5-Day Ruaha Wilderness Safari

Ruaha is the great southern wilderness of Tanzania and, after the 2008 expansion, the largest national park in the country at 20,226 square kilometres. This five-day fly-in itinerary is designed to give you enough time on the ground to see the park properly, with four nights at a small tented camp on the Great Ruaha River. Game drives focus on the river and the Mwagusi sand river, both of which concentrate wildlife in the dry season.

Ruaha's wildlife list combines eastern and southern African species that don't overlap anywhere else in East Africa. You'll see both greater and lesser kudu, both sable and roan antelope, one of the country's largest elephant populations (over 12,000), and lion prides among the biggest in Africa, with mega-prides of 20+ animals not unusual. Wild dog packs den in the park each year and are regularly encountered on drives.

This itinerary is built around drives and walks in equal measure. Walking safaris with an armed ranger are one of Ruaha's signatures and offer close-up encounters on foot with buffalo, elephant and greater kudu. Sundowner drives to a kopje for a drink at dusk, with the sound of hyena starting up in the distance, are a nightly ritual. Night drives are available from private concessions.

Ruaha combines beautifully with a Nyerere extension for a full southern circuit, or with Zanzibar for a safari-and-beach trip that avoids the northern crowds entirely.