Tanzania Pristine Safari Adventures to the Unspoilt Katavi and Mountains of Mahale - 11 Days travelers visiting Katavi National Park experience how East Africa must have been like Centuries ago. Katavi National Park is truly an unspoiled African landscape. Katavi is the third largest game reserve in south-western Tanzania and located in the Rift Valley near the lake Rukwa.
The landscape at Katavi National Park is dominated by endless rows of the Brachystegia trees between which, at ease, elk, Sable and Roan antelope graze. In the rainy season pools and ponds formed provide cooling to many species of birds, hippos and crocodiles especially in the dry season, when water is sparse. This area has more than 4,000 elephants, 1,000 buffalo and many giraffes, zebras, impalas and roan antelope. The hippos, which nest in large numbers, defend their territory in the pools with vigor especially in the dry season, a special spectacle not to be missed.
The Mahale Mountains National Park is famous for the chimpanzees that live up the densely forested mountains. The Mahale Mountains National Park covers an area of 1,613 km2 and is located about 128 kilometers south of the city Kigona on the east side of Lake Tanganyika. This is also the habitat of the Watongwe and Waholoholo tribes of origin. The chimpanzees were first observed here by Japanese scientists in 1961. The area is rugged and hilly and is dominated by the Mahale Mountains stretching from the northwest to the southeast.
One More Reason To Book This Safari Experience
- Customize this safari by adding more destinations or even more days at each location for a truly memorable safari experience.
- Begin your safari by staying at an authentic luxurious boutique hotel located within working and operational coffee plantation farm in Arusha town.
- Experience how East Africa might have been centuries ago, when the early explorers visited its interior at Katavi National Park.
- See the large herds of more than 4,000 elephants, 1,000 buffalo and many giraffes, zebras, impalas, roan antelopes, hippos and crocodiles at Katavi National Park.
- Watch the hippos fight voraciously to defend their territory and small pools of water especially in the dry season at Katavi National Park.
- Visit the original home of the Africa tribes the Watongwe and Waholoholo at the Mahale Mountains
- Track the endangered intelligent chimpanzees up the Mahale Mountain Forest where they live and get to spend a little time with these amazing creatures.
- Relax on the beautiful sandy Lake Tanganyika beaches or at a rocky bar sipping a glass of iced vodka and a plate of farm-fresh sushi just enjoying the views.
- Swim in the waters of the unspoilt, unpolluted Lake Tanganyika one of the Great Rift Valley Lakes.
- Go on a fishing excursion on Lake Tanganyika and try to catch some of the over 250 different species of cichlids.
- Go on a rewarding canoe ride expedition exploring the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
- Have a romantic dinner on a beach on the shores of a lake in the Great Rift Valley at Lake Tanganyika.
- At the end of your adventure you are welcomed back to civilization by staying at a beautiful small guesthouse with stunning views across the Masai plains, the Monduli Mountains and hills of Tarangire National Park where a chef will be at hand to prepare a delicious meals at Onsea House, Arusha Town.
The Detailed Tanzania Pristine Safari Adventures to the Unspoilt Katavi and Mountains of Mahale - 11 Days Luxury Safari Adventure Holiday Vacation Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Arusha Town, Tanzania
Upon arrival you will be welcomed by our local And Africa Travel representative and transferred to Arusha Coffee Lodge. The Arusha Coffee Lodge is located in the Arusha countryside and is an operational coffee plantation. The authentic Arusha Coffee Lodge is the ideal choice if starting your trip in Northern Tanzania.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Arusha Coffee Lodge
Day 2 - 6: Katavi National Park
After breakfast depart by plane to Katavi National Park. This is truly unspoiled African landscape. Katavi is the third largest game reserve in south-western Tanzania and is located in the extreme southwest corner of the country in the Rift Valley and in the vicinity of the lake Rukwa. There are herds of more than 4,000 elephants and 1,000 buffalo and rivers can accommodate lots of hippos and crocodiles.
Chada Katavi Tented Camp is built on the edge of this large area and is nestled in the shade of the acacias and the Tamar Indes. You will stay in luxury tents and in the evening dine in style, surrounded by jungle, a silver and crystal tableware. After all the exciting events of the day you can relax on your private veranda, sipping a cool glass of wine. This is really a location for the discerning traveler who thinks he has seen everything that Africa has to offer.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Chada Katavi Tented Camp.
Day 6 - 9: Mahale Mountains National Park
In the morning you fly to Katavi Mahale Mountains National Park, located on Lake Tanganyika, for a stay of 4 days. In the Mahale Mountains National Park, adjacent to a quiet beach on the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika and on the edge of a tropical rain forest that seems to have been copied directly from a cartoon is the intimate camp Greystoke Mahale.
At Greystoke Mahale Camp you will stay in rustic tents with wooden interiors and an open front. All tents are comfortably furnished in a colonial style and the veranda offers beautiful views. The main attraction of wildlife areas are the chimpanzees; life in the woods about 1,000 copies. But a walk through the forest also offers much more: eight other species of monkeys, birds, butterflies, real Tarzan vines and breathtaking waterfalls.
The lake offers you the opportunity to fish (there live more than 250 different species of cichlids), but also a canoe ride along the edge of the lake is very rewarding. In the evening you can opt for a romantic dinner on the beach or with the other guests in the restaurant. At the rocky bar you can enjoy beautiful views of the world famous and majestic Lake Tanganyika while sipping a glass of iced vodka and a plate of farm-fresh sushi.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Greystoke Mahale Camp.
Day 9 - 10: Arusha Town
In the afternoon you return to civilization and to the airport from Arusha to the beautiful Onsea House placed where chef Axel Janssens delicious meals for you. Onsea House is a small private guesthouse with stunning views across the Masai plains, the Monduli Mountains and hills of Tarangire National Park.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Onsea House.
Day 11: Arusha Town Depart
After breakfast you have to say goodbye to a fabulous stay in Tanzania and you will be taken to the airport to fly back to home.
To process all the impressions of this journey, you can also choose to extend the trip and a few days relaxing on the white beaches of Zanzibar, Pemba island or Vamizi Island in Mozambique.
Prices
Please treat the prices shown as a price estimate. Your final price might go up or down following seasonal prices in the different lodges, camps and resorts. All prices indicated are per person, based on 2 persons sharing a room, and on estimated high season rates.
Included in the "Luxury Travel" tour price rate
- Airport Taxes.
- Meet & Greet service on arrival at Kilimanjaro.
- Arusha, Arusha Coffee Lodge one night on a bed & breakfast.
- Katavi National Park, 4 nights at Chada Katavi includes accommodation, all meals, drinks and safari activities.
- Mahale Mountains National Park, three nights at Greystoke Mahale includes accommodation, all meals, drinks, safari activities and fishing trip on Lake Tanganyika.
- Arusha, one night in Onsea House includes accommodation and all meals.
- Domestic flights.
- Park entrance fees.
- Flying Doctors insurance.
- All transfers.
Not included in the tour price rate
- Required Chimp afford per person.
- Tanzania visa.
- Optional extra activities.
- Items of a personal nature - such as shop purchases, phone calls, and spa & beauty treatments.
- Travel and cancellation insurance.
