African safari tours and adventures range from affordable to luxurious, to bucket-list vacations and once-in-a-lifetime holidays..
Flight Bookings
Volunteer Programs
Create an account to add things to your wishlist and access your bookings from any device..
Chimpanzees are the star attraction of Mahale Mountains National Park. The forests of this mountainous park are home to 900 chimps, and trekkers can visit the habituated Mimikere community, which includes about 75 individuals and has been studied by Japanese researchers since the 1960s. Mahale is also notable for its remote location on scenic Lake Tanganyika, the world’s longest-contained freshwater body.
Scenery
The park incorporates a chain of wild, jungle-draped peaks towering almost 2km/1 mi above the shore of the azure water of Lake Tanganyika. The geography of this classic Rift Valley Lake, with its steep escarpment and white, sandy beaches, is best appreciated on a cruise in a traditional dhow.
Activities
The main and most popular activity is chimpanzee trekking. This usually starts after breakfast but may leave later, even after lunch, depending on the chimps’ movements and location. Other activities include guided forest walks to look for monkeys and birds, a hike to a beautiful waterfall in the rainforest, and dhow cruises and snorkeling on the lake.
From: $264 to $663 pp/day
From: August to October (Chimp trekking is easiest)
From: August to October (Mahale is never crowded)
From: 1,613km² / 623mi²
Mahale Mountains National Park’s main attraction is the opportunity to track chimpanzees, our closest relatives, on foot. Roughly 900 chimps inhabit the park, and the habituated community of about 75 individuals is very used to people. Guides and trackers are on hand to take you hiking along the forest trails to find these charismatic creatures.
Wildlife Highlights
Nine primate species have been recorded in the park, most notably the chimpanzee and the endangered Ugandan red colobus, which is known from only four other locations in Tanzania and Uganda. Yellow baboons, blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and vervet monkeys are also likely to be seen, and you might hear lesser and greater galago at night. The nocturnal bushpig is also quite often heard foraging around lakeshore accommodations at night. Mahale’s inaccessible eastern slopes support seldom-seen populations of elephant, lion, wild dog, roan antelope, buffalo, and giraffe. An undescribed subspecies of Angola colobus is endemic to the forested upper slopes of Mount Nkungwe and likely to be seen only by those who do a day hike there.
Best Time for Wildlife Viewing
The best time for chimpanzee trekking is during the Dry season (May to October). Odds of a good sighting are highest from August onward when the chimps tend to stay close to the lakeshore accommodations. The park stays open throughout the year, but in heavy rain, the trails might be difficult to walk and chimps are often on the more distant higher slopes.
Due to its location close to the equator, the climate in Mahale Mountains National Park doesn’t change much throughout the year. It ranges from warm to hot and humid. Average temperatures are about 27°C/81°F during the day. Evenings cool down to about 16°C/61°F.
Mahale's Dry season is from May to October. The Wet season is from November to April. The rains come in the form of afternoon thunderstorms and seldom last the whole day.
Dry Season –May to October
Wet Season –November to April
Mahale Mountains National Park is not the easiest or cheapest place to get to. Depending on your itinerary, your entry point to the country will be either 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.
Most people visit Mahale on an all-inclusive 3- or 4-night fly-in package from Arusha. This incorporates return flights to Kalilani airstrip (just outside of the park), accommodation at one of two exclusive lakeshore lodges, and the 90-minute boat transfer from the airstrip to your lodge. These packages usually start on a Monday and Thursday, the days on which scheduled charter flights run in conjunction with the lodges.
Flights from Arusha can pick up clients at other airstrips in northern Tanzania such as Lake Manyara National Park or Serengeti National Park. They also usually stop at Katavi National Park, which is often visited as part of a 7-night package with Mahale.
Coming from southern Tanzania, the only scheduled flight is a twice-weekly Safari Air Link service between Ruaha, Katavi, and Mahale Mountains National Parks. This also runs on Mondays and Thursdays.
Budget tours to Mahale (which still tend to be quite costly) usually start at the port of Kigoma, which is connected to Dar es Salaam by scheduled flights with Air Tanzania. From Kigoma, you will usually travel by a combination of road and boat to the national park rest camp at Kasiha. Allow a full day’s travel from Kigoma to the camp.
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.
Domestic Flights
Charter flights between parks are usually booked by tour operators as part of the tour package. Scheduled flights to Mahale can be booked with Safari Air Link.
This website uses cookies. By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies Privacy Policy
Arusha
Tanzania - Arusha