Meru is the second highest peak in Tanzania. Despite the park being small, it is surrounded by picturesque landscapes in three areas. Meru crater is in the west, in the South -east grasslands lies the Ngurdoto crater and the alkaline Momella lakes are in the north-east of the park. These lakes have algal colours that keep varying and are a home to the wading birds. Arusha National Park is known as the home to largest population of giraffes in the world. The landscape in this Park is comprised of open savannah, rainforest, and alpine forests.

Species diversity:
Arusha National Park is a home to a variety of wildlife. The habitual animals in this park are bushbuck, giraffe, zebra, black and white colobus monkeys, warthog, elephant to mention but a few.
The park also hosts more than 400 bird species like the bar-tailed trogon, narina trogon, silvery-cheeked hornbill, turacos, lesser pink flamingo, African jacanas, oxpecker, hammerkop, among others.

Size and accessibility:
The park covers an area of 552 Square Kilometres and can be accessed by Road and Air

By car:
The drive is about an hour from Arusha town and approximately 2 hours from Moshi Town

By air:
It is possible to fly from Kilimanjaro International Airport or Julius Nyerere International Airport to Arusha Airport. From there drive to Arusha National park.

Activities:
Game drives
Forest walks
Climbing Mt Meru
Canoeing
Visit the Ngurdoto Crater

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Mahale Mountains National Park

Trek to see chimpanzees and enjoy nature in remote western Tanzania.

Mahale Mountains National Park

Mahale Mountains National Park is on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Southern Kigoma Region of western Tanzania. Lake Tanganyika is known as the longest and second deepest freshwater lake in the world with over 250 fish species. Mahale Mountains National Park was named after the Mahale Mountains range which is located within its borders. The occupants of Mahale Mountains were the Holoholo and Batongwe people who were evicted in 1979 and the area gazetted as a National park in 1985.

Mahale Mountains National Park is one of the only two protected areas for Chimpanzees in Tanzania and has the largest number of these primates due to its remoteness. This has kept them safe from humans and enabled them flourish. It is also the only park in Tanzania where Chimpanzees and lions co-exist. The only way to enter and exit Mahale National Park is by a boat on the lake and there are no roads within the park, which makes it one of the few parks in Africa that are explored on foot.

Species diversity:
The largest part of the park is covered by Miombo woodland with montane and riverine forest. Apart from the Chimpanzees that have been habituated, there are other animals like porcupines, colobus monkeys, mongoose. lions, giraffes, and zebras that can be spotted on the more open savannah grasslands. The Park also boasts of over 230 species of birds which include the fish eagle, palm-nut vulture, vieillot’s black weaver, living stone’s turaco, ross’s turaco, and others.

Size and accessibility:
Mahale Mountains National Park covers an area of over 1,613 square Kilometres that is mainly green and hilly.

By car:
The roads are rough and can be impassable mainly during the wet season, so a 4WD vehicle is a must have. You will need about 2 to 3 days to travel from Arusha to Kigoma. From Kigoma to Mahale, you can use a speed boat which takes about 4 to 5 hours to Mahale Mountain National Park from Kigoma.

By air:
The easiest and quickest way to access Mahale is from Arusha to Kigoma which takes around 7 to 8 hours and then a speed boat to Mahale. During the high tourist seasons of June to October, regular scheduled flights are arranged by tour operators from Arusha or Dar es Salaam to Mahale Airstrip and take between 3 to 5 hours. In low tourist seasons, less regular flights are organised. However, Charter flights can be arranged.

Activities:
Chimpanzee tracking
Camping safaris
Guided Forest walks
Hiking
Sport Fishing
Bird watching
Snorkelling
Visit small villages
Relax along Lake Tanganyika

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Katavi National Park

Discover an untouched wilderness of hippos, crocs, and buffalos in western Tanzania.

Katavi National Park

Originally, Katavi National Park was a game reserve covering only 1,823 square kilometres. It was officially named a National Park in 1974 and later expanded to cover 4,471 square kilometres. Since 1997 it is, after Ruaha and Serengeti, the third largest national park in Tanzania.
The park is located 40km south of Mpanda town of West Tanzania and encompasses River Katuma, lake Katavi, lake Chada and its flood plains. In Katavi, you will find animals like cape buffalos, zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, elephants and much more. The Katuma River also harbours crocodiles, hippos, a great diversity that is constantly declining due to illegal hunting.

Katavi is one of the least visited National parks in the country, making it a truly untouched wildlife gem. The park’s major water source is the Katuma River which transforms the park into a wetland during the wet season. Lake Chada and Lake Katavi are both seasonal lakes which also provide water for the wildlife. The vegetation is made up of a varied mix of bush land, miombo forests, riverine forests, and grasslands. During the wet season, animals like hippos, crocodiles move along the river to drink and bath.

Species and diversity:
The park is one of the few places where the roan and sable antelope can be seen in the same place. Other animals include zebra, hartebeest, eland, giraffe and defassa waterbuck. Katavi has some of the largest herds of buffalos some reaching 1000 plus, elephants 3000 plus among Predators like lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, and serval cats. Over 400 bird species such as saddle bills, open-billed and spoon bills as well as African fish eagles, Bateleurs, lilac breasted rollers, crested barbets and paradise flycatchers also reside in Katavi.

Size and accessibility:
Covering over 4,471 square kilometres, Katavi National park is the third largest national park in the country.
Katavi National Park is one of the most remote National parks in the country but can still be accessed by both road and air.

By car:
Accessing Katavi by car is possible but will take some time to reach. via ground transportation (road) is also possible but varies depending on where one is.
From Mbeya town approximately 6-7 hours for 550 km
From Dar es Salaam approximately 20+ hours for 1,400 km
From Arusha approximately 13-14 hours for 1,000 plus km

By air:
Charter flight services are available, being offered by Zanta Air Services or Safari Air linked to the Ikuu airstrip. This is approximately 3 hours flight from Dar es Salaam and 2 hours flight from Mwanza using a small, bush-compatible light aircraft.

A flight from Arusha is approximately 3 hours and operates on limited service usually only twice a week (Mondays and Thursdays).

By train:
It is also possible to travel by train from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma from there with a ferry and taxi to the national park. This journey takes about 3 1/2 days.

Activities
Day and Night game drives
Walking and hiking Safaris
Birding
Cultural tours
Camping

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Mikumi National Park

Mikumi National Park

Explore an easy-to-reach savanna park for elephants, giraffes, and birdwatching.

Gazetted in 1964 and Located in the southern parts of Tanzania. The park lies between the Uluguru mountains and Lumango ranges west of Dar es Salaam and north of the famous Selous Game Reserve. It covers an area of 3,230 square kilometres comprised of savannah, artificial hippo pools and Mkata flooded plains which home abundant wildlife.

As part of the Selous ecosystem, it benefits from the highest game density of the entire conservation area. Mikumi also has a strong history and Stanley’s Kopje lies on one of the slave routes, also used by Henry Morton Stanley on his epic explorations to find Livingstone. Not only is Mikumi a great place for viewing animals on game drives, it is also a beautiful and colourful place with open grasslands stretching out in the park.

Mikumi National Park can be visited anytime throughout the year. However, the best time is during the dry season June to October because animals gather to drink water around the water holes and the vegetation is a bit weathered and thin giving you clear spots to take pictures and observe different animals compared to the rainy season when the vegetation is dense.

Species diversity:
Wildlife ranging from buffalos, zebras, elephants, impalas, giraffes, lions, leopards, wild dogs, birds like Zanzibar red bishop, among others can be found in Mikumi. Over 400 species of birds live in the park and can keep any bird lover interested. A broad range of savannah bird species are joined by some notable species such as Zanzibar Red Bishop. Migrant species join in the spectacle during the months of November through to April and May.

Size and accessibility:
Mikumi National Park is the fourth largest in the country and the closest to Dar es Salaam. The park is one of the most accessible in the whole of Tanzania. It can be reached by both road and air.

By car:
A good surfaced road connects the park to Dar es Salaam via Morongoto a 4-5-hour drive.

By air:
Both scheduled and charter flights from Dar es Salaam and Arusha are available making the park easy to access.

Activities:
Game drives
Bird watching
Guided nature walk
Camping

Learn more:

To learn more about safaris in Tanzania, click here to read our introduction to Tanzania, then browse our Tanzania tours here!

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