Western Tanzania Safari Destinations | Catch Kilimanjaro & Safari

Mahale Mountains National Park

Mahale Mountain national park is situated on the beaches of Lake Tanganyika. The Mahale Mountain National Park has got its name from the mountain range that is lying in its borders. Apart from Gombe, Mahale is the only protected place of Tanzania for the chimpanzees. Mahale Mountains is better known due to its larger size. However, the park is situated in the remote location of the Western Circuit Tanzania. The Mahale Mountain National Park offers a great opportunity to explore chimps just Like Gombe National Park. The national park is also a great place to spot some lions. It is known as the only place in the country where chimpanzees and lions co-existed. Another iconic fact that makes the national park an iconic place is it allows travelers to explore its landscape on foot. The mountain was initially homeland to Batongwe and Holoholo people. They were removed from the area by the wildlife development department in 1979. The area was being free from the local habituation for the establishment of a wildlife research Centre. As the Mahale Mountain National Park is on the shorelines of Tanganyika it offers some stunning view to capture. Get your camera ready for capturing some stunning view of the Lake along with the mist-covered Nkungwe Mountain. The national park covers the 1613 sq km area and holds truly tranquil surroundings. The park offers spotting 1700 chimpanzees along with various more primate life. The Mahale Mountain national park is home to a research center, which is known for its ongoing research on chimpanzees. The research is one of the longest researches that are going on, it’s continuing since almost 4 decades. While visiting the national park, make sure to dress up properly. You can get a great hiking experience through the mountain ranges of the national park. You can opt for a hat, long trousers, and hiking boots.

Gombe Stream National Park

Gombe National Park or more commonly known as Gombe Stream National Park is one of the iconic national parks of the Western circuit. The national park is located in the Kigoma, which is the capital of the Kigoma region. The national park was established in 1968. It is one of the smallest national parks in the country that acquires 35 km2. The landscape of the national park is diverse. You will traverse through steep valleys and forest vegetation ranges from woodland, tropical rainforest, and grasslands. The Gombe Stream national park is situated in a remote location. It is accessible only by boat. The national park is famous worldwide due to one name Dr. Jane Godall. She travelled to Tanzania at the age of 26 and dedicated her life to studying the behavior of chimpanzees. She settled down a small research center in Gombe with the help of renowned anthropologist Louis Leakey. She spent months tracking and observing the daily life of the Chimps, particularly the Kasekela chimpanzee community. Dr. Goodall lived in Gombe for fifteen years. In the year of 1967, the Gombe Stream Research Center (GSRC) was founded which coped with the ongoing research on Chimps by Jane Goodall. The Gombe Stream National park offers great biodiversity. Apart from Chimpanzees tourists can get introduced to various primates life in the national park. Few of them are; olive baboons, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys. Not only primates but the national park offers a fair chance to spot various species of snakes, hippos, and leopards. As the Lake Tanganyika is just beside the national park, it is possible to spend some tranquil moments near the lake. Lake Tanganyika is the largest freshwater lakes of Africa as well as the second deepest lake in the world. You can take an amazing opportunity for swimming and snorkeling with 100 kinds of colorful cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika.

Katavi at 4,471 Sq. Km is large and protects only one large of an ever large ecosystem. Extensive large plains alternate with broad-leafed woodland, flat-topped acacia bush country, and wide swamps and Lakes. This is a highly seasonal place only accessible in the dry months of July to October. It is extremely remote, and this remoteness is the strength for during the wet season from October to May (8 months) the wild animals have free domain over a huge hinterland of several thousand square kilometers both within and outside the park, virtually untouched by man. They can move, live, and multiply here. As the dry season arrives they are forced slowly back to the swamps and Lakes of Katavi, where they get more and more concentrated.
Large areas of the park are hardly ever visited such as the Mlele escarpment with waterfalls, Lake Paradise, and the country in between. Katavi is one of those places that have not changed since early European explorers first started entering Africa’s interior, and it is the kind of place that gave this continent its reputation for being impenetrable, of huge scale and swarming with a big game. You will need at least three days. Boating along the rocky shoreline is one of the key activities to enjoy, clean sandy beaches overhung with huge forest trees fringe the bays, and there is a large piece of papyrus swamp on one side which is a magnificent waterbird habitat.

Rubondo Island national park is situated on the south-west shores of Lake Victoria. The national park includes many smallest islands of Lake Victoria. It's a great place where the bush meets the shores. The island covers up 456.8 km and governed by Tanzania National Parks Authority. The island was declared as a game reserve in 1965, to provide a sanctuary for animals. Afterward, in 1977 it was established as a national park. There are 80% of the forested forest lands. People of the Zinza tribe used to inhabit the islands earlier that were mainly dependent on banana plantations and fishing.

Tanzania Western Circuit

Mahale Mountains National Park

Gombe Stream National Park

Katavi National Park

Rubondo Island National Park

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