Overview–tanzania

Katavi National Park

Katavi National Park is pure wilderness. Few parks anywhere in Africa offer such a tantalizing combination of breathtaking wildlife viewing, a remote setting, and low visitor numbers. Four of the Big Five are present, with lion, buffalo, and elephant all being very common. Leopard sightings are more hit-and-miss. The waterways of Katavi host impressive concentrations of hippos, crocodiles, and aquatic birds.

Scenery

The habitat is mainly grassland savannah and miombo woodland in the east of the park. After the rains, the dusty floodplains typical of the Dry season are transformed into lush marshes and shallow lakes.

Activities

The main activity in the park is game drives. These generally focus on the floodplains and watercourses, which tend to support the most wildlife and be free of the tsetse flies that haunt more densely wooded areas. Night drives and walking safaris are also available.

Excellent

Good

Fair

Poor

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Aug

Sept

Oct

Mar

April

May

Jan

Feb

Nov

Dec

Jun

Rates

From: $319 to $2000 pp/da

Best Time to Go

From: July to October

High Season

From: July to October (Katavi is rarely crowded)

Size

From: 4,471km² / 1,726mi²

Wildlife & Animals

During the Dry season in Katavi National Park, the Katuma River is packed with hippos, while crocodiles bask on the sandbanks. Huge herds of buffalo, topi, and impala gather with elephant and defassa waterbuck around the drying water reserves of Lake Katavi and Lake Chada. Opportunistic lion prides are never far from the remaining water sources, waiting for their prey to come to them.

Wildlife Highlights

Katavi isn't particularly known for unusual animals, but it is the numbers of them that are staggering. Buffalo herds numbering thousands can be seen. Hippo burst out of the remaining puddles of the seasonal rivers at the end of the Dry season. Beautiful sable antelope can sometimes be found in the miombo woodland.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Katavi is a classic Dry-season park. Wildlife viewing is best from July to October, which is during the middle and end of the Dry season (the Dry season runs from May to October). Wildlife is easier to spot then because vegetation is thinner and animals gather around predictable water sources. The park is open throughout the year, but game-drive tracks become very bad in the Wet season (November to April), and most camps close for part or all of the period from November to May.

General Wheather

The climate in Katavi National Park is hot throughout the year. Katavi’s nights are pleasant (around 18°C/64°F). Temperatures during the day are around 31°C/88°F. Katavi has one continuous Wet season (from November to April). It tends not to rain all day long but afternoon thundershowers can be expected. The Dry season is from May to October.

Dry Season –May to October

May – This is the start of the Dry season. It might still rain occasionally though, especially at the beginning of the month.
June, July, August & September – Afternoon temperatures are usually around 30°C/86°F. Most days are sunny and clear. Rain would be very rare at this time. June has the coolest nights with an average minimum temperature of 15°C/59°F.
October – This is the end of the Dry season. Temperatures peak slightly at 32°C/90°F. Rain can be expected on some days and humidity will gradually increase.

Wet Season –November to April

November, December, January, February, March & April – The humidity is high, and it can feel incredibly hot. Afternoon temperatures are usually around 32°C/90°F and nighttime temperatures are around 19°C/66°F. Thunderstorms in the afternoon are probable. It will rain almost every day but rarely all day long.

Prons

Good general wildlife viewing in the Dry season
Hippo pods converge in spectacular numbers in the Dry season
Unusual antelope species such as sable and roan
Very exclusive and doesn't get crowded

Cons

Difficult to get to and accommodation options are limited
Animals are scattered during the Wet season
Most camps close for part or all of November to May

How To Get There

Depending on your itinerary, your entry point to Tanzania will either be Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO), about 50km/31 mi from Arusha, or Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) in Dar es Salaam. In most cases, your tour operator will pick you up from the airport and make ongoing arrangements, including the charter flight to the park's airstrip.

Katavi National Park is most easily and normally visited on an all-inclusive 3- or 4-night fly-in package from Arusha. These packages usually start on a Monday or a Thursday, when scheduled charter flights from Arusha can also pick up clients at Lake Manyara National Park or Serengeti National Park. Coming from southern Tanzania, the only scheduled flight to Katavi (also on Monday and Thursday) is the Safari Air Link service from Ruaha National Park.

All flights to Katavi continue to Mahale Mountains National Park, and the two are often visited together as a 7-night package.

Air Tanzania operates scheduled flights to Mpanda, a small town situated 36km/23 mi north of the village of Sitalike on the northern park boundary. Local operators offer day safaris into Katavi from Sitalike.

Airlines & Ticket Prices

Please check Skyscanner to see which airlines can take you to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) or Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR), and what tickets would cost.

www.skyscanner.com

Domestic Flights

Charter flights between parks are usually booked by tour operators as part of the tour package. Scheduled flights to Katavi can be booked with Safari Air Link.