Duration

9 Days 8 Nights

Country

Tanzania, United Republic of

Maximum Traveller

Min Pax

9-Day Wilderness Safari: Katavi, Ruaha, Mahale & Gombe

Gombe, Katavi, Mahale, Ruaha Natinational park, South Tanzania Safaris, Southern Circuit Safaris Wilderness Safaris

Overview
Itinerary
Cost Info
FAQ
Map

Overview

This is not a first-time-in-Africa safari. It's for travelers who already know what a game drive looks like and want to go further — into the parks most safari-goers never reach. Over 9 days you'll track predators across Ruaha's dramatic baobab plains, witness Katavi's extraordinary dry-season wildlife concentrations, and trek wild chimpanzees in two of the only places on Earth to see them in their natural forest habitat: Mahale Mountains and Gombe Stream, where Jane Goodall began her research in 1960. Every leg between parks is a scenic light-aircraft flight or a boat crossing on Lake Tanganyika — there are no long road transfers on this trip, only genuine wilderness.

Note on pacing: These four parks sit in different corners of western and southern Tanzania, connected only by charter flights and boat. Two nights per park is the minimum needed to make each flight worthwhile — this itinerary is intentionally paced at that minimum. Travelers wanting more time in each park should ask about extending to 11–12 days.

Itinerary

Itinerary Expand All

Day 1
Hotel Pickup in Dar es Salaam → Fly to Ruaha National Park
Your driver will collect you from your hotel in Dar es Salaam for the transfer to the airport, where you'll board a scheduled or private charter flight to Ruaha National Park — Tanzania's largest national park and one of East Africa's most important elephant strongholds. Ruaha sits where southern and eastern African wildlife ranges overlap, giving it one of the most diverse large-mammal populations on the continent.

Arrive in time for an afternoon game drive along the Great Ruaha River.

Overnight: Ruaha River Lodge (classic, riverside) or Kigelia Ruaha (comfortable tented camp).
Day 2
Full Day in Ruaha National Park
A full day of morning and afternoon game drives through Ruaha's baobab-studded landscape. Look out for greater and lesser kudu alongside lion, elephant, and buffalo — species combinations found almost nowhere else in Tanzania. An optional walking safari is available for a closer, on-foot perspective of the bush.

Overnight: Ruaha River Lodge (classic, riverside) or Kigelia Ruaha (comfortable tented camp).
Day 3
Fly to Katavi National Park
After a final morning game drive, transfer to the airstrip for a charter flight to Katavi — Tanzania's third-largest park and one of its most untouched. Katavi is famous for its dry-season wildlife spectacle: as the Katuma River shrinks to a trickle, thousands of buffalo, elephant, zebra, and giraffe converge on the remaining water, drawing large prides of lion and clans of hyena.

Arrive in time for an afternoon activity, settling in for two nights of genuine wilderness.

Overnight: Chada Katavi Camp (classic tented, National Geographic-featured) or Katavi Wildlife Camp (comfortable, good value).
Day 4
Full Day in Katavi National Park
A full day of game drives (and an optional walking safari) through Katavi's plains and along the Katuma River, home to some of Tanzania's densest hippo and crocodile populations. Large herds gather here with a fraction of the vehicle traffic found in the Northern Circuit — on many days, you won't see another vehicle at all.

Overnight: Chada Katavi Camp (classic tented, National Geographic-featured) or Katavi Wildlife Camp (comfortable, good value).
Day 5
Fly to Mahale Mountains National Park
Transfer to the airstrip for a scenic flight to Mahale, on the shore of Lake Tanganyika — the world's second-deepest and second-largest freshwater lake. There's no road access here: your flight is followed by a boat transfer along the lakeshore to your camp, arriving to views of forested mountains rising straight from turquoise water.

Spend the afternoon settling in, with an optional forest walk or swim in the lake.

Overnight: Greystoke Mahale (iconic, luxury beach-and-forest camp) or Mahale Forest Camp (comfortable alternative).
Day 6
Chimpanzee Trekking in Mahale Mountains
A guided trek into the forested mountains to track one of Mahale's wild chimpanzee communities — habituated for research since the 1960s but still living entirely wild. Trekking time varies from 30 minutes to several hours depending on where the chimps are ranging that day. In the afternoon, take a boat safari or snorkel in Lake Tanganyika's clear water, home to hundreds of colorful cichlid fish species found nowhere else on Earth.

Overnight: Greystoke Mahale (iconic, luxury beach-and-forest camp) or Mahale Forest Camp (comfortable alternative).
Day 7
Boat & Road Transfer to Gombe Stream National Park
Transfer by boat from Mahale to Kigoma, then continue by boat up the lakeshore to Gombe Stream National Park — the smallest of Tanzania's national parks, and the single most famous, as the site of Dr. Jane Goodall's pioneering chimpanzee research beginning in 1960. Arrive in the afternoon for an orientation walk along the forest trails where that research began.

Overnight: Mbali Mbali Gombe Forest Lodge, or Kigoma Hilltop Hotel with daily boat access into the park.
Day 8
Chimpanzee Trekking in Gombe Stream
A full day dedicated to trekking Gombe's chimpanzee communities, descendants of the very groups Goodall first studied. Gombe's steep, forested terrain makes for a more physical trek than Mahale, but the reward is the same profound experience of encountering wild chimpanzees at close range in their natural habitat. Afternoon free for a lakeside swim or a second, shorter trek if chimps are nearby.

Overnight: Mbali Mbali Gombe Forest Lodge, or Kigoma Hilltop Hotel with daily boat access into the park.
Day 9
Fly to Dar es Salaam → Hotel Drop-off
Transfer to Kigoma Airport for your flight back to Dar es Salaam, connecting with your onward or international departure, or drop-off at your Dar es Salaam hotel if extending your stay.

Cost Info

Price includes

Safari Includes;

All park entrance fees for Ruaha, Katavi, Mahale, and Gombe, including chimpanzee trekking permits
Hotel pickup in Dar es Salaam and all internal flights: Dar–Ruaha, Ruaha–Katavi, Katavi–Mahale, plus boat transfers Mahale–Kigoma–Gombe, and Kigoma–Dar es Salaam return flight
8 nights' full-board accommodation as listed above
All game drives, walking safaris, and chimpanzee treks per itinerary, with private vehicle where applicable
Boat transfers on Lake Tanganyika
Services of an English-speaking driver-guide and specialist local trekking guides in Mahale and Gombe
Bottled water throughout

Price excludes

EXCLUDES;

International Flights Ticket.
Visa
Medications
Medical / Travel Insurance
Optional activities such as Hot Air Balloon Rides, Canoeing, etc..
Alcoholic and soft drinks
Asante Tipping for the driver guide

FAQ

FAQ Expand All

FAQ 1; Why does this trip take 9 days when the individual parks are so small?
The parks themselves aren't the constraint — it's the distance between them. Katavi, Ruaha, Mahale, and Gombe sit in different corners of western and southern Tanzania, connected only by charter flights and boat crossings on Lake Tanganyika. Two nights per park is the minimum to make each flight genuinely worthwhile; fewer nights would mean more time traveling than exploring.
FAQ 2; How difficult is the chimpanzee trekking?
Mahale treks range from an easy 30-minute walk to several hours over uneven forest terrain, depending on where the chimps are that day. Gombe's terrain is steeper and generally more physical. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended, but treks are led at a pace suited to the group, with rest stops as needed.
FAQ 3; Is this trip suitable for a first-time visitor to Tanzania?
This itinerary is best suited to travelers who have safaried before, or who specifically want a remote, off-the-beaten-path experience over the more classic Serengeti-and-Ngorongoro introduction. First-time visitors are welcome, but we're happy to discuss whether a Northern Circuit trip might be a better starting point before adding this one later.

Map

from $7,500.00

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9-Day Wilderness Safari: Katavi, Ruaha, Mahale & Gombe

Overview

Overview

Itinerary

Itinerary Expand All

Day 1

Hotel Pickup in Dar es Salaam → Fly to Ruaha National Park

Day 2

Full Day in Ruaha National Park

Day 3

Fly to Katavi National Park

Day 4

Full Day in Katavi National Park

Day 5

Fly to Mahale Mountains National Park

Day 6

Chimpanzee Trekking in Mahale Mountains

Day 7

Boat & Road Transfer to Gombe Stream National Park

Day 8

Chimpanzee Trekking in Gombe Stream

Day 9

Fly to Dar es Salaam → Hotel Drop-off

Cost Info

Cost Info

Price includes

Price excludes

FAQ

FAQ Expand All

FAQ 1; Why does this trip take 9 days when the individual parks are so small?

FAQ 2; How difficult is the chimpanzee trekking?

FAQ 3; Is this trip suitable for a first-time visitor to Tanzania?

Map

Map

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