Mahale is arguably the most beautiful national park in Tanzania and certainly the hardest to reach. Forested mountains rise straight out of Lake Tanganyika — the world's second-deepest lake — and there are no roads at all inside the park. You arrive by light aircraft and then by boat, and everything from that point is done on foot or on the water.
The forest holds around a thousand chimpanzees, one community of which has been habituated since the 1960s.
AGE 12+
Mahale: Chimpanzees & Lake Tanganyika
Per guest, from:
$13,610
$1,944 per night
The dry season and the only period most camps are open. Chimps range lower on the slopes, trekking is shorter and easier, and the lake is calm and clear for swimming.
Short rains bring the forest alive and fruiting trees draw the chimps into predictable areas. Humid and occasionally slippery, but excellent for photography.
Heavy rain, difficult trekking and rough water on the lake. Almost every camp closes and access is impractical.
The Forest & the Lake
The Mimikire community of roughly sixty chimpanzees has been studied continuously by Japanese primatologists since 1965, and is completely relaxed around people. Beyond the chimps, Mahale holds red colobus, blue and red-tailed monkeys and forest birds found nowhere else in Tanzania, while Lake Tanganyika itself contains more than 250 species of endemic cichlid fish.
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Mahale has only a handful of camps. All are seasonal, all are boat-access, and all book out far in advance.
The core of any Mahale stay. Trackers locate the Mimikire community at first light and guests follow on foot, sometimes for twenty minutes and sometimes for four hours, for a strictly limited hour in their company.
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Swim, snorkel or kayak in water so clear you can see fifteen metres down, among shoals of brilliantly coloured endemic cichlids. The lake is bilharzia-free along the Mahale shore.
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A demanding two-day climb to the 2,462-metre summit through montane forest and bamboo, with the whole of the lake spread out below. Arranged on request for fit guests.
Enquire →Mahale pairs with Katavi, the southern parks or a beach finish.
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Mahale is reached by scheduled light aircraft from Arusha or Dar es Salaam to an airstrip near the park, followed by a boat transfer of one to two hours along the lakeshore. The full journey takes most of a day and flights operate on fixed days, so itineraries must be built around the schedule.
Nothing with wild animals is guaranteed, but the success rate at Mahale is very high — around 90% during the dry season, when the Mimikire community stays lower on the slopes. In the wet season the chimps move higher and treks become longer and less certain.
Moderately demanding. Treks range from twenty minutes to four hours on steep, humid, often slippery forest trails with no formal paths. Reasonable fitness and proper walking shoes are essential. Once the chimps are found, viewing time is limited to one hour by park regulation.
May to October is the prime window — drier trails, chimps at lower altitude and calm water on the lake. Most camps are closed between March and April during the long rains. October to December is a good, greener alternative with fewer guests.
Mahale is expensive because of its remoteness. Camps run from around USD 450 per person per night at community bandas to USD 2,200 at Greystoke. Light aircraft access typically adds USD 900-1,400 per person return. Chimpanzee permits are included in camp rates.
Most camps set a minimum age of 12 for chimpanzee trekking, both for the physical demands of the trek and because chimpanzees can be unpredictable. Some camps accept younger children in the camp itself with alternative activities arranged.
A minimum of three nights, which usually allows two or three trekking attempts. Given the cost and effort of getting there, four nights is a better use of the journey and leaves room for the lake, the waterfall walk and a poor-weather day.
Chimpanzees share around 98% of our DNA and are vulnerable to human respiratory illness, so the rules protect them as much as you. Anyone with a cold or flu is not permitted to trek, a seven-metre distance must be maintained, and masks are required by most camps.
Katavi National Park is the natural pairing — both are in the remote west and are linked by the same weekly flight circuit, making a classic wilderness combination. Alternatively, fly back via Dar es Salaam for the southern parks or Zanzibar.
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