Katavi is Tanzania's third-largest national park and receives a few hundred visitors a year. At the end of the dry season the Katuma River shrinks to a series of muddy pools, and what happens next is as raw as African wildlife viewing gets — hundreds of hippo crammed together, crocodiles dug into the drying banks and buffalo herds a thousand strong on the Katisunga floodplain.
There is no infrastructure to speak of and only a handful of small camps. You will very likely have every sighting entirely to yourself.
June to October — the later the better, as the floodplains dry and animals concentrate.
Roughly 4,471 km², Tanzania's third-largest park.
Dry-season pools hold some of the densest hippo concentrations recorded anywhere.
Scheduled or charter flight from Arusha or Dar; often combined with Mahale.
Game drives follow the Katuma River and the floodplain edges, but Katavi really rewards those who get out on foot with an armed guide.
Katavi lies in the far west of Tanzania, south-east of Mahale and a long way from anywhere else. Access is by light aircraft via Mpanda — there is no practical road route for visitors, which is a large part of why the park sees so few of them.
Katavi and Mahale together make the finest remote safari in Tanzania. Ask us to plan it.
Ask a Local Expert