Western Circuit

Mahale National Park
Mahale National Park is half way up Lake Tanganyika and below Gombe Stream National Park (see map). It was created to protect 1,000′s of chimpanzees and is set in the Mahale mountains which are stunning. It is reknowned for fantastic sunsets over Lake Tanganyika and Eastern Zaire which makes it an essential stop for the keen photographer. The habitat combines rain forest, grasslands, alpine bamboo and woodland. The best time to visit is between May and October.
Activites and Special Interests: Climbing; snorkelling to observe the 90 species of cichlid and other fish in Lake Tanganyika; photography; walking safaris.
Wildlife: 50 species of animal have been noted in the park predominantly from the monkey family: chimpanzees, yellow baboon, Sykes monkeys, red tailed, savannah, colobus monkeys (both red and black & white) and 2 species of galago.
Accommodation: Stay in the luxurious Kativi tented camp. There are also tour operators who provide full board package tours to Mahale Mountains National Park – Some have Luxury Tented Camps

Gombe Stream National Park:
The park is on Lake Tanganyika, near the Burundi border. Gombe was created to protect 1,000′s of chimpanzees and is set in the stunning Mahale mountains. It is reknowned for fantastic sunsets over Lake Tanganyika and Eastern Zaire which makes it an essential stop for the keen photographer. It is also known of Jane Godall’s fame in Chimpanzee research. Its habitat combines rain forest, grasslands, alpine bamboo and woodland. The best time to visit is between May and October.
Activites and Special Interests: Boat safaris, Climbing; snorkelling to observe the 90 species of cichlid and other fish in Lake Tanganyika; photography; chimpanzee and walking safaris.
Wildlife: 50 species of animal have been noted in the park predominantly from the monkey family: chimpanzees, yellow baboon, Sykes monkeys, red tailed, savannah, colobus monkeys (both red and black & white) and 2 species of galago.

Rubondo Islands National Park
The Rubondo island is consist of 80 % of dense forest. The rest of the vegetation is papyrus swamps, open grassland, stony and sandy beaches. A broad line of open water with a very rich fish population belongs to the park as well. The coastline has a magnificent diversity of trees and bushes.
Two groups of animals are found here; Parts of the first group are smaller antelopes such as sitatunga and bushbuck, vervet monkeys, small carnivores, hippos, crocodiles, reptiles and birds. Released on the island were elephants, rhinos, giraffes, roan antelopes, colobus monkeys and chimpanzees. Most of the rhinos and the roan antelopes, brought in from Serengeti, have vanished because of poaching etc. All of the other new species have been able to maintain themselves in the new environment.
Easily accessible are bushbucks, sitatungas, vervet monkeys and monitor lizards, while going by boat offers a view of hippos, crocodiles and otters. There are between 25 and 30 elephants. The giraffes and the colobus monkeys live in a rather restricted area in the southern part. All carnivores (cats, mongooses) are nocturnal.
So far, more than 200 different bird species have been recorded.
Facts: Position (National park headquarters): 2°18′ south / 31°51 east. Surface 450 square kilometres, comprising the main island (240 square kilometres) and 11 small neighbouring islands. Extension north south: 28 km, width 3 – 10 km. Height 1135 – 1485 metres. Status of National park since 1977. Prior to this date, the island was a sparsely populated forestry reserve with a hunting ban. Only National park in lake Victoria. The sweet water lake covers an area of 68’000 square kilometres and is the largest lake of the continent. The island hosts species of central and western Africa which are unknown elsewhere in Tanzania. Main conservation aspect: illegal fishing activities within the National parks boundaries.

Katavi National Park
The Katavi National Park, is about 40 kilometers south east of Mpanda town, at the foot of the Mlele escarpment, was established in 1974 covering an area of 2253 square kilometers. Despite of being dissected by the Mpanda – Sumbawanga road, it is considered by many as difficult to reach, that makes Katavi one of the unspoiled and beautiful national parks with variety of game life in Africa. The main vegetation in the Katavi National Park is miombo woodland, acacia parkland, grassland plain and swamps around the River Katuma, which joins Lake Katavi and Lake Chada.The dry season is the best time to visit especially by light aircraft or by road.
Dry Season: May to October and mid-December to February are the dry months. Rainy Season: the long rains are from March to May, which makes the road impassable. Temperature range between 15° C at night and 35° C during the hottest hours.
Activites and Special Interests: The lakes (Katavi and Chada) which are joined by the River Katuma give an excellent attraction to the visitors. Bird Watching around lakes and swamps provide the safest breeding ground for the birds, over 400 species of birds have been recorded in Katavi National Park, among others are pelicans, Water fowl, and Flocks of open-billed storks, which are easily observed. the park has one of the largest undisturbed herds of buffalo in Tanzania, hippos, crocodiles and other sorts of reptiles. Other animals include lions, leopards, roan and sable antelopes, reedbuck, topi, eland, zebra and elephants, all are visible during the safari. The Katasunga plains, is much more of attraction occupied with thousands of antelope, zebra, giraffe, topi, hartebeest and Defassa waterbuck.