Mahale Mountains National Park

Chimpanzee Trekking in the Mahale Mountains National Park is one of the magical experiences to do in Tanzania. Mahale Mountains National Park is home to some of the Africa’s last remaining wild chimpanzees with a population of roughly 900 chimpanzees. These chimpanzees are habituated and used to human presence offering a great opportunity to trek chimpanzees in Tanzania.

Mahale Mountains National Park is located in Western Tanzania to the South of Kigoma town, it is bordering Lake Tanganyika-the World’s longest, second deepest and least polluted freshwater lake-harboring an estimated 1000 fish species.

Tourist Attractions and things to see in Mahale Mountains National Park

– The Chimpanzees
– Chain of Mountains (Mahale ranges)
– Forest fauna and flora (Angola colobus, red colobus, red-tailed and blue monkeys, forest birds, alpine bamboo and montane rain forest).
– Beach along Lake Tanganyika
– Local fishermen
– Sun set on the Lake horizon

Things to do in Mahale Mountains National Park

– Chimp tracking (allow two days)
– Hiking to the Park’s highest point “Nkungwe” (8,069ft) held sacred by the local Tongwe people.
– Camping safaris
– Snorkeling
– Sports fishing and many more water sports activities

How to get to Mahale Mountains National Park

Mahale is accessible by air, road and boat. There are several flights, car and boat options to suit most travelers. Eco Adventure Safaris will help you arrange your transfer to this park contact us here.

Direct flights to Mahale

This is the easiest way to reach Mahale Mountains National Park. There are scheduled and regular flights between the park and Arusha town. Between October and March flights arrive and leave twice each week. However, it is also possible to arrange for you the charter flights. Tanzania has a large number of charter flight companies such as Air Excel, Northern Air and Regional Air to mention a few which we work with and we will be able to get you good offers for you to fly to Mahale Mountains National Park. Private charters can be arranged from major cities of Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam, Mwanza or Zanzibar.

WHEN TO VISIT MAHALE

The time of year determines the difficulty of the chimp trekking:

• June-early July: Rains settle, chimps are high up, tougher trekking

• July-October: Dry, and we expect easier chimping as they decend the slopes

• November- March: rain, hot and humid – chimps climb higher as the season progresses. They decend back down in Jan/Feb

• April-May: closed

The best time to visit Mahale is during the dry season that runs from July through to late October.  Chimpanzees can also be viewed at other times of the year but it may just require a little bit more walking. In the dry season, it is definitely worth combining Mahale with Katavi National Park. The attraction of visiting Western Tanzania is its remote location, and such an isolated African safari is difficult to come across anywhere else on the continent. Unlike the Selous, Ngorongoro Crater or the Serengeti, access to Mahale is not as frequent, since flights from Arusha to Mahale only depart and arrive twice a week.

ACCOMMODATIONS IN MAHALE

By the time you’ve spent the time and money it takes to get to Mahale, you might as well stay at the absolute best. Nomad’s Greystoke Mahale is famous throughout the world for not only its location but for the “barefoot luxury” it offers. The other, slightly cheaper option is Mbali Mbali Mahale, just a little further up the coast.

Please get in touch if you have any questions about our incredible Mahale chimp trekking safaris! What are you waiting for? Start planning your next big adventure!