The Overview
This article covers a 6 day safari to Western Tanzania that offers once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape the crowds and into the heart of the wild on western circuit safari in tanzania. At Gombe Stream and Mahale Mountains, you can view chimps in their natural habitat and hike through gorgeous forests. Katavi is particularly good for hippos and lions. Each of these tourist locations offers you the chance to try something new
Day 1: Flight from Arusha to Katavi with chattered domestic flights
After breakfast, you’ll be driven to Arusha’s airport to catch a 2- to 3-hour charter flight to Katavi National Park. Katavi is an isolated park in western Tanzania. After arriving, you shall be transferred to the camp, with a brief game drive along the route. You head out after lunch for an afternoon wildlife drive in Katavi.
Katavi’s isolation will steal your breath away in an instant. The plains spread out before you in infinite golden views and are home to a diverse range of animals. Elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, impalas, lions, and hyenas can all be seen up close. In the evening, return to the camp for leisure, dinner, and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 2: Guided morning walking tour and afternoon game drive
After breakfast, go on an early-morning walking safari to explore the wild Katavi floodplain, walk among water pods, and get up up-close and personal with hippos and other wildlife. You’ll stroll around the plains, enjoying the lack of people and traffic. You return to camp for lunch and a break.
Take a game drive in the expansive Katavi plains after lunch. Enjoy seeing the large populations of hippo, buffalo, and elephants as they swarm to the rivers in Katavi to satisfy their thirst. You will move for miles through the Paradise Plains while only viewing the untamed parts of Africa.
Along the watercourses, there are enormous concentrations of zebras, giraffes, topis, and other herbivores. Pelican flotillas monitor the lakes as a swarm of bird’s flits through the riverbanks, wetlands, and palm groves. In the wetlands, elephants graze to their waists. The enormous populations of herbivores are the target of lion and leopard hunting. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Transfer to Mahale Mountains Park for Chimpanzee tracking
Today of western circuit safari in tanzania will leave the park after breakfast to have a game drive to Katavi Airstrip, where you will catch your scheduled flight to Mahale Airstrip. Our guide will meet you at Mahale Airfield and accompany you as you enjoy a 1.5-hour boat sail to the Mahale Mountain National Park headquarters.
You check into the lodge, have a siesta, and in the afternoon you proceed to the park’s administrative office to receive a briefing on chimpanzee tracking in the bush. Go through the forest with an experienced park ranger guide who is familiar with the best hiking trails and who can explain chimpanzee behavior and distinguish their unique body movements. Although there is no set time restriction for following the chimps, the duration of the tracking is influenced by the chimps’ movements.
Other primates, birds, lions, elephants, buffalo, giraffes, and antelope are likely to appear throughout the course of the trek. View the chimps in their natural habitat, eating habits, and temperament. Return to the lodge for some rest and relaxation, as well as an overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 4: Enjoy bird watching, cultural tours, sport fishing, boat cruise around Lake Tanganyika
After breakfast, enjoy a boat sail around the lake to observe animals and birds. There are around 350 bird species to witness, including migratory, aquatic, and forest birds. Among the bird species seen are the Crested Guinea Fowl, Giant Kingfisher, Palm Nut Vulture, and Scaly Francolin.
You can also go sport fishing on Lake Tanganyika. Spend the day fishing on this deep, historic lake which is home to over 400 various kinds of fish, you must obtain a fishing ticket and permit from the Mahale Mountains National Park administration office.
Take a cultural tour around the Mahale Mountains in the evening. You may come across the Holoholo and Batongwe, two Bantu subgroups, in adjacent communities. Kigoma’s district is worth a visit because of its historical significance. In the evening, return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 5: Boat transfer to kigoma then to Gombe stream National Park for Chimpanzee trekking
After breakfast, you will be transferred by boat to Kigoma on this day of western circuit safari in tanzania.
Upon arrival, continue to Gombe Stream National Park, which is about 20 kilometers north of Kigoma and can only be reached by boat. The chimp families that live within the park’s confines are the main draw. When you arrive in Gombe, go for walks deep into the jungle to see and spend time with the remarkable primates. Apart from chimps, numerous other primates, such as velvet and colobus monkeys and baboons, can be seen in Gombe Stream’s tropical forests.
Enjoy by bird-watching, climbing to Kakombe Water Falls, or hiking to Jane’s Peak in this national park. Return to your lodging for dinner and overnight in the evening.
Meal plan: All meals are included
Day 6: Transfer back to Dar es Salaam
After a leisurely breakfast, return to Kigoma Town by boat. You will be driven to the airport for your evening trip back to Dar es Salaam. You will arrive in Dar es Salaam in the evening and be dropped off at a hotel for leisure and overnight stay, bringing this western circuit safari in tanzania safari to an end.
Meal plan: Breakfast and lunch
Inclusions of this 6 Days western circuit safari in tanzania safari
Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
All airport transfers in private car
Local flights
Transport and wildlife drives in Land Rover with photographic roof hatch
Services of a professional guide
All wildlife reserve entry fees
What is not included in the package of western circuit safari in tanzania?
International airfare and flights
All items of a personal nature
Gratuities to guides and camp staff
Travel insurance
Visa and Passport fees
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and beverages in lodges
Accommodation before and after the safari