Mahale Mountains National Park is only accessible via fly-in safari or private motor boat. The remoteness of this park is the very reason the chimpanzee population is still so unaffected by human familiarity. Most guests will see the chimpanzees at least once in a 3-4 day stay; however, sightings cannot always be guaranteed. Whilst chimps could be right behind the camp one day, the next they could be high in the mountains. This is a unique landscape whereby the mountainous land is covered in rainforest right up until the beach front. Accommodations are located on these secluded beaches and are a mere walking distance from the shoreline of Lake Tanganyika.

 

Watching wild dogs hunt is fascinating - a luxury that Selous guests get to experience more often than anywhere else. Fierce tiger fish and smooth slippery vandu catfish are caught in the rivers, offering keen fishermen something to look forward to. The vandu catfish is equipped with primitive lungs allowing it to cross land for short distance in an attempt to find water during the dry season.

 

The land in and around Mahale is the traditional homeland of the Watongwe and Waholoholo tribes. Japanese primate researchers began exploring along the shore of Lake Tanganyika, south of Kigoma as early as 1961. In 1965, the researchers established their first camp, ‘Kansyana’, in Mahale and began habituating chimpanzees. The terrain is mostly rugged and hilly, and is dominated by the Mahale Mountains chain that runs from the northwest to the southeast across the park. The highest peak (Mount Nkungwe) rises to 2 462 m above sea level.

 

Game Viewing + Activities

Walking safaris in the beautiful, lowland forest allow close encounters with a vast array of birds and animals, as well as the habituated chimpanzees. The chimp viewing is unpredictable as they can move quickly, but it is expected that they will be seen at least once in a 3-4 day stay. Lake Tanganyika, upon which this national park lies, contains more than 250 species of cichlid found nowhere else on earth, many of which can be viewed by snorkelling in the shallows along Mahale’s shoreline.