Tours
Katavi National Park is Tanzania's third-largest park, receiving fewer visitors in a year than the Serengeti sees in a week. July through October, its floodplains dry to shrinking pools, concentrating hippos, crocodiles, and buffalo in densities most guides describe as unmatched. All camps close November through May.
Mahale Mountains National Park sits on Lake Tanganyika's eastern shore with no roads in or out. You arrive by aircraft and boat. The Nkungwe chimpanzee community — over 60 individuals — has been habituated since the 1960s; treks take one to four hours on steep forest paths. Gombe Stream National Park is smaller: the site where Jane Goodall began her research in 1960.
How to combine the parks#
The most common pairing is Mahale and Katavi — connected by a one-hour charter flight — over eight to ten days. Gombe suits travellers who want all three. Some combine a northern Serengeti safari with Mahale as a second half. All routes are fly-in safaris — there is no practical overland option.
This is firmly off-the-beaten-path territory: higher camp costs than the northern circuit and a minimum four nights per park to justify the logistics. Budget eight days minimum if combining two parks. Chimp trekking safaris in Tanzania exist only in the western circuit.
