Mahale National Park
Mahale Mountains National Park is an idyllic lost world; few other people ever see the magical forest, mountain waterfalls, and the gin-clear lake.
A chimpanzee paradise, where fantasy mountains and forests rise out of Lake Tanganyika.
Life here is a hedonistic wilderness cocktail. In the forest, as well as a completely wild-living, but habituated group of chimpanzees, live nine other species of primate, leopards and a host of shy forest creatures. Around them, streams are strung with vines, ripening fruit and jasmine flowers. By the beaches, with tropical fish around them like butterflies, hippopotami bob in its clear waters.
Our journey to this far-flung Garden of Eden is by boat on a cobalt blue lake, stretching 500 miles north to south and a mile below. As the fishing villages thin out and mountains rise, you begin to sense how much you've left behind. Time slows down in the silence of no roads for a hundred miles. The beauty is irrepressible. We’ve seen hunting dog on these beaches, bushbuck, even the pennant-winged night-jar. Tucked along Lake Tanganyika’s remote shoreline lies Greystoke, a Safari lodge like no other.
Greystoke
Chada
Charlie, Ugalla
In the field with Nomad
The Mahale Mountains National Park is all about the time you spend searching for the chimpanzees. You’re walking in the forested mountains, listening for their calls, knowing they are somewhere above you, moving through the trees. When you finally find them, it is always special — no matter how many times you’ve done it.
From mid-July onwards is usually best, depending on where the fruit is and where the chimps decide to feed. Some days the walk is short; other days it pushes you, but that’s part of the experience. What means the most to me is that I know each chimp by its voice, its behaviour, and its personality — they are my cousins. Mahale feels part Robinson Crusoe, part David Attenborough, and there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be.
Butati Nyundo
Greystoke, Mahale Mountains, Western Tanzania
The table below provides a clear overview of suggested locations, durations and key highlights to help plan a memorable and authentic Nomad adventure.
Mahale Mountains National Park
Trip planning information
Location
Western Tanzania, on the remote eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
Type of safari
Chimpanzee trekking, forest, mountains and lake-shore wilderness.
Getting there
Accessed by light aircraft, followed by boat access along Lake Tanganyika to camp.
Wildlife
Wild chimpanzees, forest birds, bushbuck, monkeys, butterflies, lake life and occasional larger wildlife along the shore.
How busy is it?
Very low. Mahale is remote, limited in access and unlike almost anywhere else in Tanzania.
Best time to visit
June to October is the classic dry season. As the season progresses, chimps are often found lower on the slopes, making trekking more rewarding.
How long to stay
3–4 nights; longer if guests want time for both chimp trekking and lake life.
Nomad Camps
Best combined with
Best for
Chimpanzee trekking, remote safari, adventurous travellers, honeymooners and anyone wanting a safari that feels completely different.
Why go?
Go to Mahale for wild chimpanzees, forested mountains and the magic of arriving by boat on one of Africa’s great lakes.
Cost range
Unique safari experience with remote location, with flight logisitics and access forming a big part of the cost.
Camps in Mahale Mountains
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Sweet dreams are indeed made of this.
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In the entire park, there is not a single road, so your entire experience will be on foot. This is a wholly unique wilderness and a long way off the beaten track. But the lake, the beaches, the extraordinary forest, and of course the chimpanzees all make it a journey well worth undertaking.
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Sweet dreams are indeed made of this.
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In a grove of sausage trees in Ruaha National Park on the banks of the Ifuguru River, in the best game area in the park.