12-Day Western Tanzania Luxury Safari - Ruaha, Katavi & Mahale

You are met on arrival and transferred to your hotel in Dar es Salaam. Use the afternoon to explore the city’s harbour-front markets and historic quarter, or simply settle in and rest ahead of tomorrow’s flight into the bush. For travellers who want to extend their stay on the coast at either end of this safari, our Dar es Salaam hotels make a comfortable base.

Distance: Airport transfer, approx. 30 minutes

Activity: Arrival and city orientation

Accommodation: Hotel in Dar es Salaam

Meals: Breakfast

A scheduled flight takes you from Dar es Salaam to Ruaha National Park, Tanzania’s largest national park and one of its least crowded. A game drive on arrival sets the tone, with the Mwagusi Sand River area known for super prides of lion and large herds of buffalo and elephant.

Distance: Flight Dar es Salaam to Ruaha, then transfer to camp

Activity: Arrival game drive

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in Ruaha

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Set out on foot with an armed ranger and guide for a walking safari through the acacia and baobab country around camp, an intimate way to read tracks and signs that a vehicle would drive straight past. The afternoon brings a game drive toward the river, where hippo pods and a wide range of birdlife gather.

Distance: Morning walking safari, afternoon game drive

Activity: Walking safari and game drive

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in Ruaha (second night)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

A final day in Ruaha brings the option of a night game drive, revealing nocturnal species rarely seen during daylight hours and giving predators the chance to be observed while actively hunting. Daytime activity continues with further game drives across the park’s open plains and rocky kopjes.

Distance: Full day in Ruaha, optional night drive after dinner

Activity: Game drive and optional night drive

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in Ruaha (third night)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

A shared charter flight connects Ruaha to Katavi National Park, one of Africa’s most remote protected areas. Katavi receives a fraction of the visitors of the northern parks, and the afternoon game drive often turns up some of the largest hippo and buffalo concentrations in the country.

Distance: Shared charter flight Ruaha to Katavi

Activity: Afternoon game drive

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in Katavi

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Days in Katavi are unusually flexible, with off-road driving permitted in many areas, a rare allowance that opens up close approaches to game that would otherwise stay out of reach. Expect twice-daily game drives with a picnic lunch taken out in the bush.

Distance: Morning and afternoon game drives

Activity: Full-day game drive with bush picnic

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in Katavi (second night)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

A guided walking safari gets you closer to Katavi’s smaller details, tracks, birdlife and the seasonal floodplain ecology that supports its huge dry-season herds. The afternoon is left open for a further game drive or simply relaxing back at camp.

Distance: Morning walking safari, free afternoon or game drive

Activity: Walking safari

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in Katavi (third night)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

A flight and onward boat transfer along Lake Tanganyika bring you to the Mahale Mountains, a forested range rising straight from the lakeshore and home to one of Africa’s largest wild chimpanzee populations. Settle into camp in the afternoon with time to relax on the beach before dinner.

Distance: Flight to Mahale airstrip, then boat transfer along Lake Tanganyika

Activity: Arrival and lakeshore relaxation

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in the Mahale Mountains

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

A full day dedicated to tracking one of the park’s habituated chimpanzee communities through the forested slopes above the lake. Treks can run from two to seven hours over uneven, sometimes steep terrain, rewarded by close encounters with chimps foraging in the canopy.

Distance: Full-day chimpanzee trekking, duration varies with chimp location

Activity: Chimpanzee trekking

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in the Mahale Mountains (second night)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

A more relaxed day at Mahale, with the option of a second chimpanzee trek, fishing on Lake Tanganyika, snorkelling in its famously clear waters, or simply resting on the beach after a busy first stretch of trekking and game driving.

Distance: Free day with optional activities

Activity: Optional fishing, snorkelling or second chimp trek

Accommodation: Lodge or tented camp in the Mahale Mountains (third night)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

After a final morning in the Mahale Mountains, transfer by boat and flight back to Dar es Salaam, arriving in the evening with time for dinner near the coast before your onward journey.

Distance: Boat transfer, then flight to Dar es Salaam

Activity: Travel day

Accommodation: Hotel in Dar es Salaam

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Enjoy a final breakfast before being transferred to Dar es Salaam International Airport for your onward or international flight, bringing the safari to a close.

Distance: Airport transfer, approx. 30 minutes

Activity: Departure

Accommodation: N/A, end of safari

Meals: Breakfast

Extend your trip

• Want to add a fourth western park? Our 9-Day Tanzania Safari to Katavi, Mahale and Gombe brings Gombe Stream and its own chimpanzee community into a similar route.
• Prefer to focus on Ruaha alone? See our shorter Ruaha National Park safaris for a more compact option.