5-Day Mahale Chimpanzee Safari

Mahale Mountains National Park is the great fly-in wilderness of western Tanzania. It protects the world's largest known population of wild chimpanzees, roughly a thousand animals across ten communities, of which the M-group of some sixty individuals is fully habituated for research and small numbers of visitors. This five-day itinerary is built around three chimp treks and three nights at one of Mahale's small beach lodges, book-ended by scheduled bush flights from Arusha via Ruaha.

The park has no roads and no vehicles inside its boundary. Guests fly in to Mahale airstrip and transfer by boat one hour south along the shore to camp, where the forest meets the white-sand beach and the Mahale peaks rise directly behind. Chimp tracking here is more physical than Gombe: the forest is bigger, the mountains are higher, and the M-group can range from the beach ridge up to the escarpment. Treks range from one to four hours, always with a park ranger and a lodge guide.

Between treks, Mahale is one of the most beautiful beach destinations in Africa. The lake water is clear and warm, home to hundreds of endemic cichlid species that swarm the rocks in a metre or two of water. Kayaks and snorkel gear are provided by the lodges. Traditional dhow sundowners across the lake are a nightly ritual, and multi-day guided treks to the summit of Mount Nkungwe at 2,462 metres are possible for experienced hikers with an armed ranger.

Mahale combines naturally with Katavi for a full six-to-seven-night western circuit, and with the Serengeti or Zanzibar for a complete Tanzania itinerary. Given the flight cost, we recommend a minimum of three nights at Mahale, and four is better.